Kelly Jones reveals crucial advice Tom Jones gave him before vocal cord surgery

25 April 2025, 19:21

Stereophonics' Kelly Jones and the rocker with Tom Jones inset. Picture: Gus Stewart/Redferns/Getty, Mick Hutson/Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The Stereophonics frontman revealed he reached out to the Welsh crooner when he learned his vocal cords needed to be operated on.

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Kelly Jones has revealed that he sought out Tom Jones for advice before undergoing vocal surgery.

The Stereophonics frontman appeared on Radio X this morning to discuss the band's 13th studio album Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Cry, Make 'em Wait and recalled the vocal polyp, which almost threatened his music career.

“I went to the gym one day, and I’d had a really crap day and I’d left my keys in my house, and I let out a massive 'F***!'. And I think that’s what did it,” Jones recalled in an interview with Toby Tarrant on Radio X.

After seeing a doctor who revealed he had a polyp on his vocal cords, the rocker reached out to the Welsh crooner, who has struggled with a similar vocal issues in the past.

The Have A Nice Day singer recalled: “So the one person I thought who I can talk to about this is Tom Jones.

"He said, 'Oh don't talk to me about those. Just before I made [Prince cover] Kiss, I was struggling with my range and I went to see the doctor. He had a look and he said it was like a mountain range in there.' He had polyps all over it.

"He said: 'Just make sure they use a knife and not a laser. [...]Because Julie Andrews had a laser, and when they used the laser, after the heat contraction, the vocal chords separate and she was never able to sing properly again,'".

As it turned out, Jones heeded his advice and double checked the surgeon was indeed using a the knife instead of the laser method and when he called back the Delilah legend to report back, he gave him the go ahead to do the surgery.

See Toby Tarrant's full chat with Kelly Jones below:

Kelly Jones had vocal surgery advice from Tom Jones?

The Phonics singer also told Toby Tarrant that he's hoping to find a "window of time" to see the Oasis reunion, despite some of the band's' upcoming shows clashing with the Gallagher brothers.

Quizzed if he's planning to watch Liam and Noel Gallagher's much-anticipated live dates, the Mr. Writer singer replied: "We've got a few clashes, so I'm trying to find a window of time."

"But we play Finsbury Park when they play (Cardiff) Principality," he added. "And when we play the Principality I think they're at [Heaton Park], so I think I'm going to try and get to one of them, but I'm not sure which one yet."

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Meanwhile, Stereophonics new album has been released today (Friday 25th April) via EMI.

Written and recorded in London, the eight-track Make ’Em Laugh, Make ’Em Cry, Make ’Em Wait is described as a hopeful and joyous record "devoid of any fat or filler" that does what it says on the cover.

Listen to the album below, which includes lead single There’s Always Gonna Be Something and our Radio X Record of the Week Seems Like You Don't Know Me.