Biography
He grew up in the era of
rock and roll for which his affection has never
faltered. His heroes were the likes of Little Richard
and Chuck Berry; his idol - Elvis Presley. In
later life they were to become close friends - it has
even been suggested that Tom's success in Las Vegas
prompted 'The King' to make his live
performance come-back in the gambling city. But in
1958 Mrs. Woodward's little boy was on the Club
circuit as Tommy Scott, happily belting out rockers
for the price of a few beers, whilst working by day
as a labourer.
Tommy Scott was re-christened Tom Jones. In August
1964 a recording contract was secured with Decca, and
the first 45 that was issued was CHILLS AND FEVER.
Despite gaining American release also, it made no
impact. On November 11th 1964 three titles were
cut: ONE MORE CHANCE, TO WAIT FOR LOVE and ITS NOT
UNUSUAL. Within two weeks of release the single was
at number one in the U.K. (March 1965) and on May 1st
entered America's important Billboard"
listings, staying nine weeks and peaking at ten.
His global record
sales are remarkable with over thirty hit singles and
albums in Britain alone. Numerically this represents
in excess of the equivalent of a staggering 100
million 45's. He has been named Entertainer of
the Year in over a dozen countries.
His name is Thomas J. Woodward. Tom was born in the
heart of mining country, Treforest, Glamorgan, on
June 7th, 1940. Who could have imagined that
twenty-five years later he would release one of the
most exciting and instant singles ever committed to
vinyl, less than two minutes long, and see it
catapult him to international stardom? ITS NOT
UNUSUAL was that disc; it gave justifiable and
hard-earned success to a man who had worked
ceaselessly to build up a reputation for doing what
he loved best - singing.
In 1963 he came to London hoping to impress Britain's
first real independent record producer, Joe Meek, who
was filling the Hit Parade with discs by such as John
Leyton and the Tornados. Meek wasn't over impressed -
Tom returned to the valleys. A year later his luck
changed when ex-bus conductor novelty singer and
harmonica player, fellow Welshman Gordon Mills,
spotted him in a Pontypridd nightspot when visiting
to see another act. That all-important accident was
to change the lives of both men dramatically.
Since then Tom Jones has become a show business
legend. He is still playing to packed houses all over
the world, lives in America where he is idolised, and
has an incredible number of world tours behind him,
setting new attendance records for concerts
throughout the U.S.A., Japan, Europe, South Africa
and Canada to name but a few.
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