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‘MUSIC SAVED MY LIFE’

The Voice’s Sir Tom Jones reveals heartbreak at losing his wife and admits if he didn’t sing he would die

Tom’s opened up about singing again after his wife Melinda passed away in April following a battle with lung cancer

SIR Tom Jones has admitted he would have died if he hadn’t of carried on singing following the death of his beloved wife Melinda Woodward.

Melinda died last April aged 75 after a battle with lung cancer, leaving Tom devastated.

 Tom Jones has opened up about his heartbreak following the death of his wife Melinda
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Tom Jones has opened up about his heartbreak following the death of his wife MelindaCredit: Rex Features
 He spoke to Lorraine Kelly about how death had affected his life
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He spoke to Lorraine Kelly about how death had affected his lifeCredit: Rex Features

The pair had met in Wales aged just 12 and had been together ever since.

Speaking on Lorraine, Tom opened up about his heartbreak and said: “It was so sudden. It knocked the stuffing out of me.

“I didn’t know if I could carry but my family – my son and my daughter in law – who are also my managers helped me.

“My son said to me, ‘If you don’t sing, you will die. Do you want to die?’ and I said, ‘No, not really’.

 Tom and Melinda met when they were just 12 years old
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Tom and Melinda met when they were just 12 years old

“Music is saving my life. Music is more important to me than ever before. She would have wanted me to.”

Tom has returned to The Voice UK after being sacked from the BBC version of the show last year.

Speaking about how much Melinda loved the show, Tom said: “I used to take the DVDs home to her in our home in LA and she loved it

“She was annoyed [when I was fired].

 Tom is on the panel with Will.I.Am, Gavin Rossdale and Jennifer Hudson
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Tom is on the panel with Will.I.Am, Gavin Rossdale and Jennifer HudsonCredit: MCPIX/REX/Shutterstock

“She passed before…but she would have loved to have seen me on it again.”

Tom is still shocked about his sudden dismissal from the show last year, agreeing with Lorraine when she called it “disrespectful”.

Speaking to The Sun Online on Wednesday, the singing icon admitted he couldn't help but revel in the fact The Voice flopped once he'd left.

He said: “Whoever was responsible made a mistake.

“I knew what the public felt because of the feedback and now that I’m back I’m getting positive feedback again.

 Back where he belongs, Sir Tom with his hand firmly on the buzzer
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Back where he belongs, Sir Tom with his hand firmly on the buzzerCredit: PA:Press Association

“I’m glad that the last series I wasn’t a part of the ratings went down.”

Tom added: “That made me very happy.

“ITV are great – I had my own show on ITV in the late sixties early seventies.

“I think [the new series] looks great, sounds great and is going to be great.”



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