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revealing biography of a legend


SIR Tom Jones reaches his 75th birthday this Sunday and who could have predicted when he was born in Pontypridd in 1940 what an unfor- gettable rollercoaster ride his life would be? Leading UK Biographer Sean Smith, who has written books on Cheryl Cole, Kylie Minogue and Gary Barlow, among others, has meticulously researched Tom Jones’ life and career for a recently- released biography entitled Tom Jones – The Life. The biography traces the music


legend’s beginnings from starting out in theWelsh mining townwhere


Books


he suffered from TB and married his sweetheart at just 16, to scoring his first UK hit seven years later that would propel him to interna- tional stardom. “I enjoy writing all my books


for different reasons because eve- rybody is interesting before they become famous,” Sean tells Andy Howells, “but Tom was also inter- esting after he became famous. His whole life story is such a big one and I really enjoyed that challenge.” Sean, who insists on having a


courteous respect for the subjects he writes about, visited Tom’s hometownof Pontypridd to conduct interviews with friends and family and uncovered much in the way of new stories about the star, “They were very pleased that someone had took the trouble to go there and speak to them to find out about him in a proper fashion,” he says. It’s something to try and get be-


yond the famous PR-driven images of Tom Jones in the 1960s having knickers thrown at him from ador- ing fans as he tries to perform his greatest hits but Sean peels away the image to reveal another side to the star within the book. “I think there is a more sensitive and intro- spective man as well as the image which makes him much more inter- esting and complex,” he says. Of course, the biography also cov-


BIOGRAPHER: Sean Smith


ers Tom’s early chart successes with hits such as It’s Not Unusual, Green Green Grass of Home and Delilah under the watchful eye of manager


Elvis’ birthday gig


AS A fitting celebration to mark eight decades of the ‘King’ of rock and roll, The Elvis Years has extended its tour of the highly-acclaimed West End musical Jailhouse Rock to include 80 unmissable dates, arriving at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre on Satur- day, June 20, 7.30pm. Join thousands of Elvis fans around the UK in 2015 and book one of the 80 special tour dates of The Elvis Years to cel- ebrate 80 years of Elvis Pres- ley, one of the biggest cultural icons of the twentieth century. The Elvis Years in a musi-


cal concert production telling the story of Elvis through the


years. The show features orig- inal Elvis star Mario Kombou and his incredible band, led by legendary producer, musi- cal director and Ivor Novello award-winner David Mackay. As part of the celebrations,


the Riverfront will also have a live rock’n’ roll DJ in the café/ bar before and after the show, and a very special cocktail bar selling Elvis-themed cocktail concoctions. Actor and singer Mario


Kombou has been performing as Elvis for over 20 years. He says: “We wanted to do something special to mark this special birthday.” Visit tickets.newportlive. co.uk for details.


Then Call Matt to arrange


  or email


@gwent-wales.co.uk matthew.berry TRIBUTE SHOW: The Elvis Years


Gordon Mills, but it also analyses the star’s wilderness years when he went to the US and became little more than a Vegas lounge singer. “Its one of the things I liked,” continues Sean, “it isn’t all a continuous stream of success. It sort of peaks and troughs as well as light and shades. He got very bogged down in the world of Vegas where he was making phenomenal amounts of money, so why wouldn’t you be happy to do that?” “He had an incredible lifestyle,


but artistically and professionally it didn’t fulfil him. In the mid-1980s when Gordon Mills, his first man- ager died, things got taken over by Tom’s son Mark and his wife Don- na. It was a slow process, but they gradually rehabilitated him with the British market because he was a forgotten figure.” Given the fact that Tom has had


such a lengthy career, was it diffi- cult for Sean to know what to leave out of the biography? “You have to


drive the story on and I’m al- ways aware that you can’t lose the reader,” he says. “There’s a huge amount of ground, but I really felt I was dealing with modern history with Tom, when you get his run-ins with the mob and all these people he knew including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Janis Jop- lin. I felt like I was writing an encyclopaedia but he is more interesting than that.” The biography, which is avail-


able in both hardback and e-book, has already been well- received and Sean couldn’t be happier. “It’s only just dropped out of the Sunday Times best sellers list,” he says, “I’m pleased about it but it also shows he’s a popular guy.” Tom Jones – The Life by Sean Smith is published by Harper- Collins and available in hard- back at £18.99 and eBook at £9.49


PUPPET FUN: The Sea Show


CRAIG Johnson of Squashbox Theatre brings The Sea Show to the Borough The- atre on June 6 at 2.30pm. A hilarious mix of puppet show, natural history and com- edy cabaret, The Sea Show is unmissable fun for children and adults of all ages. Celebrate the sea with tall tales, silly slapstick, fantastic facts and live music. Meet crazy characters like Morwenna the “beautiful” mermaid, Ruan the reformed seagull and salty seadog Capt Pemburthy. Craig Johnson was popularwhen he vis-


ited Cantref Primary School last term – don’t miss his return to Abergavenny. Tickets, £6.50 (family ticket £24), are


available from the Box Office 01873 850805 or at boroughtheatreabergavenny.co.uk


Wouldyou like to Showcase


your menu or your Chef?


Ahead of Sir TomJones’ 75th birthday this weekend, his biographer SeanSmith chats to AndyHowells about his newbook


9 entertainment extra


‘Hilarious’ live show


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