0:00:02 > 0:00:06# She was my woman... #
0:00:06 > 0:00:08RADIO CRACKLES
0:00:14 > 0:00:18# My, my, my Delilah... #
0:01:14 > 0:01:17You can't categorise it. You can't write a book
0:01:17 > 0:01:23and say...write about the functions of a manager and what he should do.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28You cannot delegate management. You cannot train a man to be a manager.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31It's a personal involvement, it's a thing that you feel,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33you grow up with the artist.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37You just look at the person, you hear them sing.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40And you like it, and if you like it enough, you'll go with it.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43It's like anything in life.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45INTERVIEWER: My guest tonight is Gordon Mills,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47a multi-millionaire Welshman,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49chairman of a vast public company whose interests range
0:01:49 > 0:01:53from aviation to property and music publishing to artist management.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56He's the man who's totally responsible for the worldwide
0:01:56 > 0:02:00success of Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and Gilbert O'Sullivan.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Now, I've read that Gordon Mills is a man who pays the most minute
0:02:03 > 0:02:06attention to every detail of his artists' image.
0:02:40 > 0:02:46I met him at a 21st birthday, and he arrived at the party
0:02:46 > 0:02:49with Engelbert, who was then Gerry Dorsey.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55Soon I was engaged and, erm, we married in London.
0:02:55 > 0:03:01A very cold day like today, actually, but...yeah.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10Gordon had something about him. What can I say?
0:03:12 > 0:03:19It was just...you felt sure that he was sure about his life. Or I did.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27He was a positive man, you know? And I loved him...completely.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44GORDON: 'I always had pipe dreams as a child.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46'I always wanted to go to Africa.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48'I was interested in animals and wildlife.'
0:03:49 > 0:03:54I would look at a car and I would say, "I would like that car."
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I wasn't jealous of the man driving it.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01I would say, you know, "Why should he have that one and not me?"
0:04:01 > 0:04:05It was, I wanted that. Or a house.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08I'd see a beautiful house in the country in an illustrated magazine.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11- I'd say, "One day I'd like one of those."- Yes.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15So, I think it's in the back of your mind all the time.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18You want your place, corner in the sun,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and you want it to be as rosy as you can make it.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Yeah.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33JO: The first good thing I bought him as a present was a piano.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38And he was so delighted with this piano.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41He used to enjoy plonking around on the piano.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- # I wanna know- I gotta know
0:05:02 > 0:05:04- # Baby, I gotta know- I gotta know
0:05:04 > 0:05:07- # Baby, I gotta know- I gotta know
0:05:07 > 0:05:09- # I gotta know- I gotta know
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- # I wanna know- I gotta know
0:05:12 > 0:05:14# I wanna know, easy now
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- # Tell me one more time - One more time
0:05:17 > 0:05:20- # Tell me one more time - One more time
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- # Tell me one more time - One more time
0:05:23 > 0:05:25- # I said one more time - One more time... #
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Back then, there was this kid, Tommy Scott,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34who was making a bit of a noise down in Pontypridd and Tonypandy.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36And Gordon heard about him,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39came down, managed to get the message to Tom.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43And they had to beg to get Gordon into the working man's club
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Tom was playing in.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48They had to beg so hard that Gordon was told to stand at the bar,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50not be a nuisance and not drink anything.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53- # Tell me what I say- What I say
0:05:53 > 0:05:56- # Tell me what I say- What I say... #
0:05:56 > 0:05:58'The place was heaving.'
0:05:58 > 0:06:03This boy had a great following, even then, in the clubs around Wales.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06He came on and halfway into the first number,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09it was the greatest think I've ever seen, that was Tom.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- # I gotta know.- I gotta know... #
0:06:15 > 0:06:21Gordon played it cool, said, "You're OK." I thought, that's fine.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Apparently in the car on the way back to London, he told Jo,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26"That's it, I've found him,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30"I've found the guy who's going to make my fortune."
0:06:36 > 0:06:40JO: Suddenly Gordon pulled the car over. "Halt!"
0:06:40 > 0:06:43I said, "What's the matter?"
0:06:43 > 0:06:46And he said, "I've got to do something with him."
0:06:48 > 0:06:51I said, "Oh, wonderful, got to, yes."
0:06:51 > 0:06:57The rest of the journey was us excitedly making plans, you know.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00"You've got to bring him up to London."
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Got to do this, got to do that.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05It was just a wonderful, wonderful journey.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11TOM JONES: He said he saw in me something that he didn't have.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15That he would've liked to have had. He would've wanted...
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Cos he did sing with a group himself.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21But he felt that he didn't have the voice for it.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26And he saw... When he saw and heard me, he felt that I did, you know.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33GORDON: I'd no idea that I'd become a manager. I'd no intention in my mind.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35All I knew is that, I said to him,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38"I think you should have to come to London."
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Then he came up and lived with my wife and I in Bayswater.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47I used to take him around the odd bookings I'd get for him.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51And nobody could see anything, they all said...
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Plenty, millions of auditions we used to go to for clubs.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57They said he shouted, he screamed and he moved, he was old-fashioned,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59when in fact, he was ahead of his time.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01# Chills and fever
0:08:01 > 0:08:04# Chills and fever's what you give to me... #
0:08:04 > 0:08:05ROBIN: He had a broken nose,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09terrible teeth. He looked like a bricklayer.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11It was scary for girls,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13who were used to seeing rather insipid pretty boys.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Tom was not that at all. He was something entirely different.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21# Yeah, chills and fever
0:08:21 > 0:08:25# Wow, baby, chills and fever
0:08:25 > 0:08:29# Chills and fever's what you give to me... #
0:08:30 > 0:08:35When Gordon first brought Tom to London, Tom got terribly
0:08:35 > 0:08:40depressed and Tom tried...came close to committing suicide,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42by throwing himself under a tube train at Notting Hill Gate.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Because it wasn't happening, he was terribly hungry,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49he had no friends here. He wasn't, at that stage,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52particularly attractive to women.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55And, erm, they were tough times. And Gordon had to fight.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57He had to bang down doors.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01But Gordon wouldn't give in, he had great tenacity.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02Gordon was desperate.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07He decided he needed to write a song to keep Tom Jones,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09as he then was, going.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12It had to be this record that opened all the doors.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16And I wrote a song called...
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Actually my wife came up with the title, It's Not Unusual.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24# It's not unusual to be loved by anyone
0:09:24 > 0:09:29# It's not unusual to have fun with anyone... #
0:09:29 > 0:09:34JO: Once It's Not Unusual came out,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38life changed dramatically.
0:09:38 > 0:09:44There were reporters round the door nine in the morning, if not earlier.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Oh, nobody could move for reporters.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50# But when I see you hanging about with anyone
0:09:52 > 0:09:55# It's not unusual to see me cry... #
0:09:55 > 0:09:58With a hit song, it hits you.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02You can never say, well, "What are the ingredients that go
0:10:02 > 0:10:05"into a hit song." You can only know when you hear it.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10And that was it. When I heard it, I thought, "My God, this sounds
0:10:10 > 0:10:15"commercial enough and good enough." It was a good song, yet commercial,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17and it had everything in it that I would want to say.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20SHE PLAYS PIANO
0:10:25 > 0:10:30'That piano is THE piano
0:10:30 > 0:10:33'where Mum and Dad wrote It's Not Unusual.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41'She was there when they first... the first draft, if you like,
0:10:41 > 0:10:47'of It's Not Unusual. But, at that time,
0:10:47 > 0:10:52it was all about... it was all about Dad, really.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54And my mum has always been like that.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59She has always been, um, very much,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03a, sort of, a person to frame my father.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17'Musically, he was just brilliant.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20He was an entrepreneur, he really was, you know.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24'I think music men appreciated his talent.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28'They understood what he was about.'
0:11:38 > 0:11:44'Gordon taught Tom about what to eat, what to wear,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47'how to look, what to say, what not to say.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50'So Gordon controlled Tom in that way.'
0:11:50 > 0:11:57Tom was happy to be controlled. They were always very close.
0:11:57 > 0:12:03He knew how to manage a singer, from the singer's point of view.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07He knew how the music should be, he knew how they should dress,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10he knew how they should appear on stage, he knew the lighting,
0:12:10 > 0:12:16he knew the orchestrations. He was the Simon Cowell of his day.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Every artist, I believe, needs a mirror.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23If they are in the dressing room, there is a mirror there and they will
0:12:23 > 0:12:25and they will look carefully and even stand up
0:12:25 > 0:12:28and make gestures. They can see themselves.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Not when they are on stage. If there are any mistakes,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34that is where I think the manager is very important.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36He sees these mistakes and he tells his artist.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Gordon and Engelbert Humperdinck - well, he was Arnold George Dorsey
0:12:53 > 0:12:56when he was Gordon's friend.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00They were friends long before Tom Jones came on the scene
0:13:00 > 0:13:03and Gordon shared a flat, or a bedsit, with him in London.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06And they were good friends.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11And Gordon always promised Gerry Dorsey
0:13:11 > 0:13:16that he would make him a star one day.
0:13:16 > 0:13:23Then, along came Tom Jones and Gerry Dorsey said, "Well, you promised me."
0:13:23 > 0:13:29# Please, release me, let me go... #
0:13:29 > 0:13:35When he found the song, Release Me, he gave it to Humperdinck.
0:13:35 > 0:13:41I think that rather peeved Tom a bit, because Tom liked the song, too.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43And that record went to number one round the world.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45It stayed there for a long, long time.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47And Gordon had proved to his friend -
0:13:47 > 0:13:51because he was enormously loyal to those two men -
0:13:51 > 0:13:55he proved to his friend that he would keep his promise.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00And he did keep his promise. It made Engelbert Humperdinck a massive star.
0:14:00 > 0:14:07# Please, release me, can't you see
0:14:07 > 0:14:12# You'd be a fool to cling to me? #
0:14:12 > 0:14:15'He had mature men taking what we call
0:14:15 > 0:14:18the middle-of-the-road market and selling their records
0:14:18 > 0:14:22to housewives and people in their 30s and 40s.
0:14:22 > 0:14:28# She was my woman... #
0:14:28 > 0:14:33And suddenly, Gordon has the two biggest artists of the time.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37# Went out of mind... #
0:14:37 > 0:14:42I mean, they used to be selling 68,000 A DAY.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49# Why, why, why, Delilah? #
0:15:04 > 0:15:05'He suddenly said,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09"We could afford to move to a much bigger place than this."
0:15:09 > 0:15:12'So he got an agent'
0:15:12 > 0:15:13and he came back to me and said,
0:15:13 > 0:15:18"I have seen THE one - Little Rhondda."
0:15:18 > 0:15:20He said, "It's like a bit of Wales. Come on."
0:15:20 > 0:15:23And called it Little Rhondda, which was lovely.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28CHILDREN SHOUT EXCITEDLY
0:15:35 > 0:15:39'During a ten-year period, I would say, at Little Rhondda,'
0:15:39 > 0:15:41when we first moved there and everything had taken off
0:15:41 > 0:15:48in such a big, fast way, it was like a big family.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59And I am not just talking about MY family - my kids, my husband,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01myself and the children.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04I am talking about Tom and his wife, Linda, Engelbert...
0:16:04 > 0:16:07We WERE like a big family.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23'It was very much, you know, a busy household.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25'and lots of music always going on.'
0:16:25 > 0:16:30And lots of people visiting. Mum would always cook too much dinner,
0:16:30 > 0:16:32because there'd be an extra few to feed.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34And she welcomed everyone in.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46'To us, it was Uncle Tom and Uncle Eng.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50They weren't... We didn't see them as these famous stars.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52They were just our parent's friends.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56I was in love with my dad, like every little girl is.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58I thought he was ever so good looking and, you know,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01we all loved him, you know, as little girls.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08He was always a person that instilled in us, erm...
0:17:11 > 0:17:14..that we could do anything we wanted, you know.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Everything is possible.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21He was a complete dreamer and he wanted us to dream.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24- Gordon, you have a slice of jungle here in your garden.- Yes.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Why have you got these animals?
0:17:26 > 0:17:27Well, I am trying to breed them.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29I hope to breed them.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33'Sometimes, I would just go and take my homework and sit next to the tiger cage
0:17:33 > 0:17:38and just do my homework next to Horace
0:17:38 > 0:17:42and potter back in. Or if we went swimming,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46even that wasn't normal, the setting of the pool, it was spectacular -
0:17:46 > 0:17:53Roman pillars and portholes and looking into the changing rooms.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55We would go and do moonies through the portholes!
0:17:55 > 0:18:00And then the gorilla and orang-utan cages were behind the pools,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04so I would go with my friends and, before jumping in the pool,
0:18:04 > 0:18:05we'd jump up onto the cages
0:18:05 > 0:18:09and try and kiss them through the cages. The orangs loved that.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12They'd put their lips through the cages and kiss you.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18You surround yourself with animals, you work from your office here at home, surrounded by your family.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Now, why is that?
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Well, I get more done here.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25If I was to work in town in an office,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29there would be long lunch breaks and the office would close at six,
0:18:29 > 0:18:34then somebody would invite me to a club or invite me here or there. I'd never get anything done.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38- I like it here.- But you have got four gorgeous children - all girls!
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Yeah! They've learnt that when I'm busy, they don't bother me.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48# I've even wrote to Marjorie Proops
0:18:48 > 0:18:50# But she can't help
0:18:51 > 0:18:57# The best that she could offer me was, "Disguise yourself"... #
0:18:58 > 0:19:02'I was going to stop after Engelbert came along,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05'because it was too much. And then, of course, Gilbert came up
0:19:05 > 0:19:09'and I just couldn't ignore him. You can't ignore a great talent, if you believe in it.'
0:19:09 > 0:19:14Gordon is my manager and he produces my records, as well.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18He's had an awful influence on me, because he was the very first person
0:19:18 > 0:19:20to say, "change that",
0:19:20 > 0:19:24and the very first person that I actually did it for.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32'When Gilbert came along, I don't know,,
0:19:32 > 0:19:38looking back, whether Tom and Engelbert really got him,
0:19:38 > 0:19:39you know, got what he was about.
0:19:39 > 0:19:45I think they used to think, "What is Gordon doing with him?", because he really was unusual.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52'I wonder how you recognise a talent, Gordon? Is it an instinct?'
0:19:52 > 0:19:55I think so, yes. Yes.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00You just look at the person, hear them sing, or their writing or whatever it may be,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05and YOU like it and if YOU like it enough, you'll go with it.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06It's like anything in life.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11Gordon had to be in control. He always had to be.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13All his life, he had to be in control,
0:20:13 > 0:20:18He couldn't bear the idea of anybody else being in control.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22So he would choose the songs, he would choose the arrangements,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25he would find people to write the songs, he would sit in
0:20:25 > 0:20:31on the recordings. From the early '70s on, he produced Tom's albums.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34I know what I want. It is clear cut.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38That's what I go after and I either get it or I don't.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43Whereas, certain other businesses have various tactics and underhand methods,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46it is straight and simple, but it is a jungle - showbiz.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49How much higher can you go? Do you want to go?
0:20:49 > 0:20:55Myself, personally, it is whatever I wish to diversify into,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57is the only way I'll get it.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Other than that, it's keeping these artists at the top.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01And that's the toughest thing.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17It was very important for Gordon to break America,
0:21:17 > 0:21:18because that was a much bigger market.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21If he could crack it there, he would have a massive, massive
0:21:21 > 0:21:25star on his hands, and massive, massive earnings and success.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32He signed a deal for Tom to appear at the Copacabana in New York.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35That was... I think Tom had to do five shows a night.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38He had to go out five times a night and it was exhausting.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41And it reached a point where he couldn't do it any more.
0:21:41 > 0:21:47So, he persuaded them to transfer the contract from the Copacabana
0:21:47 > 0:21:50to the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
0:21:52 > 0:22:01# Your love is lifting me higher Like I've never been lifted before
0:22:01 > 0:22:05# Keep it up! Fetch my desire... #
0:22:05 > 0:22:07'Word got to Elvis Presley.'
0:22:07 > 0:22:12I phoned Colonel Parker and said, "Can Elvis come?"
0:22:12 > 0:22:15"No way," he said. "My boy doesn't go to see anybody else.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19But then I phoned "Diamond Joe" - Joe Esposito - and said, "Have a word with Elvis.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21"Why doesn't he come up?"
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Elvis came up, the story broke all around the world that this was
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Elvis's favourite new singer and, from that point on,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Tom never played to an empty seat in Las Vegas.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37'Linda, Tom's wife, and I used to go'
0:22:37 > 0:22:43after the show - and the ovations he would get - and we'd go to the ladies' loo,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46because we were bursting by that time, and go to the ladies' loo
0:22:46 > 0:22:50and you had to queue for miles to get in there and to listen
0:22:50 > 0:22:58to the chatter of the people about the show was the greatest entertainment for Linda and I.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00We would laugh our heads off,
0:23:00 > 0:23:06or just in awe, of what we heard, because he moved people.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11They just could not get over what they had just seen in that theatre.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18Every night, there would be 120 pairs of underwear,
0:23:18 > 0:23:24in various states of chaos, used or unused, best not to ask,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28which had to be pushed off the stage with a shovel.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30He was the biggest star in the world
0:23:30 > 0:23:34and Gordon had given him the opportunity to do that.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Gordon was powerful. Suddenly, he realised that he could
0:23:40 > 0:23:44pull a lot of rank over various people
0:23:44 > 0:23:48and as, you know... he managed to make sure
0:23:48 > 0:23:52that his artists were treated number one.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55That had a disadvantage, in that,
0:23:55 > 0:24:00when Humperdinck opened at the Riviera Hotel in Vegas and everybody came in -
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Cary Grant, Sinatra, Sammy Davis, we got them all there for the opening night.
0:24:04 > 0:24:10And Gordon disappeared. He went on the tables. He was quite at keen gambler.
0:24:10 > 0:24:17# And then I saw you out the corner of my eyes... #
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Gordon was always a gambler.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23He understood the fundamental human condition,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26that is probably why we are not still in the trees,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29that if you take a gamble, you may eat and you may live.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Gordon always gambled.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36He played heavy poker, but what he never knew was, when to fold.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44He ran out of money that first night.
0:24:44 > 0:24:50And someone who worked for Gordon went to Dean Martin,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53who half-owned the hotel and said, "Can Gordon have..?"
0:24:53 > 0:24:55"Ah, no worries." And he gave him credit.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58And Gordon lost a lot of money that night,
0:24:58 > 0:25:04and in successive months and years he lost even more.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07If he had one weakness, it was gambling.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09But it was part of his spirit of adventure.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Gordon would chance on an awful lot of things, he was very brave.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18Unfortunately, his bravery on the roulette tables didn't pay off.
0:25:18 > 0:25:24His game of choice was baccarat, and that is you against the dealer.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27That's the only battle going on.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30It was an absolute metaphor for Gordon's life,
0:25:30 > 0:25:35him against the house, him against God.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47'I never kept track of how much Gordon gambled.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49'I would go on a 21 table
0:25:49 > 0:25:52'and play for a few - the least amount possible.
0:25:52 > 0:25:53'And thoroughly enjoy myself!'
0:25:54 > 0:26:02So I am not about to say that I know whether he lost or won
0:26:02 > 0:26:04each time we went out, because I really don't know.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11'There were very strong rumours that he was 1 million in debt to
0:26:11 > 0:26:13'Caesar's Palace,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16'which meant that Tom had to keep going and playing there.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21'He needed the commission that he earnt from Tom Jones's appearances
0:26:21 > 0:26:24'in Las Vegas to quite often pay off the table.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29'There were occasions when he would lose not just all
0:26:29 > 0:26:32'the commission he had earned, but sometimes as much as they earned.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35'He was a dangerous gambler, Gordon.'
0:26:48 > 0:26:51'When he moved to the States - because he had to be there,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53'she was in the UK a lot of the time with the kids -
0:26:53 > 0:26:55'I think it probably didn't help
0:26:55 > 0:26:57'Gordon's relationship with Jo.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02'When there's 3,000 miles between you
0:27:02 > 0:27:07'and some seriously beautiful women on offer, that's what happens.'
0:27:12 > 0:27:17'It is lonely, and you can't trust them completely,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20'because of the situation in show business.'
0:27:23 > 0:27:25People are there for the taking.
0:27:26 > 0:27:32And so distrust comes in and it's very difficult, over the years,
0:27:32 > 0:27:37to remain...together, with a good marriage.
0:27:37 > 0:27:38It is difficult.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51'I remember times when there were newspaper clippings,
0:27:51 > 0:27:56'like front-page news, centre spreads, and my mum
0:27:56 > 0:28:02'taking us aside because of school and showing us the newspapers.'
0:28:04 > 0:28:08And saying to us, "You know, you need to see this,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11"because you may get teased at school about it."
0:28:12 > 0:28:15And those were always over women.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23'He then said, "No, we are going to move out there",
0:28:23 > 0:28:27'so he went...
0:28:27 > 0:28:29'and I can't remember the time spent,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32'but I then thought, "No, I've got to go.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35'"I've got to make the decision, yes," and so I went.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40'And it was almost like a last ditch attempt to mend our marriage.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42'But it didn't work out.'
0:28:44 > 0:28:51At one point, he asked me to think again. Anyway, I refused to...
0:28:55 > 0:29:00On those terms, no. No.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03I refused to just live a sham, I couldn't.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05You know?
0:29:11 > 0:29:13'I remember when he told me.
0:29:13 > 0:29:14'He took me into the office
0:29:14 > 0:29:16'and said, "I need to tell you something."
0:29:16 > 0:29:20'And told me they were getting divorced.
0:29:22 > 0:29:23'And he started crying.'
0:29:25 > 0:29:28And I just went and put my arms around him,
0:29:28 > 0:29:30I'd never seen him cry, you know?
0:29:30 > 0:29:33And he just said, "I'll never love another woman
0:29:33 > 0:29:35"like I loved your mum."
0:30:23 > 0:30:27He obviously became more stressed - he had a lot more responsibilities.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30He had problems in his personal life,
0:30:30 > 0:30:35and he had to accept the fact that his artists, who had become
0:30:35 > 0:30:39very hot very quickly, were cooling down at that stage.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42He'd already had this bitter falling out with Engelbert Humperdinck,
0:30:42 > 0:30:43who'd gone his own way.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46He'd already had this terrible business clash
0:30:46 > 0:30:47with Gilbert O'Sullivan,
0:30:47 > 0:30:50over the music publishing, and Gilbert had gone his own way.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53I think Tom Jones needed some fresh thinking.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Gordon would've been very loath to hand over the reins,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59but I think he might have realised the time was coming.
0:30:59 > 0:31:04It's a Citizen Kane scenario, he's all alone, the rooms are empty.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08The money was running out, he was divorced from Jo and the kids,
0:31:08 > 0:31:10he was lonely.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14He is there confronting the end of everything he has built.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30The dark side of Gordon could be very dark.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Gordon could be very low, he could get depressed,
0:31:33 > 0:31:37he could get worried and he wouldn't tell you what he was worried about.
0:31:37 > 0:31:43But he would get very angry and he couldn't do the kind of things
0:31:43 > 0:31:46to people that some of those Mafia people in America
0:31:46 > 0:31:48that he had to deal with could do,
0:31:48 > 0:31:53but he would get even angrier than the angriest of them.
0:32:10 > 0:32:16'He came to visit and see how things were this one time.'
0:32:17 > 0:32:19And as I went out...
0:32:21 > 0:32:25I went out onto the drive
0:32:25 > 0:32:27as they were walking down -
0:32:27 > 0:32:30they were walking down from the gate.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37And I turned and looked at Gordon and he had a look about him
0:32:37 > 0:32:39that I had never seen before.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Never seen before. And it shocked me.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49I thought, "Good Lord, what is wrong with you?"
0:32:49 > 0:32:52And I went up and I gave him a big hug. I...
0:32:52 > 0:32:54I just hadn't seen him for...
0:32:54 > 0:32:58I don't know - we were divorced by this time.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03But I just said to him, "Gordon, are you all right?"
0:33:05 > 0:33:06He said, "Yes, fine".
0:33:07 > 0:33:10I said, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm fine."
0:33:10 > 0:33:15He never said, but he had a gaunt look about him.
0:33:17 > 0:33:23And it wasn't long after that that we got the shock news. Oh, gosh.
0:33:25 > 0:33:26I was in shock over that.
0:33:29 > 0:33:30It was terrible.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44'We had all flown over to the States as a family
0:33:44 > 0:33:46'because he was gravely ill.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51'And it was about two days after we got there that they realised'
0:33:51 > 0:33:58it was cancer, and my dad said to him, "Well, what are my odds?"
0:33:58 > 0:34:03And he said, "50-50". And he said, "Well, I'll take those odds."
0:34:04 > 0:34:09And I remember Tom coming to the hospital to say his goodbyes.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15It was just an awful time for us all, you know?
0:34:20 > 0:34:24He was only in hospital 10 days, I think, something like that,
0:34:24 > 0:34:25before he died.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29And so heavily medicated that there was no way
0:34:29 > 0:34:32we could actually talk to him, you know?
0:34:34 > 0:34:35So out of it.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43'I do remember the day of the funeral.'
0:34:46 > 0:34:51'Actually going, walking round with Tom,'
0:34:51 > 0:34:54because he wanted to...
0:34:56 > 0:35:01..find a rose, a specific rose, to put on my dad's grave.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04And we had a rose garden,
0:35:04 > 0:35:09so the two of us walked around and he chose the right colour and
0:35:09 > 0:35:15the right rose, and we travelled in the car together, Tom and me.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21'I remember actually pulling out of the little driveway,
0:35:21 > 0:35:25'and this beam of light coming through the car.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30'And we all just looked at each other - it was a weird experience,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32'actually. It felt surreal,
0:35:32 > 0:35:35'like a sign or something! It was weird.'
0:35:37 > 0:35:39But it was all very emotional and...
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Very sad day.
0:35:59 > 0:36:00Oh, tell us, Mum!
0:36:00 > 0:36:04I can't remember it all, excepting that this tiger wasn't in a cage.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07It was literally just in the back of the car!
0:36:07 > 0:36:09CHATTER
0:36:12 > 0:36:18It suddenly came to me, a little memory. A story that Dad told.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23It was a moment that changed his life.
0:36:23 > 0:36:28He had gone to collect eggs, and his dad had always taught him
0:36:28 > 0:36:30just to take one from the nest.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34- Never to take them all.- No, and then that would be OK for the bird.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37"Don't be greedy, don't take more than one."
0:36:37 > 0:36:39And this day he found this fantastic nest,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43I don't know if it was a rare bird or... I don't remember the bird.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47But he'd been greedy and he decided to take all the eggs
0:36:47 > 0:36:49and put them in his schoolbag.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53And he put them all the way and he was walking home
0:36:53 > 0:36:57and this bird followed him all the way home.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Oh, I do remember that. Absolutely.
0:36:59 > 0:37:04Over his shoulder, you know, peck, peck, peck. Making such a noise.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Followed him, I don't how long it was.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09All the way home, and he just couldn't believe it.
0:37:09 > 0:37:10I think he was broken.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12By the time you got home, it had affected him
0:37:12 > 0:37:15- so much that that would just be it. - Did he take them back?
0:37:15 > 0:37:18- Couldn't take them back. - I can't remember.
0:37:18 > 0:37:24But I think that sparked the interest in him about animals...
0:37:24 > 0:37:26CHATTER FADES
0:37:52 > 0:37:56'He felt sure that he was sure about his life.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00'And...
0:38:00 > 0:38:02'And I loved him.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04'Completely.'
0:38:52 > 0:38:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd