Tom Jones says he was taught to ‘boo’ Winston Churchill as a child: ‘My father never forgave him’

Singer opened up about his childhood as the son of a Welsh miner

Sir Tom Jones has said that he was taught to “boo” Winston Churchill when he was growing up.

The singer opened up about his childhood as the son of a Welsh miner during an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He said: “Growing up in Wales, you see, because of the 1926 strike, when [Churchill] was Chancellor of the Exchequer, my father never forgave him.

“So when I was a kid and we used to go to the movies and [Churchill would appear] on the news reel, we were taught to boo Churchill and hooray for [Clement] Attlee,” he said. “So I’m aware of politics in that way.”

The Grammy-winner clarified that he did not want his status as a celebrity to make him into a political figure.

“That’s why my vote is always private. I wouldn’t want people to just follow me because of my status as a singer,” he said.

The 80-year-old added: “For me, as an entertainer, the way I look at it, I’m here to entertain.”

The “Delilah” singer also spoke about performing for former US president Donald Trump prior to his involvement in politics.

Tom Jones is releasing his new album (EMI)

“He would come to my shows, you see, and he would love to be in the audience. He would love to be introduced as the owner of the hotel. But I didn’t think that he was going to get into politics,” he said.

Jones opened up about the death of wife Linda in a new interview with The Independent, stating that he needed “grief counselling” after she died in April 2016.