‘I want to do it as long as there is a breath in my body’: Sir Tom Jones vows to NEVER retire as he reflects on his prolific career after turning 80
Sir Tom Jones has vowed to keep singing ‘as long as there is breath in [his] body’ as he reflected on his 80th birthday last week.
The singer spoke candidly about his milestone age with The Mirror on Saturday, saying that he had no intentions of quitting music after first debuting in the 1960s.
Reflecting on his prolific career, the Delilah hitmaker said: ‘I like birthdays. People say, “What is it like growing old?” but I say, “What is the alternative?”. I don’t mind growing old as the memories are tremendous.
‘I want to do it as long as there is a breath in my body’: Sir Tom Jones vowed to NEVER retire as he reflected on his prolific career on Saturday after turning 80 last week
‘I don’t want to stop as God has been good to me and my voice is still there. I want to do it as long as there is a breath in my body.’
Sir Tom began his career in 1963, and he had a meteoric rise to stardom thanks to his robust baritone voice following the release of It’s Not Unusual in 1965.
He went on to make hits such as What’s New Pussycat and Sex Bomb, and even sang the theme tune to James Bond film Thunderball.During a Radio 2 documentary to mark the milestone, the Sex Bomb hitmaker said of his past love: ‘I remember her playing marbles and I thought, ”My God, what great legs she’s got”
Icon: Sir Tom began his career in 1963, and he had a meteoric rise to stardom thanks to his robust baritone voice following the release of It’s Not Unusual in 1965 (pictured in 1980)
During a Radio 2 documentary to mark the milestone last week, Sir Tom revealed he fell in love with his late wife Linda when they played marbles as children.
He said of his past love: ‘I remember her playing marbles and I thought, ”My God, what great legs she’s got”
‘And then she stood up and she was as pretty in the face as her legs were.’
Sir Tom met Melinda Trenchard in their home town of Pontypridd in Wales.
He said of their blossoming romance: ‘We started playing kiss-chase. I felt different when I kissed her, and she felt the same way.
‘We started dancing together when we were 15. She would look great. She was the best-looking girl around there and we got together. It was magic.’
Tom married Linda at the age of 17 and the pair stayed together for 59 years until she sadly died of cancer in 2016.
Lovers: Last week, Sir Tom reflected on meeting his late wife Linda in their home town of Pontypridd in Wales (pictured together in 1967) saying he fell in love when they played as kids