Tom Jones recalled that he nearly fought John Lennon during their first meeting at a television studio in 1965, after Lennon mocked the lyrics to Jones’s hit ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and used a homophobic slur. The confrontation was avoided when Jones’s manager, Gordon Mills, urged him not to react, preventing a clash during one of Jones’s early major television appearances.

Jones later said the two men became friends and came to see Lennon’s behaviour as his abrasive form of humour. He also recalled Paul McCartney suggesting that Lennon’s mockery indicated affection for the song, though the article notes that the slur was offensive regardless; Jones had recently found fame with ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and was appearing on Thank Your Lucky Stars to promote ‘Once Upon A Time’.