Renowned for his swaggering confidence and his distinctive, powerful voice, Sir Tom Jones has always been a force to be reckoned with. But now, at 70, the legendary Welsh singer finds himself grappling with the inevitable passage of time. He has revealed a deep-seated fear that haunts him: the day when his voice will no longer carry the same power. For Jones, the loss of his voice would signify more than just the end of his singing career—it would be the end of him.

He added that ‘time is my enemy’ and said he dreads the day it will catch up with him and force him to retire.

 

Growing old gracefully: Tom Jones has admitted that being unable to sing would be the ‘end’ of him

 

Grey and gorgeous: Sir Tom stopped dyeing his hair two years ago, and looks better for it

The frank admission from Sir Tom is a sign that, even for a performer like him, the uncertainties of age will one day replace the confidence of youth.

During a 50-year career he has sold 150million records, made his name with bombastic hits like Sex Bomb and had a string of affairs with famous women including Mary Wilson of The Supremes.

 

Stage presence: Sir Tom’s energetic performances are legendary

Female admirers would notoriously throw their underwear at him and for a certain generation of women he will always remain an unabashed sex symbol.

In recent years, however, Sir Tom has become more reflective and stopped dying his hair, allowing it to turn from improbably dark-coloured to white and gray.

His latest album, Praise And Blame, is a sombre collection of gospel and blues songs which deal with themes such as death and loss.

Speaking to U.S. TV Network CBS, Sir Tom agreed that if could no longer sing it would be ‘the end’ of him.

‘Um, yeah. I mean, I dread the day. Time is my enemy. Time will catch up with me vocally. And I dread that,’ he said.

‘I dread to think about life without singing because I can express myself, it’s a great release, it’s a wonderful feeling to get on stage and pour all this stuff out and for people to go, ‘Yeah!’’ Sir Tom added that getting older was ‘one of those things’ and that he has even come to terms with his natural hair colour.

‘I cannot be at 70 years old – it would be silly to try – and be 35 or 40, maybe even 50. You can’t. There is no way and if you do then you’re going to look silly. And people are going to take you less seriously than when you’re a young person.

‘It’s to do with age, there’s no getting away from it. Maybe I’m trying to.

‘I am older, that’s one of those things, I stopped dying my hair two years ago and it’s coming out white, so I let it carry on and I liked it.’

 

The singer’s most recent album Praise And Blame features a selection of gospel and blues songs

Jones has admitted that in the past he may have over-indulged, particularly with women and to the detriment of long-suffering wife Linda, who he wed 53 years ago.

But speaking to CBS, he said he did not regret anything he did on stage, even Sex Bomb and What’s New Pussycat?

‘I’ve always sang it in the best way that I know how. I put myself in to it,’ he said.

‘But then you can be shooting yourself in the foot because then if you get a hit with a song that if you don’t want to be known as a ‘sex’ symbol, then don’t record Sex Bomb. So at the time I wasn’t really aware of it, but it has had an effect.

‘I’ve done what I’ve done and I’ve recorded what I’ve recorded and I have no regrets in that area because I’ve done It. So I’ve only myself to blame!’