When Tom Jones nearly brawled with John Lennon in a TV studio

24 April 2025, 10:24 | Updated: 24 April 2025, 10:29

On the first time Tom Jones met John Lennon, the pair didn't see eye to eye. Picture: Getty

By Thomas Edward

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He was certainly known for having a sharp tongue.

At the very height of their fame and success during the sixties, The Beatles' sense of humour was as cherished as their music.

In fact, their personalities help solidify the four Liverpudlians as generational superstars.

They were the complete package that popular music was crying out for - abundance of talent and the effortlessly likeable character to pull it off.

Whether it was during interviews, on stage together, or starring in films like A Hard Day's Night, the Fab Four would consistently be cracking jokes.

But as the years went by, John Lennon built a reputation for not always being an easy-going person to deal with.

Lennon certainly possessed a foul temper, and when coupled with his quick wit on certain occasions, people would often get stung.

That's exactly what happened during an encounter with Welsh firebrand Tom Jones, which nearly resulted in a brawl between the two.

Tom Jones in 1965. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images). Picture: Getty

It was actually the very first time Lennon and Jones crossed paths that they were at each other's throats.

Tom Jones was due to make his debut television appearance on Thank Your Lucky Stars, a British show that ran between 1961 and 1966.

In 1965, after the recent release 'It's Not Unusual', Jones swiftly became a singing sensation known throughout the UK.

Understandably, as a boy from the valleys, tthe 'Delilah' icon wanted to make a lasting impression during his first televised performance, knowing it could propel him into the big time.

That, and the fact that there was a roster of other stellar guests appearing on the same show that night, which included The Kinks, The Shadows, and The Beatles.

Jones still remembers the day fondly, despite there very nearly being a bust-up between him and John Lennon, who was one of the world's biggest stars at the time.

John Lennon's sharp-tongued sense of humour often got him in trouble. (Photo by Andrew Maclear/Redferns). Picture: Getty

Recalling how the events unfolded to Channel Bee, Jones revealed: "I had 'It's Not Unusual' out, which was my first hit record in 1965 and The Beatles were on the show.

"I went to watch them rehearse in the afternoon, and I'm sitting there where the audience would be later on. I'm with my manager, Gordon Mills and waiting for The Beatles to come out to watch them rehearse.

"John Lennon was the first one out on the floor, and he looks up at me, he's got his guitar. He says, 'It's not a unicorn, it's an elephant' and then said, 'How you doing you Welsh poof?'"

Though he was very likely joking, it struck a nerve with a hot-headed Jones, who furiously responded: "Come up here, you Scouse prick and I’ll show you."

Tom Jones with his manager Gordon Mills. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Picture: Getty

Continuing the tale with a smirk on his face, Jones added: "Gordon Mills says, 'It's his sense of humour, don't'. Which of course it was, and we became friends later on."

Jones added: "He was taking the mick or taking the piss, so that was his sense of humour."

Though he didn't get the joke initially, and if it wasn't due to his manager, the fallout could've been much worse than a mere verbal exchange.

It's not like the potential fracas between the two left any lasting bad blood however, with Jones explaining to the Liverpool Echo years later that Paul McCartney explained John's outburst.

"Paul McCartney said to me, 'If John Lennon made fun of a song, it means he likes it, because he wouldn't make a comment on it if it didn't strike him."

Tom Jones On John Lennon

Like Tom Jones, Elvis Presley also didn't understand John Lennon's humour, and actively disliked him because of it. Picture: Getty

Another music icon who didn't quite understand John Lennon and his incisive humour was none other than Elvis Presley.

Tom Jones befriended Elvis, and The King took some pleasure in someone else not being Lennon's biggest fan, according to author Chris Hutchens.

In a 2020 interview with the Daily Mail, Hutchens recalled: "His [Presley’s] dislike of the pacifist Beatle [Lennon] was born from the night I took the Fab Four to his house for their first – and last – meeting.“

"John had annoyed Presley by making his anti-war feelings known the moment he stepped into the massive lounge and spotted the table lamps – model wagons engraved with the message: 'All the way with LBJ [former US President Lyndon B Johnson]'."

Celebrated (and often mocked) for his legacy of protestation that he often conceived with his wife Yoko Ono, John Lennon hated Lyndon B Johnson due to his escalation of the Vietnam War.

Whilst Elvis Presley and Tom Jones may have never seen eye-to-eye with John Lennon on a personal level, both were still vocal in praise for his incredible, once-in-a-lifetime talent when it came to music.