Tom Jones’ strange bathroom encounter with Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was a larger-than-life presence with an artistic aura that had the ability to intimidate almost anybody he came into contact with. However, there was always a camaraderie between Elvis and Tom Jones, who was unphased by Presley’s star power. The pair shared an extremely close relationship and were comfortable in almost any scenario – no matter how bizarre.
According to Jones, who was appearing as a guest on The Graham Norton Show, the first meeting between the two iconic music industry figures occurred in 1965 at the Paramount Studios as Elvis was operating in Hollywood. The gathering was initiated by Presley, whose representatives had requested Jones to visit the studio, and he duly obliged.
Jones was new to fame and thought it was “unbelievable” that Elvis wanted to meet him. The Welshman recalled: “So he gets out of this helicopter and starts walking towards me. I had a record out at the time, my third single called ‘With These Hands’ and Elvis is suddenly walking towards me and he’s singing ‘With these hands, I will cling to you…’ And I thought ‘My God! If the boys back home could see me now!”
From that moment on, the two grew closer and regularly socialised while performing residencies in Los Vegas. During another chat show appearance, this time on Conan in 2015, Jones revealed how he played Caesars Palace while Elvis was at the Hilton, and Presley would attend his concert most nights.
After one particular show, Jones jumped into the shower following a performance at Caesars. However, out of the blue, he was unexpectedly greeted by the sound of Elvis’ unmistakable tones. He continued: “This one time, he had this song somebody had tried to pitch to him. So he was in the wings, and when I came off the stage, he was like, ‘Oh I’ve got this song man,’ and I was like, ‘I’ve got to jump into the shower.’ I went into the shower and I was washing my hair and I hear…” Jones pauses, amid a ripple of laughter.
Jones added: “I’m thinking, ‘I’m hearing Elvis Presley in the shower now – I’m going nuts here!’ So when I got the soap out of my eyes, he was over the shower door – he was right there, and I said ‘Elvis, I’ll be right there!’ I got out of the shower and I say he’d been to the toilet in my bathroom while I was in the shower. He was wearing a North Beach leather outfit – a lot of us used to – and they weren’t lined, they were just natural leather. So he was standing there, cleaning up and looking in the mirror. So I’m naked, and he’s half naked.”
Bizarrely, the story doesn’t end there. After Presley had finished his business, Jones alerted him his pants were still on the floor. Rather than fix the issue, Elvis shouted for the assistance of his bodyguard, Red, because he was “too celebrity” to pull them up himself. If that’s not the sign of true friendship, then what is?
