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Tom Jones on Elvis Presley, King Charles, his changing voice, recent songs, and more ahead of Ages & Stages Tour concert in Hong Kong

  • Performing in Hong Kong on March 16, Tom Jones talks to the Post about being friends with Elvis Presley and his respect for King Charles
  • He also reveals how his voice has changed over the years, who his pick for the next James Bond is and how he injects more of himself into songs now than before

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Singer Tom Jones, ahead of his Hong Kong concert in March, talks to the Post about the greatest moments of his life, his pick for the next James Bond and more. Photo: Live Nation

The most unusual thing about Tom Jones? He sleeps hanging upside-down.

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“That’s the cue for a song!” retorts Jones. “I don’t think there is anything unusual I do,” he adds, before conceding that maybe it is just a little abnormal that he dangles feet first from an inversion table every day. “Well, most days.”

It sounds like he is jesting – sleeping suspended from the ceiling is a parody of rock star silliness, played for laughs by the hardened British roadie of Wayne’s World 2, who learned it on the road from the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards.
But after just a few minutes of talking to Jones, it is apparent there may not be a less-than-earnest bone in his body. He’s the miner’s son done good, the blue-collar Welsh boy whose golden voice took him to Hollywood and Buckingham Palace alike, over an enviable six-decade career.

Even now, in Jones’ 83rd year, his voice is taking him around the world on his Ages & Stages Tour – stopping next at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo on March 16.

Jones performs live on stage in London circa 1965. Photo: Getty Images
Jones performs live on stage in London circa 1965. Photo: Getty Images

What is his secret to maintaining those mythmaking cords? It is far from rocket science: water, sleep and not too much booze.

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