When Sir Tom Jones contracted a nasty upper respiratory infection back in July that forced him to postpone a show in Germany, he apologized to disappointed fans and promised to make it up to them.
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But on Wednesday night (Nov. 4) during his rescheduled show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on his Come Gather Round tour — which was originally scheduled for Oct. 26 and then postponed after Jones contracted the flu — Jones, 86, revealed that his latest health scare had him fearing the worst.
“[I thought], ‘Oh, well, this is it,’” he told the crowd at the Greek, according to BBC News. “‘You’ve had a wonderful life, Tommy, but it’s over right now.” Jones reportedly spent a week at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles due to the illness described at the time as a “bad case of the flu,” which resulted in the rescheduling of shows in L.A. and San Diego.
He later had to reschedule another California show as doctors ordered more rest and then postponed gigs in Sacramento and San Francisco as well on doctor’s advice.
“I must say this, in the UCLA, they really did a wonderful job. So I’m here,” he told the L.A. audience. “[The medical staff said] ‘What do you want to do now?’ I was there for a week. And I said, ‘I’ve got to get back on the stage.’ This is where I belong. I can’t live without this, believe me.’”
Jones’ next scheduled show is a rescheduled gig at the Yaamava’ Theater in Highland, Calif. on Friday night (Nov. 6).
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