0:00:03 > 0:00:09# I saw the light on the night that I passed by her window...#
0:00:09 > 0:00:14Tom Jones, a living pop legend and international superstar.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17When Tom delivers a song, it is electric.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20That's a thing he has and others don't.
0:00:20 > 0:00:26He still gives the impression of being hard working and hard living.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30It's just extraordinary, the gift that he has.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33This instrument comes from inside him.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36It's just absolutely amazing. He sounds so creamy and nice.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38# The old home town looks the same...#
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Now celebrating his 70th birthday,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45and after 50 years at the top of the entertainment industry,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49everyone thinks they know the singing icon, Sir Tom Jones.
0:00:49 > 0:00:55But it's those back home in Wales who remember the beginning of his story.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58In his own mind, he just wanted to sing,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02whether it would be in front of millions or just a couple of people.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04His life was singing.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Tom was always singing, but I don't think anybody had any idea
0:01:08 > 0:01:11that he'd hit the big time like he did.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16His voice is tremendous, great and powerful. Great timbre to it.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21# Yea-a-a-a-a-ah...#
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Still recording, still touring, still performing.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29Wales' greatest export shows no signs of stopping.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGING
0:01:35 > 0:01:4170 years ago, a child was born in the South Wales industrial valleys
0:01:41 > 0:01:46with the voice that would bring him worldwide fame and fortune.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Christened Thomas John Woodward,
0:01:50 > 0:01:55Tom grew up in a working class family and community in Pontypridd.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Close family friend Gillian Larke Coles
0:02:02 > 0:02:05fondly recalls those childhood days.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I grew up with Tom Jones, actually.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12I've always known him. He's always been in my life.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I used to watch him walking down the street
0:02:15 > 0:02:18when I was standing on my back door.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22He walked as if, you know, like a king walking down. Always singing.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Very sociable. Always speak to everybody.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Um...
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Yeah, he was lovely guy. Everybody loved him. Everybody.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35# You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain... #
0:02:35 > 0:02:40As a teenage boy in the 1950s, Tom was in love with Rock 'n' Roll.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45His hero was the Great Balls of Fire himself, Jerry Lee Lewis.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49I didn't realise he's a Jerry Lee fanatic.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53I thought I was Jerry Lee's number one fan. I'm not. he is.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55As soon as I started playing,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58he started singing and we realised we knew these songs.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00So we were really having fun.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04# Well, kiss me, baby
0:03:04 > 0:03:06# Wooh
0:03:06 > 0:03:08# Feels good
0:03:08 > 0:03:09# Hold me, baby
0:03:10 > 0:03:14# Why don't you let me love you like a lover should?
0:03:14 > 0:03:16# You're fine, so kind... #
0:03:16 > 0:03:21He had a different kind of voice and it was said if you didn't know Tom,
0:03:21 > 0:03:26you'd have thought he was a coloured man singing. He's got that sort of voice.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31His voice from a youngster has always been exactly as it is now,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34pure Welsh Valleys voice!
0:03:34 > 0:03:38# I owe my soul to the company store... #
0:03:38 > 0:03:43Earning a living from singing was a long-term dream for Tom.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47But his father was a coal miner
0:03:47 > 0:03:52and the young Tommy Woodward was expected to find work and pay his way.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01In 1956, Victor Fry worked with Tom at the Glove factory in Treforest.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Tom was a glove cutter.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08He was a good worker but Tom loved to sing all day.
0:04:08 > 0:04:14Sometimes, to the annoyance of the boss, his supervisor,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Mr Howells.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19On many an occasion, he was told to shut up!
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Tom always had a confidence about him.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27He was a snappy dresser, compared to other people in the factory.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30They'd come around from the sewing room just to look at Tom
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and find an excuse and go back in there.
0:04:33 > 0:04:40Someone else would come back with the same item or same complaint just to find out how Tom was.
0:04:40 > 0:04:48Tom was very often coming in the morning, tired, because he'd been out till 11 o'clock in the night,
0:04:48 > 0:04:54singing, and then having to come home in the car or whatever vehicle they had at the time.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Some mornings, he'd be shattered coming to work.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00But he seemed to manage to get through the day.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06After two years cutting gloves, Tom's life was about to change
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and it was time to move on from the factory.
0:05:09 > 0:05:15One reason Tom left was because there was more money on the building site
0:05:15 > 0:05:22and he got married, Melinda was having a baby, and he needed more money.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Of course, the building paid more money.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29# Well, be bop a-lulah, she's my baby... #
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Tom and his childhood sweetheart, Melinda Rose Trenchard,
0:05:33 > 0:05:38tied the knot aged just 16 in March 1957.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43And the happy arrival of a son named Mark followed a month later.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Tom was gaining a reputation and a unique singer
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and it wasn't going unnoticed by the local bands.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Vernon Mills Hopkins had a group, The Senators.
0:05:57 > 0:06:04One night, their lead singer failed to show at a booking for the YMCA in Pontypridd.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Opportunity knocked for Tom Woodward.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13This is the place where we had a residency on a Friday night.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18The band, and when Tom Jones first joined The Senators.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22The stage was there and on this particular night,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25our singer Tommy Pitman didn't turn up,
0:06:25 > 0:06:30so during the interval, I rushed through town to the White Hart,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34where I knew Tom would be drinking, and coaxed him to come back.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38It was on one condition - that I smuggled in some light ales
0:06:38 > 0:06:40because it was dry, the YMCA.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44So we came back, the stage was there, red curtains going across,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48and the place was absolutely heaving, as usual.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50So we got behind the curtain
0:06:50 > 0:06:57and we decided - what are we going to sing? We hadn't worked out anything. What are we going to sing?
0:06:57 > 0:07:01I said, "We'll just knock out some rock 'n' roll," some 12 bar stuff.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06I said, "What are we going to start on?" He said, "Do you know Balls of Fire?"
0:07:06 > 0:07:10I said, "Yeah, what key?" "C," he said.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14So the curtains open and this huge voice comes out...
0:07:15 > 0:07:19# Goodness gracious great balls of fire... #
0:07:19 > 0:07:25After a few numbers, he started feeling his feet and he was swinging across the stage.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29By the time we finished, everybody was going mad.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33A very defining moment in his career.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Now calling himself Tommy Scott,
0:07:36 > 0:07:42Tom joined the band and they played together locally as Tommy Scott and the Senators.
0:07:42 > 0:07:43# Tell me what I see
0:07:44 > 0:07:49# Tell me what I see, tell me what I see... #
0:07:50 > 0:07:54I first met Tom Jones probably mid 1962.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56He was Tommy Scott then, of course.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01We used to work at the Empress Ballroom in Abercynon.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Tommy Scott and the Senators were the support act, so to speak.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10# I wanna know, I wanna know, easy now... #
0:08:10 > 0:08:14The great thing about The Senators was Tom's voice, I must be honest.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18He did have a fantastic voice and you couldn't place it anywhere
0:08:18 > 0:08:23because at the time, it was Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley - he didn't sound like either of them.
0:08:23 > 0:08:30He was doing Presley songs and Cliff songs and Gene Vincent stuff and bits and bobs like that,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34but he had a distinctive voice of his own.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I must be honest, his voice was fantastic.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40# When you hold my hand
0:08:40 > 0:08:44# And tell me that I'm your lover man... #
0:08:44 > 0:08:49The band was spotted one night in the Top Hat Club in Cwmtillery
0:08:49 > 0:08:52by budding music impresario Gordon Mills,
0:08:52 > 0:08:59who whisked them off to London and planned launching them into the music scene when the time was right.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01# Baby, chills and fevers
0:09:01 > 0:09:04# Chills and fevers... #
0:09:04 > 0:09:10I think everybody missed Tom, going to London, because he was always around. He was everywhere, Tom.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15Pontypridd missed him. It was a big void in Pontypridd
0:09:15 > 0:09:19because he was the voice of Pontypridd. He put it on the map.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22# Oh baby, Lucille
0:09:23 > 0:09:26# Baby, satisfy my heart, oh yeah
0:09:27 > 0:09:29# Well... #
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Right, good. Tom, I think you could improve it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37The band was renamed Tom Jones and the Squires in 1964.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41They were recording demo disks and waiting for the big break.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45But they were living more like paupers than princes.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51We had a pound a day to live on between us, which was enough for one meal and...
0:09:51 > 0:09:55whoever smoked, a packet of ten Woodbines between us.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00It was either two meals or it was that and a pint, one pint of beer.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02We all loved a pint, being Welshmen.
0:10:02 > 0:10:08So that was it - so our weight went down, we went thin and down at heel
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and really cheesed off.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16I came into the flat one morning and Tom was sat there on his bed.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21He had his head in his hands, like that, and you could see he was down
0:10:21 > 0:10:27and I said, "What's up, Tom? You're looking down." He had tears in his eyes.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33He said, "I nearly threw myself under a train this morning
0:10:33 > 0:10:36"in Notting Hill Gate." I said, "What?" He said, "Yup."
0:10:36 > 0:10:42He said, "I've been to see Gordon and asked for a few pounds more to send to Linda,"
0:10:42 > 0:10:47because she was going hungry down there, you know, poverty.
0:10:47 > 0:10:54"He refused." He said, "I can't do it because the money's running out. I've sold my car, my watch.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59"It looks as if it's going to be the end." He felt he had nothing to live for.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03I said, "Let's get out of this dump and go for a cup of tea."
0:11:03 > 0:11:07So we went out into the sunshine and he was alright after that.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11And then, as it happened, shortly after that,
0:11:11 > 0:11:18Gordon came banging on the door one morning and said, "I want you to go into the studios
0:11:18 > 0:11:24"to cut a demo. I've got a song called Not Unusual for Sandy Shaw."
0:11:26 > 0:11:32They did take it to Sandy Shaw and her manager turned it down because of the way Tom sang it, I think,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35really powerful, and she turned it down.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39So...that was it. The rest is history, as they say.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42# It's not unusual to be loved by anyone
0:11:44 > 0:11:48# It's not unusual to have fun with anyone
0:11:49 > 0:11:52# But when I see you hanging about with anyone
0:11:54 > 0:11:57# It's not unusual to see me cry... #
0:11:57 > 0:12:01We'd heard there was going to be this record coming out of his.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04My goodness, I couldn't believe it...
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Immediately, it was such a fantastic sound.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12The song itself, the way Tom sang it, it was made for him.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15It must have been waiting for him to be called
0:12:15 > 0:12:18because it was unbelievable to think that...
0:12:18 > 0:12:22It's unbelievable when you know somebody.
0:12:22 > 0:12:28We didn't think he was going to do it so big afterwards but he snowballed into fame.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33Come on!
0:12:38 > 0:12:42He was sexy, it was loud, he was aggressive in his performance.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47I think before him, there were other singers but they didn't have the same authenticity as him.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49They didn't have the same gravitas,
0:12:49 > 0:12:54they didn't have the same attitude when they were singing the song.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58When Tom sings it, it's real. To this day, that's what it is.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03I think that's what set him aside from a lot of the other singers
0:13:03 > 0:13:07and made you realise, he wasn't putting it on, this was real.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09# Oh, baby, Lucille
0:13:10 > 0:13:13# Baby, satisfy my heart, yeah... #
0:13:14 > 0:13:18He was, I think, one of the first British rock 'n' roll singers.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Hello, Tom. Well, Lucille - is that going to be your next release?
0:13:23 > 0:13:29No, we just come in... In the week, we do quite a few numbers, keep them in the can, you know.
0:13:29 > 0:13:35I'm told that you appeal to middle aged women as much as teenagers. Why do you think this is?
0:13:35 > 0:13:40Well, erm... A lot of middle aged people write to the fan club
0:13:40 > 0:13:47and say that they think I've got a good voice. I'm very pleased about that.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49OK, once again, from the top.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51- Right then.- One, two three...
0:13:54 > 0:13:57It seemed that everyone wanted a bit of Tom Jones
0:13:57 > 0:14:01and after two number ones and a gold disk in 1968,
0:14:01 > 0:14:06Tom and the Squires became America's most wanted show.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11And Las Vegas was ready and waiting for Wales' biggest act.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14# What's new pussycat, woah
0:14:15 > 0:14:18# What's new pussycat, woah... #
0:14:19 > 0:14:26That was where I met Elvis. I rushed backstage, burst into Tom's dressing room.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30I said, "You're not gonna believe this. Elvis is in the building!"
0:14:30 > 0:14:34You can imagine it, the adrenalin, having Elvis in the audience.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38The part where Tom decided to introduce him.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43He said, "In the audience tonight,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47"a gentleman I've admired and been inspired by,"
0:14:47 > 0:14:52and so on, "and he's here tonight. Mr Elvis Presley!"
0:14:52 > 0:14:57And there was a whoof, and a boom, boom, boom, like that, the place erupted.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01He stood up and he was bowing and everybody, they wouldn't stop.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06I looked at Tom and Tom looked across and I said...
0:15:08 > 0:15:13And so he said, "Hold it, hold it, hold it.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15"Thank you very much," he said.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18"Don't forget, I'm the star tonight."
0:15:18 > 0:15:20I went "Oohh..."
0:15:21 > 0:15:23I cringed!
0:15:23 > 0:15:29And Elvis got up and said... He started to clap his hands, agreeing. But I was, "Oh God!"
0:15:30 > 0:15:34He's seen so much. From the beginning, coming from Wales
0:15:34 > 0:15:38and going to be a huge star around the world,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42going to Las Vegas when it was still a one horse town
0:15:42 > 0:15:45before it was built up into the thing it is now,
0:15:45 > 0:15:50doing all that stuff, meeting Elvis and Sinatra, doing all those things,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53it was great, and just talking to him, he's great.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57But very modest. He's happy to tell you. He's just fantastic.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02He's one of the... I've bathed in his company!
0:16:03 > 0:16:06# The old hometown looks the same
0:16:07 > 0:16:09# As I stepped down... #
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Flushed with success and becoming a star,
0:16:12 > 0:16:18Tom's personal appearances back in the Valley became a celebrity homecoming
0:16:18 > 0:16:21each time he arrived back in Pontypridd.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25# Down the road I look... #
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Here I am, walking in Tom's footsteps,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29on his way to town, singing away,
0:16:29 > 0:16:36coming back to where the Wheatsheaf pub was, where he sang on his debut.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Going back to where he's parking his car, his new Rolls Royce,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44he'd brought back the very first time from London.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49Gillian's memories of the young Tom's return are as clear as yesterday,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53thanks to a precious piece of family archive.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58He came to visit my grandmother, to show the Rolls Royce and what he'd achieved.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01We had a bit of fun on the street!
0:17:01 > 0:17:04It was a fun day and he absolutely it.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07And the success just kept coming.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12# I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more
0:17:15 > 0:17:18# My, my, my
0:17:18 > 0:17:20# Delilah... #
0:17:22 > 0:17:26In 1968, Tom was top of the pops again
0:17:26 > 0:17:29with a song that was to become his anthem.
0:17:29 > 0:17:35A year later, musical differences with the Squires led to Tom Jones splitting with the band
0:17:35 > 0:17:38after eight life-changing years together.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42# Forgive me, Delilah, I just couldn't take any more... #
0:17:43 > 0:17:46# I'm bound to Spain
0:17:46 > 0:17:49# I won't remain
0:17:49 > 0:17:53# A boy from nowhere... #
0:17:53 > 0:17:56The '70s saw Tom launch his solo career.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00His own television shows and Las Vegas residencies
0:18:00 > 0:18:05were to become Tom's bread and butter for the nest two decades.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10# I don't fantasise... #
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Rumours were rife that he was about to make America his home.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18- I've heard it suggested you're going to live in America.- No.
0:18:18 > 0:18:25But by 1974, the lure of Los Angeles and Dean Martin's mansion
0:18:25 > 0:18:28were too strong for Tom and Linda.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Tom is a very proud Welshman, loves his heritage, where he comes from.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36The reason why Tom went to America
0:18:36 > 0:18:40is because when he started earning big money in the '70s,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44the then Labour government were charging him 90% tax.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Well, I think you and I would be the same.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51That was the case. I think it was 26% at the time in America,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54so that's why he went to the States.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58I live in LA - Lower Aberdare!
0:18:59 > 0:19:03# You don't have to be rich to be my girl
0:19:03 > 0:19:07# You don't have to be cool to rule my world
0:19:07 > 0:19:11# Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible... #
0:19:11 > 0:19:16It was the late '80s that brought Jones the Voice to a new audience with Kiss.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20# Kiss, think I'd better dance now... #
0:19:21 > 0:19:26For the next decade, Tom tried to keep himself in the public eye.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30He could have retired, but the desire to record with the hottest new talent
0:19:30 > 0:19:34resulted in the hugely successful Reload album in 1999.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41They wanted us on the Reload album. At the time, the Cwl Cymru thing was going on.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45I knew that Stereophonics had recorded a track for the record,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Cerys from Catatonia had recorded a track as well,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52so I suppose we completed the Taff set, I suppose.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54We were all quite nervous really.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59It's like meeting royalty in a strange way.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03And I just remember us bouncing ideas back and forth, Kelly and myself,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06about what song we wanted to do for the Reload album
0:20:06 > 0:20:14and I just remember this guy coming in and he's a big fellow, he's six foot tall and quite wide.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18I remember sitting down and we started talking
0:20:18 > 0:20:23and we said, "We've got an idea for the song." He said, "I want to do Mama Told Me Not To Come."
0:20:23 > 0:20:27- # Mama told me not to come - Mama told me not to come
0:20:27 > 0:20:29# Mama told me not to come
0:20:29 > 0:20:31# She said
0:20:31 > 0:20:34# That ain't no way to have fun
0:20:34 > 0:20:36# Son... #
0:20:36 > 0:20:42Kelly and him sung together and it was really about three passes of the song and Tom was done.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44In and out, true professional!
0:20:45 > 0:20:50That was super weird. You can imagine me sat behind the drum kit
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and I'm looking at the back of Tom Jones' head.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58If someone would have told me that 20 years ago, I'd never have believed them.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02But I think that's what he liked about the band - we were real and we could play.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06# Mama told me, Mama told me, Mama told me, Mama told me
0:21:06 > 0:21:10# Mama told me not to come, Mama told me not to come
0:21:10 > 0:21:14- # That ain't no way to have fun - That ain't no way to have fun... #
0:21:14 > 0:21:21We were sitting there going - this is my new best mate, how cool is this! He's proper rock royalty.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Maybe I shouldn't have listened!
0:21:27 > 0:21:32So many people try to relaunch their careers by being more contemporary
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and getting younger people around them, but Reload really worked.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42It was nice for us to be a part of it, but it was just gonna work anyway.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47Still devoted to Elvis, Tom chose a 1950s single for his duet with James
0:21:53 > 0:21:58Really impressive. Really impressive. He nailed it in two takes.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04We asked for a third take and he was like, "You won't need that," and we're like, "You're right!"
0:22:04 > 0:22:10And then he insisted we go out in the evening, to meet up with him.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13It didn't take much encouraging.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16We got to a private members bar,
0:22:18 > 0:22:23he ate a massive burger, started drinking brandy and smoking cigars
0:22:23 > 0:22:28and there was a piano in the next room and everybody in the place was around him
0:22:28 > 0:22:32while he leant on the piano with a brandy and sang all night.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35It's quite a force of nature e you're talking about.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40I love him as a father figure and I think he's a lovely guy.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45He turned to me once and said to me... Obviously I've had my haircut now
0:22:45 > 0:22:49but people know my hair's quite like Tom's, naturally curly,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52and I've got this voice, got similarities as well,
0:22:52 > 0:22:59and he turned to me in London and said, "What was your mother doing in 1969?"
0:22:59 > 0:23:06I said, "If you were my Dad, let me tell you know, I'd be living in your house in LA
0:23:06 > 0:23:08"and I wouldn't be from your side!"
0:23:08 > 0:23:12He said, "On second thoughts, you might not be my son!"
0:23:12 > 0:23:16That was quite funny of him to say that. I immediately rang my mother
0:23:16 > 0:23:21just to make sure that he wasn't my Dad, but...safe to say he's not!
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Like all true Welshmen, Tom wanted to play for his country.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30The chance came in 1999.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Tom sang with the London Welsh Male Voice Choir
0:23:34 > 0:23:38as Wales took on England in the Five Nations rugby at Wembley.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Conductor Haydn James remembers it well.
0:23:41 > 0:23:48The thing about Delilah is that it's got that instantly recognisable introduction.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Rum-pum pum-pum-pum pum-pum...
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Then you bring in Tom - # I saw the light on the night... #
0:23:53 > 0:23:58And then immediately turn to the choir, the band, the crowd...
0:23:58 > 0:24:00And they're in!
0:24:00 > 0:24:03And from that moment on, it's easy.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12# She was my woman... #
0:24:12 > 0:24:16He had a slightly different version to the one he was used to.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21We went through it literally twice and that's all it took.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27He stood in front of the choir, he sang it, he sang the top A at the end like a bell.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30And then we went to the pub for a drink!
0:24:30 > 0:24:35# My, my, my Delilah
0:24:38 > 0:24:43# Why, why, why, Delilah... #
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Delilah became part of the rugby repertoire
0:24:48 > 0:24:52and we've done it in Cardiff virtually at every game since then.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56As far as the choir are concerned, they still talk about the day
0:24:56 > 0:25:01that they worked with Tom Jones at Wembley Stadium, singing Delilah, live!
0:25:01 > 0:25:05# Forgive me, Delilah, I just couldn't take any more. #
0:25:10 > 0:25:13CHEERING
0:25:16 > 0:25:21# She's the kind they'd like to flaunt and take to dinner... #
0:25:23 > 0:25:25After 50 years in the business,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Tom has a whole army of fans following him worldwide
0:25:29 > 0:25:31and they all feel they know him.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38Wales' number one fan, Ann Hughes, is one of the most dedicated,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41having worshipped her idol since 1963.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48This is my shrine to Tom Jones.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54I've just enjoyed being in here, so whenever I'm feeling down, this is where I come.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Here's a photograph...
0:25:59 > 0:26:05Can you believe it - I gave him the daffodils in Cardiff at Coopers Field.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08I didn't think I'd get them to him but I managed to.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12After following Tom all these years,
0:26:12 > 0:26:17I decided that... I kept seeing names popping up,
0:26:17 > 0:26:22such-a-body was being knighted and I thought, what about our Tom?
0:26:22 > 0:26:25If anyone deserves a knighthood, he does.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29I was campaigning for him for five years for a knighthood.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33A written campaign, every week I wrote a letter,
0:26:33 > 0:26:38and...I think they were getting fed up with me actually
0:26:38 > 0:26:44because they'd just send me cards in the end, saying "your nomination is being looked into",
0:26:44 > 0:26:51"put on our files", things like that, and I wouldn't give up until he did actually get this knighthood.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53I'm quite pleased about that.
0:26:53 > 0:27:00In 2006, Ann's wish came true. Arise, Sir Thomas John Woodward.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03# It's not unusual to be loved by anyone
0:27:05 > 0:27:09# It's not unusual to have fun with anyone... #
0:27:09 > 0:27:14His longevity is about him loving what he plays and playing things people want to hear.
0:27:14 > 0:27:20It's not like he's reinventing himself. It's him engaging with different music.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22That's what a great artist is.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25# What good am I
0:27:25 > 0:27:29# If I know and don't do
0:27:29 > 0:27:32# If I see and don't say
0:27:33 > 0:27:36# If I look straight through... #
0:27:36 > 0:27:422010 and Sir Tom Jones is still releasing new material for his fans to enjoy,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46as he marks the milestone of his 70th birthday.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Happy birthday, Tom.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52# What is
0:27:53 > 0:27:56# Heaven... #
0:27:56 > 0:28:02I'm absolutely delighted to be able to wish Sir Tom Jones a very happy 70th birthday.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07# I will touch the green, green grass of home... #
0:28:07 > 0:28:12Rest the vocal chords, they're too precious to damage. Happy birthday.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15# They'll all come to see me... #
0:28:15 > 0:28:19I hope many more concerts to come. Keep on doing what you're doing.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22# ..Old oak tree, as they lay me
0:28:22 > 0:28:28# 'Neath the green, green grass
0:28:28 > 0:28:32# Of home. #
0:28:36 > 0:28:38CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:28:41 > 0:28:42Thank you.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Jools Holland: One of the sweetest things I've heard this year!
0:28:49 > 0:28:55A beautiful, beautiful acoustic version of The Green Green Grass Of Home, Sir Tom Jones!
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd