The legendary Welsh crooner chats exclusively to about his career and why he loves Dubai
From pop darling to TV favourite, Glastonbury to Vegas, to sellout world tours, Grammy wins, and everything in between, Sir Tom Jones has been there, done that and bought the half-unbuttoned shirt.
Born Thomas John Woodward, the son of a coal-miner from the tiny Welsh town of Pontypridd, Jones started his musical life in 1963, playing small gigs in local pubs as part of a beat group. Building a following, the group soon caught the attention of Gordon Mills, a London-based fellow Welshman, who took the singer to the capital, changed his name and launched his solo career.
He went to become an icon of the ’60s and ’70s, hits What’s New Pussycat, Delilah and It’s Not Unusual heralding Jones as the archetypal pop star, complete with an unmistakeable voice and the macho look to go with it: tight trousers, and shirt wide open to the navel.
“I love what I do,” Jones tells What’s On. “It’s my whole life. I’ve never stopped singing, so the muscles of my vocal chords have always stayed in pretty good shape. I continually try to move forward, so I challenge both myself and the audience.”
Moving forward has been key for Jones’ career. From ’60s pop star to ’70s Vegas entertainer, to country crooner, to covering Prince’s Kiss, alongside avant-garde synth group Art Of Noise (a move orchestrated by son Mark taking up management duties, following the death of Mills), Jones refuses to slow down. To date, he’s sold more than 100 million records. “It’s still as exciting communicating with people as it ever was,” says Jones. “I’ve dialled some things back, simply because certain aspects of performance change, as well as the nature of songs – [but] it would be pretty strange [for me] to stay the same.”
A three-year stint as a judge on the British reality TV show The Voice opened Jones up to a new audience in 2012 (he’s due back again this year), keeping the singer as relevant as ever. “Being gifted the voice that I have, and being able to use it in a way that means something to anyone who listens, is the biggest joy in my life,” says Jones.
That joy will be there for all to see, when the singer returns to the UAE this month as he opens the Dubai Jazz Festival. “It’s always nice to come here when it’s cold and grey everywhere else,” he says. “Dubai has grown spectacularly since I first visited. Plus, there are some amazing voices in the Middle Eastern music. The rhythms and melodies are really complex and soulful.”
While his fondness for the UAE is admirable, it’s unlikely the singer will move here anytime soon. He still keeps a UK passport, despite being given a green card for the States way back in the 1970s, and when we ask him what his career highlight is, he says without missing a beat, “Being knighted by Her Majesty the Queen.”