Interview with Tom Jones: "Without music I would have been lost"

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Jones, at 80 you are still active.

How are you as a supposed risk patient in times of the pandemic?

Tom Jones:

Fantastic, really.

So far I have been able to avoid the virus successfully.

Fortunately, there is no one around me who has Covid-19.

I recently got my second dose of vaccine and felt bulletproof.

Unfortunately, mutations surfaced shortly afterwards.

Maybe I need a third syringe.

Anything that helps is fine with me.

SPIEGEL:

Quarantine is nothing new to you.

Jones:

Well true.

When I was twelve, I became seriously ill with tuberculosis and was quarantined at home for two years.

I couldn't do anything at all, I had no energy whatsoever.

SPIEGEL:

Did you develop an interest in music during this time?

Jones:

That was always there.

Even as a toddler, I was always listening to music and singing loudly to it.

When the doctors discovered in the second year of quarantine that I was feeling a little better, I was finally allowed to sing again.

And had taught me to play the ukulele.

The whole time, summer and winter, the window had to be open so that I could get enough oxygen.

Our neighbors heard me sing every day, whether they wanted to or not.

To person

Photo: A2800 epa Paul Buck / dpa

Tom Jones

was born Thomas John Woodward on June 7, 1940 in Pontypridd (Wales).

His father was a miner, Tom worked as a vacuum cleaner salesman and sang in clubs in the evenings as "Tiger Tom".

He was discovered in London and landed his first hit in 1965 with "It's Not Unusual".

He sang the James Bond title song "Thunderball", hits like "Delilah" and "She's A Lady" followed, and much later also "Sex Bomb".

"Surrounded by Time", his 29th studio album, will be released in April.

SPIEGEL:

On your new album you sing about the history of television in “Talking Reality Television Blues”.

When did you first come into contact with it?

Jones: In

1953, on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, which was broadcast live on TV at the time, my father bought a device.

It was the only one on our street, a sensation.

Father toiled in the mine and earned little, so he had leased the television, which had the advantage that repairs were free.

I was fascinated by television from an early age.

Today I am sometimes frightened by what I see.

SPIEGEL:

You were 13 at the coronation. Imagine if someone had told you back then that one day you would knight this very queen.

Jones:

In my wildest dreams, I wouldn't have expected it.

When you kneel in front of the Queen at the ceremony and the sword is placed on your shoulder - that's unbelievable.

In the past it was not customary to knight people from show business; this honor was only given to military personnel.

That changed only with the Beatles. Initially, war heroes who deserved to be honored sent their medals back in protest: They didn't want to be on a par with pop stars.

SPIEGEL:

What did you dream of when you were young?

J

ones:

To land a chart hit once, to turn singing into a profession.

Most people don't get to do things they really enjoy until after work.

I wanted to have fun in my job.

SPIEGEL:

With your second single, "It's Not Unusual," you had a number one hit in 1965.

Jones:

That started a wonderful adventure.

Suddenly I was traveling all over Europe, singing everywhere.

Then we went to Las Vegas, exciting.

As a student, I was always particularly interested in history and geography.

Thanks to my voice, I was able to travel to other countries and get to know their cultures.

SPIEGEL:

In addition to the moon landing and game shows, “Talking Reality Television Blues” also features the US TV show “The Apprentice,” hosted by Donald Trump.

Do you know each other better?

Jones:

(laughs)

I met Trump while playing in his Atlantic City hotels.

He's often seen my shows, that's where you inevitably get to know each other.

To me he looked like a playboy who was into highlife.

It would never have occurred to me that he would one day become the US president.

He never had anything to do with politics.

I always thought that to be president you had to be a politician and at least a state governor.

He broke all the rules.

He's not a politician, he's a businessman.

I cannot say whether Biden is the better president because I have been living in England again for some time.

I no longer follow US policy so closely.

SPIEGEL:

Your image is that of a sex symbol.

You have savored life in the sixties and seventies to the fullest, your groupie stories are legend.

The world has changed - do you think this lifestyle is still possible today?

Jones:

First of all: I couldn't do any of this anymore, I'm 80. But if I were young today, I would probably try again, at least something like that.

My stories of women have always been consensual.

I never used my position like Harvey Weinstein and women never played anything.

Everyone knew I was married.

Happily married.

SPIEGEL:

Was your wife Linda, who died in 2016, so tolerant of your extra-marital activities?

Jones:

Not really.

It had its principles, something like: At home you are mine.

As long as I'm number one with you and don't have to read dirty stories in the newspaper, she told me, I can live with it - but I don't want to hear or see anything about it.

As soon as your affairs get public and people start talking about them, it's over for us.

I stuck to that.

Linda has always remained my number one.

SPIEGEL:

It is said that music saved your life after you died.

Jones:

Without my music I would have been lost.

My wife was dying in a hospital in Los Angeles, terminally ill with cancer.

I sat by her bed with my son and said I don't know what to do without you.

I couldn't sing anymore, the notes were stuck in my throat.

But she said: “You have to sing!

I have to go but you will stay

Remember the good times and don't be sad.

Promise me that. ”Linda was a happy person, she loved to laugh.

And cheered me up in this difficult situation.

I deal with that on the new song "I Won't Crumble With You If You Fall".

SPIEGEL:

And you decided to record a new album, your 29th, with “Surrounded By Time”?

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Jones:

Yeah.

My son, who also manages me, called my musicians together at some point.

We started very slowly, with no pressure.

I've got used to singing again.

Life had to go on.

Our first concert after my wife's death was an open air at Hampton Court. The audience literally built me ​​up.

Everyone knew at the time that I was not feeling well, but they helped me overcome the pain.

SPIEGEL:

As a singer, you started out as "Tiger Tom".

Has the tiger become tamer over the years - or does it still have a bite?

Jones:

It depends on what I eat these days

(laughs)

.

I named my new album "Surrounded By Time" because time really makes the difference.

Of course I'm different today than I was before.

When I was young I was restless, now I take things easier, I don't have to go out to the pub anymore, always with people.

But I'm glad I made it to 80 and got my vote.

I have a problem with the Covid situation because I cannot play live shows.

Compared to many other people, these are rather minor worries.

After all, I can still appear on television, sit on the jury of "The Voice UK" and record records.

SPIEGEL:

Let's talk about a famous friend of yours: Did you meet Elvis in Las Vegas?

Jones:

No, in Hollywood.

I was there in 1965 to appear on an episode of the Ed Sullivan Show.

A meeting at Paramount Studios was about a film project that never came to be.

I was told Elvis Presley was filming here and would like to meet me.

I thought, my god, unbelievable, I've only been in show business for a year and Elvis wants to meet me.

SPIEGEL:

How was the encounter?

Jones:

I was led onto the set of his film "South Seas Paradise".

During a break in filming, the guys from his "Memphis Mafia" brought me to him.

When Elvis came up to me, he suddenly started singing "With these Hands", my current single.

Crazy!

It popped into my head how I used to do Presley numbers in pubs.

I wish the guys in the pub could see me.

Elvis was one of the reasons I wanted to be a singer.

He told me about his influences, the black gospel singers, such as Mahalia Jackson.

We were united by a love of music and we became friends.

SPIEGEL:

You are said to have clashed with another legend, John Lennon, in a TV studio.

what happened there?

Jones:

Let's say Lennon got hold of me.

That was in the sixties, the Beatles also appeared on the TV show "Thank Your Lucky Stars".

After my rehearsal I stayed in the hall and wanted to watch them rehearse.

John Lennon appeared first.

We didn't know each other, he came straight up to me and sang my track "It's Not Unusual" - albeit in a joke variant: "It's not a unicorn, it's an elephant ..." Then he greeted me rather charmingly.

I got up and offered to go out with me.

I wanted to punch him.

My manager held me back and explained that this was typical Liverpool charm.

Paul McCartney approached me after the show and said that John was a big fan of my voice.

He'd only kidnap people he likes.

I believed him.

SPIEGEL:

Did you bury the hatchet?

Jones:

Yeah, we made friends quickly.

I remember one last meeting in New York in the mid-seventies.

We talked backstage at a concert in honor of the music mogul Sir Lew Grade.

I wanted to know from Lennon why he had moved to New York of all places.

He said literally: In contrast to London, I can move around freely here.

I feel safe in New York.