97: Aled Thomas

For my latest Nostalgia Interview it was a huge pleasure to meet up via Zoom with Aled Thomas. Aled currently works at the University of Wolverhampton and did his first degree in Religious Studies at Trinity College Carmarthen from 2007-10. We learn how his goal had been to become an RE teacher but that academia called him back. Aled’s research area is the Church of Scientology and we learn how his interest was kickstarted. He is especially interested in Free Zone Scientology and what is authentic vs. that which is heretical Scientology. Aled discloses why he feels the need in his work to say that he is not a Scientologist and he talks about how academia can enrich public life and how important it is for a researcher to be in control of their own work. Aled grew up as a video game kid and the first band he was interested in was Queen – it’s in his musical DNA. We learn that he is into retro music, including punk, and that one of his biggest obsessions involves Sparks which, for Aled, are everything that pop music should be. They have a drive to keep making new music, have flown from one genre to another, and Aled has even had one of their album logos tattooed on his arm. At university Aled would buy a couple of albums every two to three months and we learn how Sparks have inspired him to look at the world in a different way. We talk also about the thrill of buying vinyl in the record shop rather than online. Aled reveals that he is a frustrated musician and why he would love to produce bands and be a studio engineer and make a band sound great. Then, at the end of the interview, we talk about how not everyone may have an opinion on molecular biology but that everyone has an opinion on religion. We also find out why Aled considers himself to be a forward looking person. Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Aled Thomas and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.