Tom Jones

Tom Jones was born Thomas John Woodward, at 57 Kingsland Terrace, Treforest, Pontypridd in South Wales. His parents were Thomas Woodward (died 5 October 1981), a coal miner, and Freda Jones (died 7 February 2003). Both of his paternal grandparents were English, and his maternal grandmother, Ada Jones, from Pontypridd, had English parents.

Jones began singing at an early age: he would regularly sing at family gatherings, weddings and in his school choir. Jones did not like school or sports but gained confidence through his singing talent. At 12 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Many years later he said; "I spent two years in bed recovering. It was the worst time of my life." During convalescence he could do little else but listen to music and draw.

Jones' bluesy singing style developed out of the sound of American soul music. His early influences included blues and R&B singers Little Richard, Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson and Brook Benton, as well as Elvis Presley, whom Jones idolized and with whom he would later become good friends. Read Less

In the early 1980s Jones started to record country music. Read Less

The album went to No. 1 in the UK and sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Five singles from Reload hit the UK top 40. The single "Sex Bomb" was released in early 2000 and became the biggest single from the album, reaching number three in the UK Singles Chart. Read Less

The single was first made available through independent record stores in 7" vinyl on 5 March. An exclusive three-coloured vinyl was also sold at only one shop – Spillers Records in Cardiff. The shop, from which Jones bought records as a schoolboy in the 1950s and early 1960s, was founded in 1894 and is listed in the Guinness World Records as the oldest record shop in the world. Read Less