A PONTARDDULAIS man has revealed how he talked Welsh singer Sir Tom Jones out of committing suicide in the days before his first big hit.

Vernon Mills Hopkins said the Welsh crooner was on the verge of taking his life when he helped to talk him round.

Mr Hopkins, of Glynhir Road, who has just launched an album, The Brave Bar None, some of the proceeds of which are being donated to the Red Cross, was the leader of a group called The Senators at the time.

He said they had gone to London seeking fame and success.

"We were starving, sharing two sausage sandwiches between the five of us. We were getting thin.

"Tom was contemplating committing suicide. We found him in a basement flat, rat-infested, and all the walls were covered in damp and fungus and dry rot.

"We were living like squatters. We did it for nine months. Linda, Tom's wife, was in Wales.

Dismal

"Tom said: "I can't get any more money.".

"I was in this dismal flat and he was on the bed crying in tears. He said: 'I'm going to throw myself in front of a train.'

"I said: 'We are all in the same boat'. I said: 'I'll buy a cup of tea for you'.

"Not long after that he took a demo for It's not Unusual for Sandy Shaw.

"In the end Tom recorded it and the rest is history."

Sir Tom told a Welsh newspaper in 2005 about the period before his success.

He said: "For a split second I thought, 'if I just step to the right it'd be over.'

"I felt so down because I didn't know what to do. That very rarely happens to me.

"I didn't want to go back to Wales without proving myself. I wasn't making any money."

The singer said thoughts of his young wife Linda and son Mark back in Wales stopped him from killing himself.

Mr Hopkins's new album The Brave Bar None, is being released on September 13.

It is a compilation of Welsh singers, including Iris Williams MBE, Rob Allen and Robert Garnay. It follows his success with his composition, The Liberation Hymn, which raised cash for armed forces charity Help For Heroes.