Tom Jones 'nearly fainted' while recording iconic song
Sir Tom Jones has shared a dramatic moment from his illustrious career, revealing that he "almost fainted" while belting out the theme tune to the James Bond film Thunderball.
The legendary singer, 85, was brought in at the eleventh hour to perform a song that would incorporate the film's title. This decision came after an initial track by Shirley Bassey, and subsequently Dionne Warwick, was scrapped by the film's producers for being too long for the opening sequence.
The iconic Johnny Cash submitted a song for the film, but his effort was similarly rejected. In the end, composer John Barry and lyricist Don Black decided to enlist the Welsh superstar Tom for the task.
Known for his deep baritone sound, Tom admits the song's final high note was a struggle. The strenuous effort nearly caused him to lose consciousness inside the recording studio, reports Wales Online.
During an interview on BBC Radio 2's Sound of the 60s with Tony Blackburn, Sir Tom recounted the experience: "John Barry who wrote the music and Don Black did the lyrics, so John Barry said, 'Hold the note as long as you can because the music is going to go on longer than that, so don't try to hold it until the end. So just hold it as long as you can and then forget it.' I forgot to take a big enough breath."
Sir Tom then recounted that the correct lyrics should have been "he strikes like thunder" before taking a deep breath to sing "ball". He added: "But I didn't, so I hit ball and I'm going, and I'm going, and I close my eyes and I go a little flat towards the end there, you'll hear it just at the end, tapering off, because I couldn't hold it any longer.
"When I opened my eyes, the room was spinning, so I had to grab hold of the booth I was in to steady myself. I almost went down."
The recount of Sir Tom's experience in the studio was confirmed by the songwriter when speaking to Far Out magazine; Don described how Tom "got a head rush" whilst singing the final note.
He revealed: "With 'Thunderball' the first thing I did was look it up in the dictionary. So I scratched my head and used it as a code word, you know, 'He strikes like thunderball'.
"The thing I remember most is Tom Jones' recording of the song in which he fainted on the last note. He got a head rush or something. The Bond songs I describe as the lure of the forbidden. It should have the whiff of a boudoir about it"
Hailing from Treforest near Pontypridd, Tom was chosen to perform the James Bond theme tune barely a year following his chart-topping debut with 'It's Not Unusual'. Nonetheless, the Bond theme 'Thunderball' reached only number 35 in the UK Top 40.
Tom has enjoyed an illustrious career boasting 36 UK Top 40 hits as well as 19 US Top 40 entries. His contributions to music were honoured with a knighthood in the year 2006.
Regrettably for Tom, his rendition of 'Thunderball' was ranked as the fourth-worst James Bond theme by Classic FM in 2022, with Madonna's 'Die Another Day' taking the unfortunate title of the worst. The publication labelled it "a curiously joyless effort".
Meanwhile, Shirley Bassey's 1971 classic Diamonds are Forever clinched the top spot as the best. The iconic Welsh songstress also lent her voice to the themes for Goldfinger in 1964 and Moonraker in 1979.
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