Not unusual: Singer Tom Jones was 'workshy' Pic: Gabriela Patane/Rex Features
Tom Jones’ benefit records from the 1960s have come to light. And he is branded a workshy layabout and mocked for his ambition.
Pen-pushers thought the Welsh superstar, then on the brink of stardom, was letting music get in the way of a proper job.
In records found in a skip in Ludlow, Shrops, they said: “He is a member of a vocal group. It seems his little hobby is highly lucrative and this would account for his non-enthusiasm in securing employment. Consider anything which wouldn't dirty his fingernails!"
Only a year later, Jones signed for Decca.
His first big hit was It’s Not Unusual in 1965.
The dole records dated 1963 refer to the star by his real name of Tom Woodward and are up for auction next month.
Since 1963, Jones, 69, has sold more than 100million records.
The discovered documents reveal that, despite being ‘workshy, between 1961 and 1964 he had jobs as a factory worker, glove cutter and labourer.
