2. Tuberculosis was his saviour
As a boy, Sir Tom had tuberculosis. The illness saw him bedridden for around two years, but meant he had little to do during that time other than to listen to music.
It also had another unexpectedly positive effect in helping him to escape the fate of many a boy growing up in the Welsh Valleys.
He told The Guardian: “The doctor said to my parents, ‘Whatever you do, you can’t put this boy in a coal mine because he has weak lungs’. And the weird thing is, with weak lungs I’ve become a f****** singer.”