BELTING THEM OUT AT 83
FROM 2 YRS IN HIS BEDROOM TO HANGING OUT WITH ELVIS
TOM Jones is the first to admit he was born with the gift of a golden voice – but even he is amazed he is still belting out his hits at the grand old age of 83.
The Welshman is in the middle of his mammoth Ages and Stages World Tour, taking in countries such as Chile, Argentina and Brazil. He has already played sell-out gigs in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the UAE – and he plays St Anne’s Park in Dublin, along with Nile Rogers and Chic, on June 9 this year.
But despite his age, Tom says he’s feeling fitter than ever thanks to having had both of his hips replaced in the last seven years
He laughs: “Well, thank God my voice is still working. I am 83 years old. I mean I can’t believe it, but it is true. When I am singing I am like, ‘How the hell is this coming out of me?’ Honestly.
“If the voice was not there I am sure I would be going ‘Urgh, I don’t want to do so many shows’ but I love it as the voice is still working!” The son of miner Thomas Woodward and his wife Freda, Tom began singing at an early age at family gatherings, weddings and in his school choir in Treforest, South Wales. He remembers his parents with great affection and admits it was their “salt of the earth” nature that kept him grounded when he hit the big time in 1965 with It’s Not Unusual. After it topped the charts, Tom splashed out on a red E-Type Jaguar, driving it home to his parents.
He says: “I went home one night in the Jaguar and my mother was starting to cut sandwiches for my father.
“I said to my dad, ‘Where are you going?’ and he said, ‘I am going to work’. It was a Sunday night. I said, ‘You can’t be going’ and he said, ‘I am, I am a coal miner’. I said, ‘Not any more you are not’ and he said, ‘Yes I am’. I said, ‘Dad, I am selling records and making money’ and he said, ‘Yes, well how long will it last?’
“The pick and shovel he understood. Showbusiness, if you are not in it or attached to it, is a strange thing.”
Thankfully, Tom’s overnight success did last and it later took him all the way to America where he landed his own TV show and a lasting friendship with Elvis Presley.
Charm
Elvis was impressed with the
Welshman’s natural charm, although Tom was starstruck when they first met in Vegas.
He recalls: “When I finally got to the US, someone said to me,
‘Elvis is here. He would like to say hello’.
“I had this ballad out at the time called With These Hands and there was Elvis walking to me singing it. All I can remember thinking was, ‘Jesus Christ. It was
Elvis Presley walking towards me singing my song!’
“Elvis said, ‘How the hell do you sing like that man?’ and I said, ‘You are partly to blame, listening to people like you’.
“When I used to sing in the working men’s clubs they used to say to me [I sang] as good as Elvis.”
It wasn’t just the King of Rock ’n’ Roll who wanted to be friends with Tom. He also met New York Mob kingpin, Sonny Franzese, the notorious underboss of the Colombo family at Manhattan’s Copacabana Club.
Sonny liked Tom’s no-nonsense Welsh Valleys’
Tom Jones is the first guest on the new Sky Arts documentary series hosted by AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and Dire Straits star Mark Knopfler. Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends airs on Sky Arts, From Thursday April 25
attitude.
“I knew Sonny, he was all right,” says Tom. “He walks over and sits at the table. He has got greased hair, a pin-striped suit, black shirt, white tie.
“He said, ‘What kind of man are you?’ I said, ‘I am man enough for you.’ I was like only 25 or 26 and I did not give a monkey’s spunk to be honest with you. He goes, ‘I like you kid. You have got balls’.”
Other A-list friendships followed with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, Cher and Shirley Bassey.
Attention
With stardom came plenty of female attention, much to the frustration of Tom’s high school sweetheart wife Linda, whom he married when the pair were just 16.
The singer had a string of one-night stands, claiming to have slept with 250 groupies in a year during the height of his fame. He also had longer affairs, including a highprofile one with The Supremes co-founder Mary Wilson.
Next year marks the 60th since Tom came into all of our lives thanks to It’s Not Unusual. His commitment to continue touring is a lasting tribute to Linda, who died from lung cancer aged 75 in 2016, and their son Mark, who is his tour manager.
Despite his infidelities, the Sex Bomb star always maintained Linda was “the most important thing” in his life, adding: “We loved one another ever since we saw one another.” And with his ongoing role as a coach on the ITV show The Voice and his current tours still going strong, it doesn’t look as if he is ready to slow down any time soon.
Looking back on his life, Tom admits he is a born performer and has never wanted to share the spotlight with anyone. “I knew that I could sing and I was not frightened of anything,” he recalls. “[But] I did not want to be part of a choir in Wales. I wanted to show off.”
And, fortunately for his legions of fans, the showman in him is still very much alive.