Sir Tom Jones tells fans he thought he was going to die after stay in hospital

Nation.Cymru staff

Sir Tom Jones has returned to the stage in the US telling fans he feared he was about to die after being taken ill on tour.

The Welsh legend was forced to cancel and reschedule shows on the American leg of his Come Gather Round world tour after he was admitted to hospital with a ‘serious flu bug’.

On stage last night at the Greek Theatre, the 86-year-old from Pontypridd revealed how he spent a week at the Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, telling the audience just how serious his “bad case of the flu” was.

“[I thought] Oh well, this is it, you’ve had a wonderful life, Tommy, but it’s over right now,” he said.

“I must say this, in the UCLA, they really did a wonderful job. So I’m here.”

“[The medical staff said] What do you want to do now? I was in there for a week. And I said, ‘I’ve got to get back on the stage’. This is where I belong. I can’t live without this, believe me.”

Retired TV broadcaster Hal Eisner attended the show at the Greek and posted clips on his Instagram stories.

He wrote:

‘Tom Jones talks about the health scare he had that led to a show postponement. He praises the medical care he got a UCLA. And with a sense of relief, he says “I’m here.”

‘Nonetheless, he sounded strong. His voice was great and he was energetic The last time I saw Jones perform on stage was in 1970. I was in college at the University of Houston! I enjoyed him as much then as I did now over a half a century later.’

The Welsh icon recently made headlines after revealing ITV had “made the decision” to “fire” him from The Voice UK coaching panel, having served as an coach on the singing competition since its debut in 2012.

A petition launched by fans demanding that ITV reinstate the star has had nearly 80,000 signatures.