Andrew was born and raised in Newport, South Wales, the grandson of a Welsh miner. After taking a degree in Computer Studies at Loughborough University, he moved to Derbyshire as a teacher. He was head of the Maths Department at Bolsover School during the miners’ strike in 1984/85 but spent most of his career as Director of Studies for Information Technology Lady Manners School, Bakewell. During this time, he sought out every excuse to join in singing and drama activities, taking the role of Prince Paul in Offenbach’s The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice amongst others. 

His main interest, apart from the day job, has been singing, and he has been a member of the CBSO Chorus for twenty years, during which time he has toured with them all over the world including appearances in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Vancouver and major concert venues across Europe.

He often appears as soloist with local choral societies and his solo repertoire includes the Mozart, Fauré and Duruflé Requiems, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Five Mystical Songs.

His great-grandfather was a schoolmaster at Tonmawr in Glamorgan, who was sacked for treating the boys too harshly, and his father, like Alan, was caned for speaking Welsh at school.