Tom Jones, 86, Thought He Was Going to Die After Pneumonia Put Him in the ICU
Sir Tom Jones, 86, told a Los Angeles crowd Wednesday night that he thought he was going to die after a medical scare last week — then proved he was back where he belongs.
“I thought this was it. You had a wonderful life Tommy but it’s over right now,” Jones told the audience at his rescheduled Greek Theater show in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 5, according to Fox News.
Jones contracted pneumonia, which he first mistook for flu symptoms, and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center after paramedics were called because he couldn’t breathe — “I can’t breathe,” he recalled. He spent a week in the hospital, including two days in the ICU, the New York Post reports.
On discharge, doctors asked what he wanted to do now that he was healthy. His answer: “I have to get back on the stage. This is where I belong. I can’t live without it.”
The Greek Theater show was originally slated for late October but was rescheduled due to his health. Jones had already completed 20 shows on the US leg of his 25-date “Come Gather Round” tour, which began in September after a summer run in England.
On stage he reflected on his first Greek Theater stint in 1969, just before “It’s Not Unusual” became his first No. 1 hit. Jones was made an OBE in 1998 and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006, per the BBC.
Tom Jones performing live in 2016. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
