Tom Jones International

First, guitarist Mickey Gee — one of the original Senators who backed Tommy Scott died in February and it was pointed out his passing was not noted here. Gee is seated right in this photo with —from left— Tom, Dave Cooper, Vernon Hopkins and Chris Slade. So, here is part of his obituary from the Times:

Mickey Gee was one of those stalwart musicians whose playing was familiar to millions but whose name was known to very few.

Dubbed “the master of the Telecaster” after his favourite instrument and “the best guitarist ever to come out of Wales”, his skilled playing can be heard backing such Welsh stars as Tom Jones, Shakin’ Stevens and Dave Edmunds.

Born in Cardiff in 1943, he began playing the guitar in his early teens. In 1963 he joined a local band called Tommy Scott and the Senators. The group swiftly became the Playboys and then the Squires, with Gee acting as musical director.

After recording several tracks with the producer Joe Meek as Tommy Scott and the Squires, the group broke up at the end of 1964 when the impresario Gordon Mills offered the lead singer a solo contract. Tommy Scott changed his name to Tom Jones and went on to stardom, while Gee returned to playing pubs and clubs on the South Wales live-music circuit.

He went on to play with Joe Cocker, Shakin’ Stevens and several other notables and gained a reputation as a guitarist’s guitarist.

There’s still the story about the “shrine” to Sir Tom and the question on which your opinion is desired. So, please,

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Second, a sweet story from Wales about a great-grandmother — who happens to be two years younger than Tom even though they make her sound ancient — who calls herself his “number one fan” (and we’d have to dispute that) and has opened her “shrine” to the public to raise money for charity. (Surely Sir Tom would approve the cause.) So, next time you’re in Nefyn, Gwynedd, be sure to visit:
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Great-grandmother’s ‘shrine’ to Tom Jones

Apr 12 2009 by Katie Norman, Wales On Sunday

A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER who claims to be Sir Tom Jones’ number one fan has set up a shrine to the Voice of the Valleys in her own home.

And Ann Hughes, 67, is even inviting visitors to view her massive collection of memorabilia in exchange for donations to a children’s charity.

The retired newsagents’ assistant has stuck up posters advertising her Tom Jones grotto around her home town of Nefyn, Gwynedd.

She said: “I’m just proud of what I’ve got – I’ve been collecting memorabilia for 45 years and I want to share it with other people. I feel lucky to have everything he’s ever done.

“I’ve had the collection in a special room for about three years. I did it just before he got his knighthood – the reason being, I used to get people coming to see my collection and it was a lot of effort to get it all out and then put it all away again.”

As well as hundreds of records, tapes, CDs, pictures, books, videos and DVDs, Ann’s collection includes a Tom Jones jigsaw and limited edition Grogg figurine. It also includes stacks of personalised autographs and letters from “Sir Tom’s people”, thanking Ann for the many gifts she has sent him.

Over the years the super-fan has seen Sir Tom sing live around 200 times.

Although happily married to her husband Dafydd, she is known around Nefyn as “Mrs Tom Jones”.

She said: “My husband’s all right about it. He knows it’s always been Sir Tom.”

Ann has briefly spoken to her idol when presenting him with gifts at the front of the stage at his concerts, but her dream is to one day meet him properly in person.

The grandmother of 15’s love affair with the pop legend began when she saw him perform at a Warrington nightclub in the early 1960s.

She said: “His voice was so powerful that they had to turn the microphone off. I thought, ‘Where has he come from, he’s like dynamite’.”

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Now, the question of Tom’s collaboration with Tower of Power has come up. What do you think of their version of I Thank You? Like it? No? Why? How does it compare to the one Tom did on his album Tom?