Tom Jones says he ‘nearly’ fainted singing this one iconic song

Sir Tom Jones was recruited to sing an iconic theme song just over a year after hitting the top of the charts with It’s Not Unusual, but he almost had an unfortunate incident in the recording booth

Sir Tom Jones revealed he “almost fainted” when performing the theme tune to James Bond’s Thunderball.

The 85-year-old crooner was recruited last minute to record a song that featured the film’s title. It came after an earlier track recorded by Shirley Bassey, and latterly Dionne Warwick, was rejected by movie executives as it was too long for the film’s opening sequence.

Legendary country musician Johnny Cash reportedly submitted his own song for consideration, which was also turned down. Instead, composer John Barry teamed up with lyricist Don Black and recruited Welsh icon Tom for the song.

Known for his low baritone sound, Tom admits he struggled with the final note of the song however. It led to a moment where he almost passed out in the recording booth.

Speaking on BBC Radio 2’s Sound of the 60s with Tony Blackburn, Tom explained: “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.”