The Voice UK is back with Sir Tom Jones as a coach but even though the Welsh singer is a household name for many generations a health issue early in his childhood could have scuppered that
Sir Tom Jones has been a coach on The Voice UK since 2012 (Image: ITV)
In Wales Sir Tom Jones is a music industry legend. His unique baritone voice and magnetic stage presence have made him a household name for many generations of fans – but that almost didn’t happen.
Between the ages of 12 and 14 Sir Tom, now 84, endured a bout of tuberculosis (TB), a debilitating disease that was once a leading cause of death worldwide. TB, characterised by persistent cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss can be a severe condition if left untreated. Speaking about his experience with the disease at the One World: Together At Home event in 2020 Tom said: “I’ve lived a long time, I’ve seen a lot of things, I’ve experienced a lot of things.”
Gesturing to a picture behind him during the live stream, which took place at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, he continued: “Like this house for instance right here, that’s 44 Laura Street, where I was born and brought up. I was isolated there for two years with tuberculosis in that house and I thought that was bad then. But the National Health Service helped me then like they’re helping all of us right now. So I would like to say thank you so much to the National Health for doing what they did for me then and what they’re doing right now for everybody else.”
The Voice: Contestant says she once opened for Tom Jones
In a later interview with Jessie Ware on her podcast Table Manners Tom elaborated: “My father was a coal miner, you see, so that knocked that out. It was a blessing in disguise. I would have become a coal miner so that stopped me. Yeah, for two years, from 1954 I was bedridden. And I could see my wife [to be] outside playing with the kids and I’m like: ‘Oh my God!’ I remember feeling an ache in my chest. You know what they say about heartache? Honestly.”
Tom Jones’ career beginnings
Tom Jones, then Tommy Scott, and The Senators rehearse in a room above the Thorn Hotel, Abercynon (Image: Ron Bevan, Aberdare)
In 1963 Sir Tom took the lead as the frontman for Tommy Scott and the Senators, a Welsh beat group that enjoyed a local following in south Wales. Despite recording tracks with producer Joe Meek they struggled to find success. However during a performance at the Top Hat in Cwmtillery Sir Tom caught the eye of manager Gordon Mills. Mills took on the role of his manager, whisked him off to London, and rebranded him as Tom Jones, capitalising on the popularity of the 1963 film bearing the same name.
Mills secured a Decca recording contract for the fledgling Sir Tom and his first single Chills and Fever was released in late 1964. Although it failed to chart his next release It’s Not Unusual soared to international acclaim after being promoted by the offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline. The subsequent year marked the pinnacle of Sir Tom’s career establishing him as a leading figure of the British Invasion. It’s Not Unusual hit number one in the UK and cracked the US top 10 in early 1965.
Sir Tom is now a music icon (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Throughout that year Mills landed several film theme songs for Sir Tom to record including the theme for the James Bond movie Thunderball and What’s New Pussycat? penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
Sir Tom Jones, his late wife Linda, and infidelity
Born Thomas John Woodward in Pontypridd in 1940 Sir Tom grew up in a working-class family. In 1957, at the age of 16, Sir Tom married Melinda ‘Linda’ Trenchard after she fell pregnant with his son Mark, who would later become Sir Tom’s manager in 1986. Linda first met Tom when they were both 12 and she would smile at him as she walked to school in Treforest.
Linda died of lung cancer in 2016 (Image: Topix – Thomson Newspaper Group)
Following her death in 2016 from lung cancer Tom sold their Los Angeles mansion and all its contents, bar cherished photographs, and relocated to a London flat fulfilling his late wife’s final wish. The full extent of Linda’s awareness regarding her husband’s highly publicised infidelity remains unclear but she was certainly aware of multiple affairs including his liaison with Miss World Marjorie Wallace. Reflecting on the aftermath of being photographed with 19-year-old Marjorie on a Barbados beach in 1976 Tom recounted: “I stood there and took it,” and added: “She chinned me. I said: ‘Go ahead’. She punched and shouted.”
It later came to light that her husband had fathered another child with US model Katherine Berkery in 1987. Devastated, Linda initially relocated back to Wales but eventually she rejoined Tom at their Los Angeles home. For 20 years Sir Tom disputed paternity claims regarding his son Jonathan, attributing his conception to Katherine’s ploy by saying: “I was tricked, really. I just fell for it.” He later settled out of court with a payment of £50,000. Sir Tom and Linda continued to live together primarily in Los Angeles, having moved there in 1987, where they remained for most of their marriage.
Despite his deep love for his wife Sir Tom is no stranger to scandal having once boasted of bedding up to 250 women a year during the height of his fame. His fans were notorious for throwing their underwear onto the stage hoping to catch the singer’s eye. The legendary singer even had two dressing rooms while on tour – one was infamously dubbed the ‘workbench’ and reserved for encounters with his admirers. In an odd revelation during a 2015 interview with The Big Issue Tom admitted to an unusual pre-sex ritual involving Listerine, claiming he used it to sanitise his private parts. “I say that mouthwash is not only for gargling,” he quipped at the time. In recent years Tom has been linked with Elvis Presley’s former wife Priscilla Presley but he has insisted that the pair are just friends.
Sir Tom Jones health
In recent years Sir Tom has had several health issues including undergoing hip replacement surgery on both sides. The left hip procedure took place in 2017 followed by his right hip surgery in 2022. This intervention was necessary as standing during performances became increasingly difficult for him. He told the Daily Mail: “Yeah, I can do about four songs without sitting” before the operation. He spoke about his ordeal in 2023, saying: “I’ve got to have a new hip. I had [my left hip] done five years ago and it worked great so now [my right hip’s] starting to go. So, at the moment, I’m bone on bone.”
Sir Tom Jones’ net worth
According to TheRichest.com Sir Tom Jones is estimated to have a net worth of $250m (£187.3m).
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