MEET Ellesmere Port-educated John Prescott.

Not the long-serving politician and former Deputy Prime Minister, but the number one lookalike and tribute act to Sir Tom Jones.

It’s not unusual to see John, who grew up in Pooltown Road, strutting his stuff on stages across the globe as the legendary Welsh singer and international sex bomb.

But the 49-year-old still remembers his roots and spoke to the Pioneer about his “whirlwind” career as a full-time lookalike during a visit back home.

John, who like his namesake attended the old Grange school in Regent Street, first emulated Sir Tom as a favour to a friend who used to do tribute act shows before being asked to go on the UK tour of the hit TV series Stars in their Eyes in 2003. He hasn’t looked back since.

He said: “It’s changed my life.

“It’s just been a whirlwind few years. I spend a lot of time on the road but it’s been fantastic.”

Impersonating the much-loved popstar has seen John perform across the country as well as in America, Greece and even the Cayman Islands.

He has also starred in a film about Sir Tom with rock band The Lost Prophets, and appeared in Merseybeat and a TV commercial for Coronation Street.

John, a former milkman in the town who has also worked at Bowater’s Bridgewater paper mill and Vauxhall Motors, admits that although the looks were never a problem, emulating the singer was a rather different challenge.

He explained: “I played guitar in school and have been in various bands. I was into Guns and Roses and AC/DC so Tom Jones was not really my type of music back then.

“It was a bit of task to take him off. That was the most difficult part but I studied him closely and now I love his music.

“The audiences are great. They treat it as the real thing. They want to live it so they come along and bombard the stage with knickers!”

So does John get the thumbs up from the man himself?

He said: “Everyone says you must have met him but I haven’t yet.

“I’d love to meet him, there is still plenty of time. It’d be great to do a duet!”