Sir Tom Jones

Sir Tom Jones, OBE, was born into a mining family in Pontypridd, South Wales, in 1940 as Thomas Woodward. He was soon singing and loved to take the spotlight as a soloist. He suffered a bout of tuberculosis in his early teens but by the age of sixteen was married with a child on the way. His son, Mark (1957-), went on to become his manager in 1986.

Tom got his show business break in 1963 when he was talent-spotted whilst singing in a group in his home area. He was whisked off to London, changed his name to Tom Jones and signed a recording contract. His second record was ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and this reached no. 1 in the charts in 1965. He amassed huge numbers of adoring female fans who were dazzled by his looks, his swinging hips and his punchy style of conducting the band..

In the same year he met and became friends with his hero, Elvis Presley. Tom and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1974 and he performed regularly in Las Vegas. He has had hits even in his seventies and is currently a coach on The Voice TV programme in the UK.

(Image: Wayne Dilger at Flickr.com / CC BY-ND 2.0)