Tom Jones left an audience in absolute tatters as he spoke about a controversial ban of one of his hit songs.
The Welsh music legend was headlining Cardiff Castle for two nights from Wednesday (20 August) but at one particular point, his crowd of fans turned a bit icy.
Jones was, of course, banging out hits like ‘Sexbomb’, ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ and ‘I’m Growing Old’, but the atmosphere changed when he got to ‘Delilah’.
Yep, the song’s a bit of a classic, you’re probably already singing the chorus away just from reading the name.
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But it’s been met by controversy over the years and particularly when it was banned by the Welsh Rugby Union in 2023. The song had become a bit of a go-to anthem for the sport side, as fans will know all too well.
However, the actual content of the song’s lyrics led to the banning.
You might not have known this but basically, ‘Delilah’ describes a man murdering the titular woman after finding out she’s been cheating.
“At break of day when that man drove away, I was waiting;
“I crossed the street to her house and she opened the door; she stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more,” one part says.
And so, it was decided that the 1968 hit should no longer be heard at big sporting events in Wales anymore due to the worry it would be glorifying violence against women.
It’s reported that the crowd were boo’ing in support of Jones as he used the concert as a chance to address the banning.
“Who's that man who said we shouldn't sing that song anymore? That used to make my day that on an international match,” he said.
It was clear he wasn’t particularly thrilled about the ban as he added: “I used to wait for it and then they said we can’t sing it anymore.”
The 85-year-old insisted the lyrics shouldn’t be taken ‘literally’ as he reminisced on the times the track would be sang at big games.
“Who is this man who said we can’t sing Delilah? They said it’s about a man killing his wife with a knife. Well it is, but you shouldn’t take it literally,” Jones said, much to the agreement of the crowd.
With questions about the song’s nature having been raised for over a decade, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium officially removed it.
A spokesperson said at the time: “'Delilah' will not feature on the playlist for choirs for rugby internationals at Principality Stadium. The WRU removed the song from its half-time entertainment and music playlist during international matches in 2015. Guest choirs have also more recently been requested not to feature the song during their pre-match performances and throughout games.
“The WRU condemns domestic violence of any kind. We have previously sought advice from subject matter experts on the issue of censoring the song and we are respectfully aware that it is problematic and upsetting to some supporters because of its subject matter.”
Jess Battison