Tom Jones International

Oddly, two versions of this story were published in the same source. The other one says, rightly, “Sir Tom was invited to the unveiling but was unable to attend,” rather than the snide ending here. (We know Tom was performing in Seattle yesterday.) The photo here is of Jo Mills, Gordon’s widow at the unveiling. It’s by Richard Williams, Media Wales. The photo on the left of Tom, Mark and Gordon is from a tourbook tribute in 1987 and, on the right is part of the Life magazine cover from the issue in which the magazine charted Gordon’s success with Tom and Enge. Following the story we’ve added a transcript of a BBC interview in which Tom spoke of Gordon.

May 31 2008/by James McCarthy/South Wales Echo

THE man credited with discovering superstar Tom Jones as well as providing him with one of his biggest hits has been remembered with a plaque at his former Valleys home.

The family of Gordon Mills, the man who wrote the global hit It’s Not Unusual, was in Wales yesterday to witness the unveiling of the commemorative plate at 97 Brithweunydd Road, Trealaw, in the Rhondda.

Mills was the Las Vegas regular’s manager and co-songwriter – and family members even said the man who has become known as “The Voice” may not have become the colossus he is today had it not been for their relative. He died in July 1986, aged 51, just three weeks after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.

As well as unearthing the talents of Tom Jones he was the man behind Engelbert Humperdinck and piano balladeer Gilbert O’Sullivan.

Mr Mills’ 34-year-old son, also called Gordon, is a songwriter and producer from Weybridge, Surrey. He co-wrote Newton Faulkner’s hit Dream Catch Me.

Speaking outside his dad’s old house he said: “I think they would be doing pretty much what they were doing before he discovered them. If it was just one [singer he discovered] it could have been a fluke, but not for someone to have done it three times with Tom, Engelbert and Gilbert.”

Mr Mills’ widow Jo, 68, a mum of five and grandmother of 13, who also lives in Weybridge, was at the ceremony too.

The Rhodesian-born former Miss South Africa runner-up, who helped Mr Mills with his songwriting, said: “Who knows where they would be? They were each talented but the route was far quicker having met him. I think Tom would have made something of himself sooner or later, but I doubt it would have been by the direct route he had.”

About 30 people gathered for the unveiling of the grey granite stone, which simply read: “Gordon Mills, 1935-1986 lived here. Songwriter and manager of Tom Jones.”

Since there was no actual veil, Mr Mills’ son stood in front of it until Trealaw deputy mayor Rob Smith finished giving a speech.

Mr Smith said: “He was known as Mills the Man of Music and that was quite fitting.”

Rhondda Civic Society hit upon the idea for the memorial.

The society’s Bill Murphy said: “It is very fitting that Gordon Mills should be remembered in this way.” Mr Mills started on the road to fame when he packed in his job as a bus conductor with Rhondda Transport.

Tom Jones was invited to the ceremony but was said to be busy. He was unavailable for comment.

IN an interview with BBC Wales Tom Jones spoke of the time he first met Gordon Mills. He said: “Gordon Mills came to visit his mother in Tonypandy, because that is where he is from and a friend of ours, Johnny Bennett, and Gordon Jones, grew up with Gordon Mills, they went to school with him.

“So when he came to visit his mother, Johnny Bennett said to me, ‘Gordon Mills is coming home this weekend, to see his mother, so I’ll get him to come and see you in the club’. “So I was singing with The Senators in this club in Cwmtillery called the Top Hat club. “We were playing there and Gordon with his wife came and saw the show. “When he saw it, or heard me singing he said, ‘My God, you should be in London.’ And I said, I understand that, but who do I talk to when I get there? And he said that he would help me. “He wasn’t thinking about management at that time. But he said he was writing songs for Leeds Music, a music publishing company, and he would do whatever he could.

“He called me another night and said that he was thinking about management. He said he’d never managed anybody before, because he was singing with a group called The Viscounts up to that point, and he had had some success with writing songs.

“So he said he would like to manage me if I was up for it. And I said, yes, definitely. Because I knew who Gordon Mills was, I’d seen him on television, so I knew that he knew what he was talking about. He wasn’t one of those guys that said he could do something when he couldn’t. I mean, I knew this man could.”