The Voice: Tom Jones dedicates performance to his late wife
The Welsh singer is best-known for iconic hits including Delilah, It’s No Usual and What’s New Pussycat? during five-and-a-half decades as a vocalist. Despite selling more than 100 million records and having 36 UK Top 40 hits, Sir Tom’s success has been mired by allegations about his love life. Sir Tom, who is a judge on ITV’s The Voice, confirmed some of the details about his antics while at the height of his fame.
Sir Tom travelled the world after his career took off in the Sixties, which allowed him to brush shoulders with Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey and others.
But they weren’t the only ones vying for his attention, because scores of crazed fans considered him a “sex icon” at the time and many threw underwear at him during his performances.
The singer was regularly struck by the projectiles as he crooned with his “husky, baritone voice” and gyrated his hips in a “sexual” manner.
Sir Tom admitted that he was his “own worst enemy” during a 2010 interview with The Times Magazine because he encouraged the fans’ lustful behaviour during his shows.
Tom Jones admitted that he ‘didn’t regret’ the affairs he had during his music career (Image: GETTY)
Tom Jones met his wife Linda at the age of 15, they married a year later and had son Mark (Image: GETTY)
He confessed that he used the first pair of underwear flung at him to mop his bro, which wasn’t the wisest move as it led to countless women doing the same over the decades.
Sir Tom claimed to have bedded up to 250 women a year at the height of his fame, in a 2012 Telegraph article.
Sir Tom’s sexual conquests have been well-documented over the years, and ahead of the throes of passion, Sir Tom admitted to an unusual ritual that he carried out before having sexual affairs.
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Tom Jones rose to fame in the Sixties after his first hits Chills and Fever and It’s Not Unusual (Image: GETTY)
He said: “I use Listerine to make sure everything down there is sterile, like a surgeon before an op.
“It’s a good way to do it. I say that mouthwash is not only for gargling.”
But Sir Tom committed the sex acts all-while married to his wife Melinda Rose Trenchard, who he referred to as “Lady Linda”.
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Tom Jones admitted he encouraged women to throw underwear at him by using one to wipe his brow (Image: GETTY)
They started dating at the age of 15 after they met at school in Treforest, Wales, and were married one year later in 1957.
A few months after they tied the knot, Lady Linda gave birth to their son Mark Woodward who she raised while Sir Tom performed around the world.
They had spent nearly 60 years together when Lady Linda died from cancer in 2016 after a “short but fierce battle”.
Shortly before her death, Sir Tom address the speculations about his sex life and admitted that he had no regrets.
Tom Jones’ wife Linda died in 2016 after a ‘short but fierce’ battle with cancer (Image: GETTY)
In 2015, he told The Big Issue: “That’s all been talked about so much but that’s not the essence of me, that’s not what makes me tick.
“The media always picks on the women and how did that affect your wife? With everyone famous, not just me.
“They always bring sex into it. It’s part of life of course or we’d all die out.”
Then in a surprising statement, he went on to defend his well-publicised conquests.
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Sir Tom said: “What’s important is why are you different, what’s unique? I don’t regret anything.
“All in all, no matter what happened, my marriage is still solid and my son still loves me. I haven’t done anything bad in my life.”
Despite his confessing to having slept with “hundreds of women” during his time in music, Sir Tom claimed his one true love was Linda.
In 2006, he told the Daily Mail: “She’s the most important thing in my life. An unbelievable woman.
Tom Jones has been a judge on The Voice since 2012 (Image: GETTY)
“Linda is the love of my life and she still is, even though she doesn’t look like she did.
“I don’t look like I did, either, but I try my best.”
Sir Tom Jones is featured on The Voice, which airs at 8.30pm Saturday on ITV.
