Iconic singer Engelbert Humperdinck reveals feud with fellow British heartthrob continues 40 years later

They were the tuxedo-clad crooners who drove their adoring female fans so wild they would throw their panties on the stage.

But then 1960s heartthrobs Engelbert Humperdinck and Tom Jones had a massive falling out – and now, with both the British-born singers well into their 80s, there is no sign of a thaw between them.

The aging artists are still at each other’s throats, 40 years after cracks in their relationship first appeared.

Now in an exclusive interview, Engelbert, 88, has slammed the Delilah singer for pouring fuel on the flames of their long-running feud by calling him a ‘pr*ck’.

‘Whatever he thinks is fine with me, but I would never repeat those words to him,’ said Engelbert, famed for tunes like The Last Waltz and Release Me.

‘I was brought up to believe that civility costs nothing – my father taught me that – and if you’re not going to say anything good about somebody, don’t say anything at all.

‘I have never done that and I never will.’

Reminded that he has previously been reported as saying Tom, 84, had ‘lost his voice’, Engelbert responded: ‘I never made that criticism, no sir.

‘I have always said the man is a great talent with a great voice and that is why he is still around today.

‘I’ve never said anything derogatory about that man, never.’

The two men are forever linked thanks to their parallel careers. Both were managed by Gordon Mills who suggested they change their names to find fame.

Gerry Dorsey chose the moniker of an obscure German composer while Thomas Woodward picked the far simpler name from a Henry Fielding novel.

Tom had the greater success with smash hits like It’s Not Unusual and What’s New Pussycat?, but Engelbert wasn’t far behind on both sides of the Atlantic with songs like Les Bicyclettes de Belsize and Am I That Easy to Forget?

Both were sex symbols with long-standing marriages, Tom married Linda Trenchard aged 16 when she became pregnant, and Engelbert tied the knot with Patricia Healey in 1964.

Sadly, both are now single again. Linda died of cancer in 2016 while Patricia died the following year after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

Despite their marriages, both had a reputation as ladies’ men and were each found to have fathered other women’s children.

Tom even claimed he had sex with 250 women a year at the peak of his fame.

‘We were good friends back in the day,’ Engelbert told DailyMail.com. ‘But it’s a fine line – something happens and then you’re not.

‘I’ve tried to calm it down and make amends and he doesn’t want to know.

‘The last time I got in touch was when I sent a letter of condolence for the loss of his wife, but I never got an answer and that’s OK with me. God bless him.’

The root cause of their disagreement has never been definitively revealed, but claims throughout the years suggest it was all over a woman.

Reports say Engelbert made a move on Tom’s girlfriend – author and talk show host Charlotte Laws, now 64.

She claimed: ‘It was no secret I was with Tom. I went to his [Engelbert’s] private dressing room. He stood up and said, “I think I have a problem,” – and dropped his trousers.’

But promoting his 50-show Last Waltz tour, which arrives in the US this month, Engelbert categorically denied hitting on Laws.

He said: ‘The real reason Tom Jones and I fell out – I can’t tell you.

‘It’s nothing to do with women or the business, it was something else and I just don’t want to talk about it because I don’t think it’s suitable to talk about.

‘It must have been over 40 years ago that we fell out.

‘I saw Tom as a good friend too, but he obviously wasn’t too friendly because friends don’t break up.

‘It was good times in the past, but they’re gone. It’s like that lovely Adele song – Water Under The Bridge.’

As for Tom, he’s quite clear on what he thinks of his rival.

‘There is nothing friendly about me and Engelbert because he is a pr*ck and you can quote me on that. We fell out years ago.’

Engelbert said losing his wife was much more painful than losing his friendship with his nemesis and revealed that it wasn’t her Alzheimer’s that took her life.

‘We both got Covid together and we went into the hospital together and we came out and it was fine, but her damaged heart took her.

’It’s been hard.

‘I got rid of our house in LA because there were too many memories there but I still have the house in England and she loved that house because it had a wonderful garden, which she would do herself,’ he added.

‘She made it absolutely magnificent and she had a section for Princess Diana there. I kept that house and frequently went home and spent time there.

‘The memories there are good while the ones here in LA are not so good. At the moment, I’m sitting in a rented home until I find something suitable.’

Despite being dubbed a crooner, Engelbert insists he is more than that.

‘No crooner has the range I have,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter. ‘I can hit notes a bank could not cash.

‘What I am is a contemporary singer, a stylized performer.’

On his Last Waltz tour, he added: ‘Not only does performing keep me healthy, it’s my lifeblood walking on stage.

‘I love singing my love songs – that’s my forte, love ballads – and I believe that love songs are the heartbeat of the universe.

‘I’ve been very fortunate to be able to do that. What else am I going to do?

‘I’m now on my Last Waltz tour and I have reservations about finishing as I have been in the business for 58 years.

‘We’ve had a wonderful time and I’ve enjoyed every moment and I’ve enjoyed great loyalty from my fans and an almost cult following.

‘We call this the Last Waltz tour but whether it’s going to be, I’m not sure. As the lyrics to the song go, “The last waltz should last forever.”‘