Tom Jones Just Help Yourself

Book by Hopkins, Vernon

When Vernon persuaded a 21-year-old Tom Jones to join his band – with the promise of a crate of light ale – who would have known history was in the making. ‘I’ve written a book about my time with Tom. There have been many biographies written about his life and times, but no-one was closer to Tom during those formative years than me. Inseparable in many ways, for so long, in the end we couldn’t have been further apart. I got to stand behind the curtain with Tom, and this is my story’. ‘When I was writing the book, it just jogged loose so many memories. I can vividly remember the whole rollercoaster. When we arrived in London we were skint and starving and living in a basement together. The band has been pressing me for years to get our side of the story out, and here it is. There were good times and there were certainly bad times, working with Tom and Gordon was a real education. But I have no regrets. Tom drove the band and the band drove Tom, and the audiences responded and bless them all for their support. It all worked beautifully, it was a beautiful time and a beautiful bunch of boys from the Valleys in South Wales followed their dreams and against all the odds got noticed. Now who could argue with that?’