Tom Jones wanted to work with Whitney Houston.

The "What's New P***y Cat" singer - who has worked with the likes of Elvis Presley and the Stereophonics in the past - thinks Amy Winehouse's death at 27 last July was particularly tragic as she hadn't left a substantial body of work, unlike the "I Will Always Love You" hitmaker, who passed away in February aged 48.

"Poor Amy Winehouse. At least someone like Whitney Houston left a legacy of great stuff but Amy, she was only just getting into gear. I would love to have worked with Whitney, but I never got to," he said.

Tom is disparaging about many modern day singers, believing they are too focused on "vocal acrobatics."

"Don't get me wrong, I think there are some great voices around. But record companies hear something and they want more of it. So now if you don't put a lot of runs in, a lot of vocal acrobatics, they think you're not being modern enough. Jackie Wilson did it years ago, but when he did it, it fitted to what it was. Nowadays, because they feel it is in fashion, they do it anyway."