Tom Jones has revealed that he thought about throwing himself in front of a tube train just before he hit the big time back in the sixties. Not only would have this delayed the commute for other swinging pop stars like Twiggy, it would also have denied us the pleasure of singing Delilah drunkenly for years to come and watching him punch Martians in Tim Burton movies.
SKY Showbiz have the full story in which Tom admits, "For a split second I thought, 'Aww, f*** it, if I just step to the right it'd be over". We're obliged to point out that that may well have not been the case thanks to the wonderful suicide pits that dot the tube.
Suicide pits were originally built for drainage, but over the years have helped to save around half of those who fall or jump in front of tube trains. They allow extra room for a body to tumble away from the wheels after being struck rather than being carried under the length of the train. Not all stations have them and the chances of survival fall dramatically at some points of the underground, especially as the new trains on the Jubilee line have less ground clearance, meaning there is less rooms to escape the wheels. This is perhaps why the sliding doors and partitions have been introduced at the newer stations.
We'd like to ask any pop stars currently depressed by the state of their careers (hello Mrs Beckham) not to go throwing themselves under trains as you may only lose your limbs and end up like the chap in that Metallica video...
