My, my, my Sylvia it’s been 50 years

GOLDEN couple . . . Sylvia and Ray Dean

TOM Jones impersonator Ray Dean is proof it’s not unusual to be loved by anyone.

He’s following in the footsteps of the Welsh superstar — who chalked up his 50th wedding anniversary in 2007 — by celebrating his own Golden Wedding anniversary with teenage sweetheart Sylvia today.

The pair met on the No.9 bus from Oldham to Rochdale in 1957, the year Tom married 16-year-old Melinda Trenchard.

Ray (72) said: “I had been performing at a working men’s club in Rochdale and Sylvia had been dancing at the Carlton.

“She was very attractive, like she is now, and was with a friend who I knew.

“They were sat together on the bus and I popped my head between them.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

The couple married at Oldham Parish Church and lived in Greenacres. Daughter Jayne was born and they moved to Shaw, then Wardle.

Sylvia has been her husband’s personal assistant throughout his career and they have travelled from Aberdeen to Australia for his performances. Highlights have included a Finnish stadium gig just three days before the real Tom Jones was due to appear.

Ray also appeared on a tribute show at the Saku Suurhall Stadium, Estonia — venue for the Eurovision Song Contest — in front of a bumper 10,000-strong crowd.

The couple turned down a chance to move to Las Vegas, but have visited several times to watch the Welshman himself, who they have been lucky enough to meet.

The couple are planning to fly out again in the near future and are also hoping to move back to Oldham one day.

Sylvia (71) said: “I have been everywhere with him. We have been all over the world and we have had some wonderful experiences.”