Sir Tom Jones halts Cardiff gig after being booed for defending controversial song

Sir Tom Jones was booed by the crowd at Cardiff Castle as he defended his controversial song Delilah, which was banned by the Welsh Rugby Union in 2023

Sir Tom Jones faced boos from the audience as he addressed the controversy surrounding one of his most famous tracks on Wednesday evening.

The 85 year old singer headlined Cardiff Castle for two consecutive nights from August 20, performing beloved hits including What's New Pussycat, I'm Growing Old and Sex Bomb for the assembled crowd.

However, tensions rose when discussion turned to Delilah, which had served as an unofficial Welsh rugby anthem for numerous years before being prohibited by the Welsh Rugby Union in 2023.

The prohibition resulted from the song's lyrical themes, which depict a man killing the eponymous Delilah upon discovering her infidelity.

One verse states: "I crossed the street to her house and she opened the door; she stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more", leading officials to conclude three years ago that the track should no longer feature at major Welsh sporting occasions due to concerns it glorified violence towards women, reports the Mirror.

Addressing the issue during his recent performance, Tom questioned the crowd: "Who's that man who said we shouldn't sing that song anymore? That used to make my day that on an international match."

The Voice UK panellist previously relished hearing thousands belt out his composition before major fixtures, maintaining that the lyrics shouldn't be interpreted 'literally'. He added: "I used to wait for it and then they said we can't sing it anymore. Who is this man who said we can't sing Delilah? They said it's about a man killing his wife with a knife. Well it is, but you shouldn't take it literally."

It was then that crowd booed in support of Tom's backing of the song.

Delilah was originally released in 1968 and became the sixth-best-selling single of that year after reaching number two in the charts.

It subsequently became one of Tom's signature tunes.

The track featured in the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, with the crooner performing it at Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

However, concerns about the violent content began emerging as early as 2015, with the song's official ban from the Principality Stadium occurring nearly a decade later.

A Principality Stadium spokesperson said: "Delilah will not feature on the playlist for choirs for rugby internationals at Principality Stadium. The WRU removed the song from its half-time entertainment and music playlist during international matches in 2015

"Guest choirs have also more recently been requested not to feature the song during their pre-match performances and throughout games.

"The WRU condemns domestic violence 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."

The song's use had previously been slammed by Dafydd Iwan, whose rendition of Yma O Hyd has become a staple of Welsh football. He stated it was "a song about murder and it does tend to trivialise the idea of murdering a woman".

Rhondda MP Chris Bryant cited the increase in domestic abuse during live sport as a reason to cease playing it.