{"id":1974466,"date":"2025-08-22T14:20:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1974466"},"modified":"2025-08-22T14:20:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:20:25","slug":"sir-tom-jones-bemoans-delilah-ban-at-gig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/sir-tom-jones-bemoans-delilah-ban-at-gig\/","title":{"rendered":"Sir Tom Jones bemoans Delilah ban at gig"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span>Credit: @Popprince\/X<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sir Tom Jones has bemoaned the cancellation of Delilah at a gig.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Welsh hitmaker made no apologies as he belted out the 1968 classic at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/cardiff\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cardiff;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Cardiff<\/a> Castle on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The song, which centres on a jealous lover stabbing his unfaithful partner, was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/cancel-culture\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:cancelled;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">cancelled<\/a> by the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/wales-rugby-union-team\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Welsh Rugby Union;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Welsh Rugby Union<\/a> (WRU) over claims it advocates domestic violence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The crowd appeared to boo in support of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/tom-jones\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sir Tom;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Sir Tom<\/a> as he hit out at the hostility to the song, saying its lyrics should not be taken \u201cliterally\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He said: \u201cWho\u2019s that man who said we shouldn\u2019t sing that song any more? That used to make my day that, on an international match.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI used to wait for it and then they said we can\u2019t sing it any more. Who is this man who said we can\u2019t sing Delilah? They said it\u2019s about a man killing his wife with a knife. Well, it is, but you shouldn\u2019t take it literally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The song includes the lines: \u201cShe stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Sir Tom Jones performed at Cardiff Castle on Wednesday night &#8211; Jonathan Myers\/Mirrorpix<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The song, written by Barry Mason and adopted by Welsh rugby fans as their anthem, was scrapped from the Principality Stadium\u2019s half-time playlists in 2015.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In 2023, the WRU <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/rugby-union\/2023\/02\/01\/tom-jones-delilah-banned-sung-choir-six-nations\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:stopped a choir singing the ballad;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">stopped a choir singing the ballad<\/a> at Welsh international fixtures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A spokesman said at the time: \u201cThe WRU condemns <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/violence-against-women\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:domestic violence;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">domestic violence<\/a> of any kind. We have previously sought advice from subject matter experts on the issue of censoring the song and we are respectfully aware that it is problematic and upsetting to some supporters because of its subject matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"The record cover of Delilah, which was released in 1968\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ZLkZ4OKLRoGfzApLI.Ox0Q--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTcwNTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the_telegraph_258\/0a70480658622f31a26d9de1ddd495c2\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>The record cover of Delilah, which was released in 1968<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There were previous calls to ban Delilah in 2014 and 2016, with former Plaid Cymru president Dafydd Iwan saying the karaoke <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/culture\/music\/11294301\/Ban-Delilah-Why-why-why.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:classic should be outlawed;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">classic should be outlawed<\/a> because it depicts the brutal revenge killing of a woman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As well as its association with Welsh rugby, fans of football club Stoke City have sung Sir Tom\u2019s classic since the Eighties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sir Tom reached number one in several countries with the song, including Germany and Switzerland. The single reached number two in the British charts in March 1968.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/customer\/subscribe\/01doysa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><b>Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: @Popprince\/X Sir Tom Jones has bemoaned the cancellation of Delilah at a gig. The Welsh hitmaker made no apologies as he belted out the 1968 classic at Cardiff Castle on Wednesday night. The song, which centres on a jealous lover stabbing his unfaithful partner, was cancelled by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) over claims [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1974467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[342084,352300,352301,340646,352302,352299],"class_list":["post-1974466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-cardiff-castle","tag-delilah","tag-sir-tom","tag-sir-tom-jones","tag-welsh-rugby","tag-welsh-rugby-union"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Sir-Tom-Jones-bemoans-Delilah-ban-at-gig.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1974466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1974467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1974466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1974466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1974466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}