Sir Tom Jones: My wife bans stars from our house

Sir Tom Jones may be famous for his name-dropping but if you expect him to host star-studded dinner parties at his LA home, think again.

The 73-year-old chart veteran says his wife of almost six decades bans him from inviting the likes of Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie and Prince over for a knees-up.

‘I don’t have parties at my house. My wife is a very quiet person and she gets very nervous if anybody shows up. Like Robbie Williams showed up the other day and my wife stayed in the bedroom. Even though she knows him,’ the Sex Bomb star revealed.

‘Melinda’s not that way inclined. She’s not a party person. But I go to a lot of other people’s houses.’

Series three of The Voice has seen the coach reveal he was once serenaded by Elvis while taking a shower and has seen him namecheck everyone from Frank Sinatra to Janis Joplin – but he insists he isn’t exaggerating about his famous connections.

‘The thing is, it’s true. I’ve been in showbusiness a long time and I’ve been lucky enough to meet some great entertainers in the business, so why not talk about it?’ he said.

Meanwhile, Jones thinks the current line-up of coaches has been an unbeatable combination and says he was glad to welcome some familiar faces on to the panel.

‘I’ve known Kylie since she first came to this country. And the same thing with Ricky Wilson, I’ve known him with the Kaiser Chiefs. I was relieved not to have to get to know new people,’ he said.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 18 March 2014]

Sir Tom Jones: The Voice has real talent

Tom Jones thinks The Voice holds the best haul of singing talent because the wheat has already been separated from the chaff before the blind auditions even begin.

The singing veteran, 73, is relieved production staff have already lined up the best of the best by the time the contest gets to the studio auditions.

‘When you walk into this studio they are real singers out there. There is nobody going to come on and you think, “What was that all about?” They go through that before they step into the studio,’ he said, adding: ‘It is a professional show.’

He does, however, warn that a successful career can’t be assured, even for the best of singers, as they will still be at the mercy of the  public when their music is released.

‘There is no guarantee in this business – and I know that,’ he mused.

‘You don’t know when you record something how it will be perceived by the public. At the end of the day it is always down to the public to decide if that person is going to be a star.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 3 January 2014]