First there was Elvis the Pelvis, who put hip-swivelling male sexuality in the spotlight.

Then there was Tom Jones, who really opened the hormonal floodgates for female fans.

The curly-haired Welsh crooner, named for an 18th-century literary scoundrel, always positioned himself as a lusty lothario, in his tight leather pants, gold chains and shirts opened to the navel.

Ever since the heyday of his superstardom in the mid-1960s and early ’70s, Jones has caused presumably sane women to fling their hotel keys and unmentionables on stage.

So it’s almost a given that someone’s underwear will end up at Jones’s feet when he performs in Red Deer at the Centrium on Wednesday.

The question is will it be control-top panties or a thong?

It could go either way, as Jones’s kitchy popularity cuts across the generations — from original fans, who are now in their 60s, to teenagers who have learned to love — and giggle at — the infectiously overblown Jones repertoire.

Who has not had It’s Not Unusual take over the neural pathways of their brain? Who has not secretly sung What’s New, Pussy Cat? in the shower?

A woman who identifies herself only as ‘Tisha Tomaddict’ gushes about Jones’s “still fabulous abs” on his website, proving that the 67-year-old’s sex-bomb image is here to stay.

Who knows whether the singer originally known as Thomas Jones Woodward will grace us with a similar view — but Red Deer fans are sure to get plenty of his greatest hits.

These include Delilah, I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, Green Green Grass of Home, Help Yourself, and She’s a Lady.

Jones might even crack out his surprise 1980s hit A Boy From Nowhere, which was taken from the musical Matador.

More recently, Jones has collaborated with a new generation of musicians, including Prince, Tori Amos, the Cardigans, The Pretenders, Mousse T, and Wyclef Jean.

His Reloaded album of cover songs became the biggest hit of his career in 2000.

In 2003, he was honoured with a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and his self-parodying Sex Bomb single became a major club hit in 2004.

Jones was knighted by the queen in 2006, and was among the elite musicians invited to perform in 2007 at the Wembley Stadium memorial concert for the late Princess Diana.

The iconic singer still spends a major part of the year performing a cabaret-styled show for screaming fans at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

While his management has tried to diffuse Jones’s appeal to knicker-throwing females, the performer has made no effort to tone down his sex-charged concert persona.

That will mean watch out for UFUs (unidentified flying undies) at the Centrium.

Contact Lana Michelin at lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com