Tom: I’ll give ’em stick
Voice star defiant after hip op
SIR TOM Jones has spoken for the first time about having a hip replacement, admitting he limped through live shows before having surgery.
The singer, 77, is walking with a stick but is back filming The Voice, which he said is a tonic after the op last month.
Sir Tom said: “I did a summer tour all over Europe and I was seeing physiother- apists in different countries. It was a pain you couldn’t get rid of, like a dull ache.
“It was getting on and off the stage that was giving me trouble. My surgeon said the cartilage is gone in my left hip. So I knew I had to do something about it.”
Sir Tom said of returning to work on The Voice: “When you’re not feeling good after an operation, you need something.
“The Voice is perfect for that because it’s not like going back to a full-blown tour, travelling COACHES Olly and Jennifer and all that. I’m coping great.” He said of the ITV studios in Salford: “Walking these corridors is like rehab. There’s a long walk from the dressing room to the stage – it’s good.” Sir Tom stars on The Voice with Jennifer Hudson, Will.i.am and new coach, former X Factor finalist Olly Murs.