Tom Jones hits back at decision to ban ‘Delilah’ from Welsh rugby games

Tom Jones has spoken out against the decision to ban ‘Delilah’ from being sung during Welsh rugby matches.

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The 1968 hit, written by Barry Mason, was a classic track often sung by a choir at rugby matches in Wales. However, in February it was announced by the Welsh Rugby Union that it would no longer be performed by choirs at the Principality Stadium due to its connotations to domestic violence.

The decision was linked to the lyrics of the track, which describe a man murdering his girlfriend after she is caught with another man.

During a concert at Cardiff Castle this Saturday (July 22), Jones spoke out against the censorship of the song and performed a cover of it for his audience.

According to outlets BBC News and The Telegraph, the 83-year-old Welsh singer told the crowd: “You can’t stop us singing ‘Delilah’. Can you imagine? Who was the man who didn’t want us to sing ‘Delilah’?”

“They may stop the choir from singing it, but they haven’t stopped the crowd,” he continued, adding, “Keep on singing it – and I’ll keep on singing it too.”

This isn’t the first time that Jones has spoken out regarding the controversy around the song. Back in 2014, he defended the track when there were calls to have it banned, and claimed that seeing it sung live made him “very proud to be Welsh”.

“I love to hear it sung at rugby games. It makes me very proud to be Welsh,” he said at the time (via The Independent). “I think if they’re looking into the lyric about a man killing a woman, it’s not a political statement. It’s just something that happens in life that [a] woman was unfaithful to him and he just loses it.”

Discussing the recent decision to have the song removed from the playlist for choirs at Principality Stadium, a statement explained that it censored the track as it was “upsetting to some supporters because of its subject matter”.

“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,” it read.

“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.”

Additionally, in 2016, MP for Rhondda Chris Bryant defended the song ban stating: “It is a simple fact that when there are big international rugby matches on, and sometimes football matches as well, the number of domestic violence incidents rises dramatically,” he said [via The Guardian].

“I know that some people will say, ‘Oh, here we go, he’s a terrible spoilsport,’ but the truth is that that song is about the murder of a prostitute.”

In other Tom Jones news, the singer last released an album in 2021. ‘Surrounded By Time’, his 41st record, arrived in April of that year and included covers of songs by Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and Bobby Cole.

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