Bono's building site song for Tom

Sir Tom Jones asked U2's Bono to write him a song for his new solo album, 24 Hours, which will be released in the UK next month.

Sugar Daddy was written after the veteran singer met the supergroup frontman in a Dublin nightclub.

Even though Bono does not perform on the track, U2 guitarist The Edge plays on it.

It refers to Sir Tom's early days as a building site worker. He has now sold more than 100m records worldwide.

"I was in a club in Dublin and I was talking to Bono and asked him if he would write me a song, so he said I'll write you one but I need to know a lot about you so I can write something about you," Sir Tom told BBC Radio Wales.

"He came up with Sugar Daddy."

"I told him all kinds of things and about how I worked on building sites. He wrote 'you're gonna get your hands dirty when you're digging a ditch,' but the next line is fantastic - 'boredom is God's revenge on the rich!'"

'Richer sounding'

He then saw Bono in another club in London and asked him for a writing credit as the song was all about him - but the U2 front man turned down his request.

The CD, 24 Hours, which has a "retro sound" is due to be released in October in the US, while in the UK it will be out a month later.

Only two cover versions have been included, Bruce Springsteen's The Hitter and I'm Alive by Tommy James and the Shondells.

It is produced drum 'n' bass outfit Future Cut, who have previously worked with Lily Allen and Dizzee Rascal.

Sir Tom, who now lives in Los Angeles, said he thought his voice had become better with age and had become "richer sounding".

He said he took care of his voice by using a humidity gauge when travelling to keep his throat from drying.

He also spoke of his relationship with his manager son Mark, which he compared to that of two brothers rather than father and son - and said he has always been ready to speak up about the music he is recording.

"There's not quite 17 years between us, I was 16 when he was born," he said.

"Mark's worked with me since he was 16, he came on the road and did the lighting. After my manager, Gordon Mills from Tonypandy, died Mark and his wife Donna, took over. It works really well."

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