Sir Tom Jones was told he wouldn't become a star because he had curly hair.
Sir Tom Jones
The 'Delilah' singer has spent decades at the top of the music business but was told early in his career at the start of the 1960s that he wouldn't succeed because of his curly locks and that his look was "too macho".
Tom said: "I've always been pushing, since I came from Wales to London.
"I was always getting knocked back. Somebody was saying something like, 'Curly hair doesn't work anymore ... and you're a bit too macho.' I said, 'Sorry about that but that's the way I am.' "
The 80-year-old singer added: "They try to change you and mould you and get you to do what's going on at that time.
"They said that the Elvis Presley style has gone. I said, 'Not in my mind, not in my heart!'
"I was up against it with the way I looked, I had a broken nose..."
Tom recalled how he told music bosses that he was successful in his native Wales so he couldn't understand why he wouldn't be in England.
Speaking on 'The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show' on BBC Radio 2, he shared: "I was doing great in Wales so I can't see a big difference between Wales and England. We all speak English, so what's the big deal?"
'The Voice UK' coach revealed that his latest single 'No Hole In My Head' resonates with his early struggles in the music industry.
Tom explained: "This song is telling you that – 'Don't try to put things in my head, there's no hole in my head, don't try to fill it up with stuff that you want me to do'."
Meanwhile, the 'Sex Bomb' hitmaker revealed earlier this month that he has had the coronavirus vaccine.
He said: "That's one good thing about being 80 – you're first in line for the jab.
"It was fine, it was like getting the flu jab."
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