Sir Tom Jones "didn’t make a sound" when he was born.
The ‘Green Green Grass of Home’ hitmaker has made a career out of using his voice, but he has revealed he wasn’t always so vocal, as he said he was so silent at birth that it was feared he was dead.
In a BBC Radio 2 documentary titled ‘Sir Tom’s Musical Years’ – which is set to air next Saturday (06.06.20) to mark his 80th birthday the following day – he said: "When I was born they thought I was stillborn because I didn’t make a sound.
"The midwife said to my mother, ‘I am awfully sorry. He isn’t breathing’.
"So thank God my grandmother was there.
"She said, ‘Just a minute’.
"She brought in a bucket of cold water and grabbed me by the ankles, dipped me in it and spun me around her head by my ankles."
Meanwhile, the ‘Delilah’ singer previously said he’s in such good shape he has a "12 pack", and is doing his best to take care of his health, including cutting down on his alcohol consumption.
He said: "I used to drink quite a lot. Not much now. Just wine with dinner, a pint of beer once in a while.
"[The key is] not to eat too much of one thing, and have more protein than carbs.
"I’ve got a 12 pack. But health is very important and that’s a lot of luck. You’ve got to take care of yourself."
The comments came after Tom had cancelled a string of concerts due to health problems, although he later said he was as "strong as ever".
Asked if he still lived up to his 1999 hit single ‘Sex Bomb’, he said: "I hope so. I feel as strong as ever. I don’t feel any different. I’m just an older version of what I was 40 years ago."