Sir Tom Jones, 80, has opened up about a scary moment when he was caught in the undertow of shark-infested waters. The star said it was “divine” intervention that managed to save his life as he reflected on the moment once again.
The Welsh crooner spoke about how he got into trouble in Acapulco back in the 1960s.
He was holidaying at the popular beach resort when he swam off by himself.
However, when he looked back at the beach, he found himself swept out much further than he had thought.
He said: “I’m swimming back, head down, as you do, and I come up and I hadn’t moved an inch.
“I thought, ‘This is it now’. I always used to take my jewellery off, you know put it in my man bag.
“And I didn’t take my cross and chain off for some unknown reason, I don’t know why.
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Sir Tom then revealed how local swimmers had told him he was very lucky to have made it back.
They said to him: “There was no way, you must have had some divine thing take you and place you back on that beach. It was not your time to go.”
Acapulco was a major destination for stars from the late 1940s to the 1960s.
Along with Sir Tom, some stars who frequented the spot included Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn, John Wayne and Brigitte Bardot.
Due to its popularity with stars, it was even nicknamed the Mexican Riviera at the time.
Tom was speaking out ahead of his new album Surrounded By Time, which is out this week.
The new collection of covers features songs like I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall and The Windmills Of Your Mind.
Ahead of its release on April 23, Sir Tom also opened up in an interview with Saturday’s Daily Express about his health.
Talking about when he had a urinary tract infection two years ago, he revealed how he was “angry at his doctor.
He explained: “The doctor told me, ‘You’re 78, you shouldn’t be running about on stage now, should you?’
“I was a bit angry at that. I told him, ‘Just because it stings when I pee, that’s got nothing to do with whether I can sing.’
“I felt great then, and I feel great now. I shouldn’t slow down. Slowing down is what kills you.”
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