Tom Jones, whose real name is Sir Thomas John Woodward, was born and raised in Treforest, Wales, England.
Jones went to Presbyterian church as a kid.[1] And even though he stopped going to church in adulthood, he has carried his Christian faith with him his whole life–even through all the philandering for which he was known.[2] As one reporter put it, "those crucifixes that used to nestle in his chest hair were not merely for show."[3]
But Jones' faith really came to the forefront with his late-career gospel album titled, "Praise and Blame." About doing an album of religious songs, he said,
I wanted to make a gospel album and I thought, 'Wait a minute, it's going to be Christian.' And then I thought, 'Well I am a Christian!' I'm sorry, but I am! I'm not preaching here, I'm not trying to get Muslims to become Christians or anything. . . . I don't see anything wrong with that![4]
Jones is thankful that God blessed him with such a wonderful life,[5] and says he makes sure to let Him know every day:
I pray every night by the bed before I go to sleep. I say: "Look after my family and my friends and band members and all the people who work with me, and thank you for giving me this voice. Please may I keep it for as long as I live."[6]
Sir Tom, the Royalist
Jones doesn't have anything to say about David Cameron or Gordon Brown. But he loves the royal family and Queen Elizabeth II, who honored him with knighthood in 2006. He said,
I've always been a royalist. Holding on to the royal family the way the British people have is a wonderful thing. . . . I love all the pageantry. As long as the people go with it, mind! We've all got to be in for it.[7]
But that doesn't mean that he's eager to give away a bunch of his income in service to his country or his Queen. The singer moved to Los Angeles in the 1970's to escape a 98 per cent income tax. Well, fair enough. It turns out he loves the Queen, but not that much.
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