Tom Jones International

Question for all of you: Posts here have been long lately. Too long? What do you think

A Note If You Are In Or Near New York City: Herman Matthews is touring this month with Eagles member (and former Poco member) Timothy B. Schmit in support of Schmit’s new album, Expando which is being released tomorrow, Tuesday. On Wednesday, October 21, they’ll be at the wonderful club, The Bitter End, 47 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and LaGuardia), NYC, NY 10012, (212) 673-7030. It’s a wonderful venue. When I was in high school we’d go there on Saturday nights. Over the years amazing people played the Bitter End. Here are some of them. If you are in the neighborhood you should try to go. (FYI: I vowed only to use what we’ve come to call “TJI Blue” for type on the site but decided to make an exception here (and I’m sure I will do so again) so people who can go won’t miss it.)

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Norman’s review of Liverpool is spot on. Save The Last Dance is not a country song and the Drifters, who made it a hit with Ben E. King singing lead, were not country singers. In fact, Doc Pomus, who co-wrote it, was nowhere near a country writer or singer. He was, instead, known as a “white blues singer,” of Jewish origin and was the brother of famed (to anyone who watches TMZ and the like) divorce lawyer Raoul Felder. Country? Not. So, good call Norman and good call also on asking where A Boy From Nowhere is.

Isn’t it great that Tom is taking a bow with his musicians? Where music is so central to every iota of action on the stage, it’s the right thing to do and, while he’s acknowledged each of them individually for a couple of years, sharing a bow is just the frosting on the cake.

Norman: Echo Arena, Liverpool, October 16, 2009

The Echo Arena is located in the banks of The River Mersey which has probably seen more rock and roll in the last 50 years than any other river in the world. Last night it was rocked by the amazing voice of Tom Jones.

Tom did a very contemporary set keeping the 60′s hits to half a dozen plus He’ll Have To Go, Hard To Handle and ‘She’s A Lady from the 70′s (which was well received), Kiss from the 80s ( what happened to A Boy From Nowhere?), and the rest from his current CD, his 90′s Reload CD You Can Leave Your Hat On and Stoned in Love which was probably the weakest song he sang not because of his vocal performance just because its not a great song.

I didn’t really like Sugar Daddy on the CD but live it’s amazing and a great way to open the show, the audience loved it, sharing the joke with Tom that its a send up of his own image. At the end of Thunderball he held the note for as long as he did when he originally recorded it and he nearly passed out then!!!

For the rest of Norman’s review, Nathalie’s review and more photos (that’s one of hers from Cardiff) and an interview with Tom from the Malta newspaper and a newspaper review from Liverpool (“Phenomenal: 10/10), click here to
I was unsure about the country and western slot but He’ll have To Go and Green Green Grass were great. The latter got a new lease on life by reverting to it’s country roots. Save the Last Dance was OK, but it’s not country and it’s not one of Tom own recordings nor is it contemporary — so I don’t know how it made it into the set.

When he sang Never he explained that it wasn’t about his love of a woman but about his love of music and his thanks that he is able to sing. “So now you know ” he said.

Tom mentioned that he’d had a drink with Sir Cliff Richard in Manchester the night before as they were both staying in the same hotel, he also mentioned the new CD in the New Year, but no details.

Florence Rawlings had opened the show for Tom and during her act she thanked him for the opportunity he had given her, which I thought was nice, at the end she thanked the audience and said ‘enjoy the rest of your evening. You’re going to have a blast and boy was she right.

Tom was on stage for the best part of two hours and he sang his heart out obviously loving every minute of it. He took a quick five minutes at the end to change his shirt and encourage an encore (not that he needed to!!!).

He finished with Take Me Back To The Party during which he introduced the band and singers. At the end they finished arm in arm taking a collective bow. Tom then left the stage to the applause of the audience and the band.

Nathalie: Tom In Cardiff October 9 and 10

Reading these reviews, one almost feels like one is there. After reading since this tour started that the title song from 24 Hours is in the set list, I had a very jarring memory of the dressing down I got from a former friend — not a nice person as many of you have pointed out from reading her posts elsewhere — who was in Las Vegas from the UK when I dared — oh! horror! — to suggest that Tom should sing 24 Hours in his stage show. That person, with the backing of a US fan who didn’t like anything on the entire 24 Hours CD, got really nasty and, in her most smug, self-satisfied tone, told me that singing that song in a show would be a “stupid idea. It’s a hateful song and it is awful.”

Wonder how she likes it now that she’s seeing him do it. From the time I saw him do it there, I thought that magic could be done with the way that song is lit as it was when Tom sang it on Jonathan Ross’ TV show. Looks like it is, indeed, magic. I’d love to see video of it. Thanks for reminding me, Nathalie. You made me smile. >

For those who haven’t seen Tom in Cardiff it’s difficult to imagine the feeling and the emotion level whenever he sings there. It adds something really special to the whole experience.

Friday, October 9th and Saturday, October 10th were no exception. Add to that Tom is in such an amazing shape vocally and physically and so obviously loving what he is doing all ingredients were there to make two memorable nights. And they were indeed amazing shows.

We had bought Hot Tickets packs and had to pick our tickets before the show along with the little gifts: we got a program (beautiful new one with tons of great recent pics of the silver fox), a laminate hot ticket pass with a necklace and a beautiful small gold disc with the picture they used for the posters (the purple one) all framed and very well packed. It’s a really lovely souvenir, I took a picture of it. Then, on Fridays night the security guard didn’t realize at first that with those tickets we still had to wait outside and let us in the lobby for a while and we could hear Tom doing the sound check with the band. Yes, Tom himself, not a musician singing but our man. That was lovely ☺ Then they finally realized we weren’t supposed to be there and we had to leave until the doors actually opened at 6:30.

We were seating both night front row on the left side of the arena, Tom’s right, so we had a lateral view on him most of the time except when he came over to our side. He was looking so great in his dark jeans, purple shirt on the first night, blue with a yellow line on the collar on the second night and leather jacket, really fit and obviously having a wonderful time.
I was wondering how Sugar Daddy would sound as an opening song and it works really well. Tom still has some trouble with the lyrics though, but I’m sure he’ll eventually get them right. Then Give a little love comes immediately after and builds up the energy level. In Cardiff Thunderball was number 3 and Tom gave us an amazing performance both night. On the last note first night he was holding the microphone stand tight and his arm were shaking slightly on the last few seconds: he was giving it all and the note was beautiful, full, strong, vibrating. Amazing really!

Then he stopped for a few seconds to say hello and you can just imagine the roar the crowd gave him when he said “it’s good to be home”.

Then he sang In Style and Rhythm (I love that song), If He Should Ever Leave You, and then Delilah and the crowd went mad! Everybody jumped to their feet and sang along and danced. I’ve seen Tom in several places in the last past years, heard a lot of recordings of his shows but I think any time he sings Delilah in Wales it’s like nowhere else in the world. He got a standing ovation after that one and was genuinely touched by the reaction from the crowd. On the 9th he also got a Welsh flannel, wiped his face with it and then asked “Do you want it back or should I keep it?” of course he gave it back.

Then he sang Burning Down The House with his backup singer Abbie Osman. She is excellent, great voice and great interaction with Tom. They had a little second of hesitation on one verse not sure who was supposed to start but laughed it out and went on, that was very cute.

When the band started the introduction to Mama Told Me Not To Come on the 9th there was a roar from the crowd and Tom said “Well you know this one, right?”. Then followed Hard To Handle and Too Many Lovers. On those two songs they have a really groovy sound, excellent job. Maybe he could just add one more brass, a second trumpet would be wonderful but they are already sounding very very good.

At that point on the 9th one lady came to the stage and called Tom. He couldn’t hear her at first so he had to take his ear monitors out and then realized she was complaining because they weren’t allowed to dance in the back. So he said “D’you think I’m the b… manager here or what?” and the crowd roared with laughter.

Then he said “I don’t run this place, love, I’m only here to sing.” He asked security why they couldn’t dance in the back and said he didn’t see anything wrong with that then he said “We want everybody to have a good time here tonight, so if you want to dance in the back you just dance in the back as far as I’m concerned. Now they might complain about me later and they come for me and lock me up. If someone comes to trouble you tell them to bugger off.” The video has been posted here, you’ve probably seen it already, sooo funny.

Then he went with the show explaining why he had written Never and what it was about and then sang it. Just after that he did 24 Hours and — wow! — that was awesome. So beautiful, so deep, so full of emotion absolutely magical. On the 9th some people started cheering during the instrumental in the end but on the 10th you could have heard a pin drop. Then there were a couple of seconds of silent emotion and the CIA roared with applause.

He went on with I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, just beautiful. He got another standing ovation after that one. And then the three country songs He’ll have to go, Green Green Grass of Home and Save the Last Dance for Me. As it has been told before he does the first two only with three guitars and a keyboard, the guitar players singing the backup and it’s again one amazing moment. He got another standing ovation after Green Green Grass of Home and again you could see he was touched by the waves of love coming from the crowd when he thanked us.

Save The Last Dance For Me is a lot of fun as all the band joins in with hand percussions and sing along, they all stand behind Tom it’s great to see and hear. And the whole place was singing along, not only on the chorus but on the whole song. There was a couple in their 40s sitting on my right and the man was actually singing the backup part LOL

Then it was What’s New Pussycat and everybody jumped up and never sat down again after that! Then She’s A Lady, You Can Leave Your Hat On, If I Only Knew, Stoned in Love and Sex Bomb. Now I was really wondering how Stoned In Love would sound after all I had read and seen on youtube and it went really good on the first night. Most of the electronic mixing has been tuned slightly down on the verse and only turned up on the chorus with and actual playback but it works quite well. It was less good on the second night as Tom was not completely synchronized with the playback and as he does sing along it sounded quite weird.

Sex Bomb was really not good on the first night, sounded like he couldn’t catch the tone for quite a while and he was actually off key. It was a lot better on the second night. I think they still need to work a little more on those two songs to find the right balance between electronic effects and singing, Tom doesn’t sound too comfortable with the arrangement right now.

Then it was It’s Not Unusual, Kiss and Take Me Back to the Party. On that last one Tom asked us to sing along saying “Come on, you can sing for God’s sake, you’re Welsh”. On the second night he added “Or should I say we’re Welsh?” and he held his microphone to the crowd like a genuine rock star LOL

Then he introduced the band members on the last notes and they stopped playing and all came together for a row salute, very nice. Tom said they had a ball and hoped we had too and hoped to have another one on Sunday. But unfortunately I wasn’t there to see it ☹

I can’t wait for the next shows in Zurich and Paris, I’d love to see A Boy From Nowhere back in the setlist and how things have evolved with the techno songs.

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Here’s a new interview done October 9 in Cardiff for the Times Of Malta by Patric Cooke. Note: If you’re thinking of seeing Tom in Malta on November 15 — his last stop in Europe on this tour — the Phonecia Hotel has some packages that include show tickets that you’ll want to check out.

All hail, the king of Wales

Patrick Cooke met Tom Jones in Cardiff an hour before his homecoming concert. Thousands of middle-aged women fumed with envy.

History books may show that Wales has been a principality since the Middle Ages, but tell that to the hoards who came from far and wide to hail a king on October 10.

The word had gone forth, to the vowel-less towns and villages scattered across the valleys, and the faithful made their way en masse to Cardiff, capital of their ancient land. They began gathering outside the venue of his coronation at around 7 p.m., many of them bearing gifts to shower upon their king – saucy knickers, pantyhose and thongs. All hail Sir Tom Jones, the 69-year-old king of Welsh hearts.

“It’s always special to be back, not least because I know half of the people in the audience,” said Tom Jones, backstage at the Cardiff International Arena less than an hour before going on stage.

I had arrived for the interview half-an-hour early, full of child-like enthusiasm that was clearly shared by the expectant crowd milling outside in the fresh autumn breeze.

Predictably, the crowd was dominated by groups of women over the age of 40, glammed up as though ‘The Voice’ had invited each of them for a private performance. But there were men too, and pockets of younger fans perhaps drawn by his string of chart hits in the last decade that have covered a remarkable array of genres.

Or, like me, maybe they just wanted to witness the ability of one man to temporarily reverse the effects of menopause in thousands of women.

Jones is running late, my contact informed me by telephone. I should collect the tickets and sit in the arena until he is ready. Oh, and the tickets are on the front row, so just come to the side of the stage when the call comes. If one thing is guaranteed to turn Jones fans the colour of Snowdonia with envy, it is front row tickets at one of his concerts. A thousand eyes bore into me as I sat waiting patiently for the call. Gangs of women nudged each other and spoke in venomous hushed tones about my worthiness to sit in such a coveted position.

So the call, when it came, proved to be a blessed relief. Leaving the ill wishes of the faithful behind, I was escorted backstage, through a maze of corridors full of people looking busy and talking into headpieces. Then my escort motioned us to stop and knocked at a door. “Come in,” said an unmistakable voice. The door opened and there, clutching a bottle of water and looking slightly out of breath as though he had been through a vigorous vocal warm-up, was Sir Tom Jones.

“Welcome,” he said in a rich Welsh accent, untamed by 35 years of living in Los Angeles in the former home of Dean Martin. He motioned me towards two black leather sofas in his dressing room as the door closed; leaving just Jones, me, and his superbly tanned assistant Don Archer in the room.

Despite expressing delight at being back in his homeland, Jones began by pouring cold water on recent rumours in the British press that he is about to end his long exile in the US and return to live in the UK permanently.

“It was a misquote. I was asked if I ever thought about moving back, and I replied that I always think about it, it’s always on my mind, but there are no definite plans at the moment.”

Jones may not literally know half of the audience, but there is a good chance he has met or performed for many of them before. Born and raised in the industrial town of Pontypridd, 19km north of Cardiff, Jones has loved to sing for as long as he can remember. Struck down with TB at the age of 12, he was saved from the coalmines by weak lungs, something that would surprise anyone who has heard him belt out Delilah on stage.

He left school at 15 and spent his days working on building sites and his nights wowing the locals in the working men’s clubs of south Wales. Has his experience of the ‘real world’ helped him to appreciate his success?

“Definitely. It puts things in perspective when you know what it’s like to work for a living. Showbusiness to me is a pleasure, because I love to sing, so I’m getting paid for something I love to do. That’s the best thing in life.”

His reputation as both a performer and a sex symbol blossomed in south Wales. In 1964, songwriter, producer and fellow Welshman Gordon Mills took notice and brought him to London. There, the man formerly known as Thomas Woodward became Tom Jones, and he was asked to record a demo of a song co-written by Mills for Sandie Shaw. That song was Its Not Usual.

Jones recognised it was a potential hit and wanted it for himself, “but my manager told me he could write more of those, although he never did!” Jones recalls.

After much discussion, it was decided that Jones should record the demo with brass. But although he nailed the song, it was still submitted to Shaw because it had been promised to her.

“When she heard it, she said that whoever is singing this song, it’s his song, I can’t sing it like that. So thank God she turned it down.”

Jones released the track in early 1965 and it quickly went to number one. Suddenly, he was famous and couldn’t walk the streets without being mobbed. But if his big break had never arrived, if the legend of Jones never crossed the Welsh border, would he still be singing today in his local pubs and social clubs?

“More than likely, I’d be doing it for the love of it. But if it hadn’t happened and I was still singing locally, I’d be asking ‘how come?’ It’s daunting to think about, but thank God (he knocks twice on the table) I made it. Although, I would still sing even if I had a lesser voice – it’s the thing I have always loved to do.

His reputation quickly spread across the Atlantic, where everyone assumed he was black (because of his soulful voice, not because Americans assume Welsh people are black!) It’s Not Unusual entered the US top 10 and before long, Jones was hanging out with the likes of Elvis and Frank Sinatra. For Jones, who had grown up idolising Elvis and 1950s rock ‘n’ roll, this was a dream come true.

“When I met Elvis, he said ‘how the hell do you sing like that?’ and I said ‘you’re partly to blame’. Then I heard as time went on that I was rubbing off on him, and I could tell that I was in his approach and songs that he had later on. But I knew that he loved the way I sang, so it was a huge compliment.”

Did the king from Memphis pass on any useful advice to his Celtic comrade? Or was it the other way around?

“Well, he asked what kind of drugs I was taking to keep sane, and I said ‘well I don’t take drugs, that’s why I am sane’. This was in the late 1960s. He said he’d tried everything just to survive, because fame had affected him that much. But he never took drugs in front of me. He’d disappear into the bedroom, and then he’d come back out into the suite, and you could tell he’d taken something because he wasn’t drinking.”

But Elvis clearly thought that he and Jones were cut from the same cloth, and when the Welshman recorded an album of standard swing songs, Elvis let him know what he thought.

“He said ‘we don’t do that, we leave that to Frank Sinatra’. And I thought ‘he said we – wow!’ And then when I met Frank Sinatra, he told me I was a great singer, and he was trying to persuade me to sing the kind of stuff he did. So I had Elvis pulling me one way and Frank pulling me the other, and I thought ‘this is tremendous’. But I told them both at different times that I like to do it all.”

This fondness for doing it all is probably the reason for Jones’ continued success. Although his popularity nosedived for a while in the 1970s and 1980s while he fulfilled a contract to record five country albums, his fortunes were revived when his son Mark Woodward became his manager in 1986 following the death of his old mentor Gordon Mills.

Jones described his son’s role in his remarkably long career as “very important”, and Woodward is credited with reviving his father’s image, making him ditch the tight trousers and fixing him up with trendy producers.

Fast forward to 1999 and the release of the album Reload, which may well account for the presence of younger fans in the audience. The album, which featured collaborations with some of the biggest artists of the time including Robbie Williams, Stereophonics and The Cardigans, spawned a string of worldwide hits including Sex Bomb, Mama Told Me Not To Come and Burning Down The House. Although Jones had steadily regained credibility following his successful cover of Prince’s Kiss in 1988, it was Reload that made him cool to the post-Brit Pop generation.

“It felt great that so many artists wanted to collaborate. It always feels great whenever an artist comes forward and says that I’ve influenced them in some way, or they’d like to do something with me.”

Who did he enjoy collaborating with the most on that album?

“I liked the Stereophonics, because they’re a great bunch of guys. We come from the same place and our sense of humour is almost identical – they’re a younger version of me really.”

The collaborations have continued since Reload. In 2002, he released the Mr Jones album, which was produced by Wyclef Jean.

The Welsh singer is not sure why so many contemporary artists are lining up to collaborate with him, “but thank God they want to and they think I’m hip enough, one thing people will never do is record with someone who will not make them look good”.

But despite his considerable success over the past decade, Jones’ fan base is undoubtedly dominated by women over the age of 40, drawn by his booming voice, strutting stage presence and classic hits. How do they feel about his recent hits, including a 2006 dance hit with chicane entitled Stoned in Love?

“Oh they love it. Because I sing the way I sing, and I haven’t really changed. The fans have told me that it doesn’t matter what song I sing, as long as I’m singing it and I haven’t changed the sound of my voice. I think they know that I wouldn’t do something I didn’t like.”

So after a career spanning five decades, and hits in almost every genre, which song gives him the greatest pleasure to perform?

“That’s a difficult one, but the most important one is It’s Not Usual, because that changed my life. I will always do that song in my concerts because it’s the most important.”

Has the perspective that comes from experience changed the way he sings some of his older songs?

“Mmmm, no my attitude is the same, but lower end of my voice is much fuller than when I was young.”

Is his voice better now?

“It’s different. The energy is the same, but I can hit low notes that I wouldn’t be able to do when I was young. But when I sing Delilah, people tell me it’s like I’m singing it for the first time. The fire is still there.”

The fire may be there, and so are the legions of female fans, but Jones is not getting any younger. He has allowed his once famously dyed hair to turn white, and although he admits to having plastic surgery, his face is well lined and his eyes are hooded. So why did he stop dyeing his iconic curly locks?

“Every Christmas when I have some time off, I stop dyeing my hair. Over the years it was coming out with bits of grey here and there, and I didn’t like that. But then last Christmas when I let it go, it came out white, and I thought ‘that looks good’. And that was it.”

Jones is in the middle of an exhausting tour of North America and Europe to promote his latest album 24 Hours. He was forced to cancel a string of US gigs in July because of bronchitis, and he will be performing almost nonstop until the tour ends in Malta on November 15. But despite the rigours of life on the road, the Welshman is not even thinking of stopping touring.

“I just love to sing. The only downside at all is travelling, but being on stage is a tremendous feeling and I don’t want that to go away – I dread the day when I have to retire. My voice will dictate when that will happen, but I have absolutely no plans to stop. When I do stop, it won’t be by choice.”

One of the most astonishing things about Jones is that although he has always been a knickers magnet, and has been the protagonist in countless kiss-and-tell stories, he has been married to his wife Linda since the age of 16. What is the secret of their long marriage?

“Firstly you’ve got to love one another, that’s the most important thing. I think the only time you should get married is when you don’t even think about anything else, it’s got to be that strong, and it was with us. And we liked the same things, like 50s rock ‘n’ roll.”

But Jones’ past infidelities often made their way into the newspapers, including an alleged two-year fling with Mary Wilson from the Supremes. And then there was the paternity case with model Katherine Berkery who insisted Jones was the father of her son. Has his wife come close to leaving him?

“She would never want to leave me and I would never want to leave her. It’s never come up, although she’s got a bit ticked off from time to time.”

His wife shies away from the limelight and Jones says she does not like parties or socialising. Does it feel like he has two different lives – one at home with his wife and one on the road as an international superstar?

“Oh yeah, and it works. In a marriage, some people try and change the other person to the way they are, and I don’t think that works because one person is going to be under pressure. So I’ve never done that to my wife, and she’s never done it to me, because she knows I have to sing.”

Around 20 minutes have passed and Don Archer is glancing at his watch – Jones has a job to do. There is time to briefly touch on his concert in Malta, a country which the Welshman has heard is “bootiful”. What can the Maltese fans expect?

“What you see tonight is what I’ll be doing there. It’s a mixture of stuff, new stuff that I’ve recorded, but the big hits are still there. I’m really looking forward to coming there, and I hope the fans enjoy what I do because an entertainer is there to please and I’ll definitely do my best to do that.”

Having seen the concern I can attest that the voice and stage presence are as strong as ever, and the crowd absolutely loved it. As for throwing knickers, the security guards were on high alert; Jones’ management have tried to move him away from that image.

But they could not hold back the tide in the second half of the concert, and pieces of underwear were thrown with impunity. One middle-aged woman at the bar even gave me frilly knickers from her pocket when I told her I was on the front row, pleading with me to throw them for her. Did I? No. I’ve saved them for his Malta gig.

Tom Jones will be performing at the MFCC Ta Qali on November 15. Tickets are available from www.nngpromotions.com.

REVIEW: Tom Jones at the Liverpool Echo Arena

Oct 19 2009 by Marc Waddington, Liverpool Echo

“WOW, this must be new, right?” came the thick, Welsh brogue of Tom Jones as he stood on stage, marvelling at the cavernous ECHO arena. For a minute, you’d think this Valleys’ wonder had never left Pontypridd.

But he did, thankfully, and nearly half a century later, is still every bit the superstar, as evidenced by the throngs of women who packed out the venue to hear him belt out It’s Not Unusual, What’s New, Pussycat? and every other showstopper in his back catalogue.

And their passion for him has never waned, nor has his ability to attract new generations of fans through his duets with the likes of the Stereophonics (Mamma Told Me Not To Come).

In fact, it was little into the first number, Sugar Daddy (penned by Bono) when the first pair of knickers arrived on stage, thrown by a young woman just as ‘The Voice’ delivered the line ‘I’ve been singing this song since before you were born.’

When, after his first song, he announced it was from his new album 24 Hours and that ‘We’ll be doing quite a few from that tonight’, it was as though he was winding the audience up.

He knew what everyone was there for, and launched into Thunderball to prove it, backed by a tremendous thunder of drums and brass.

New album or no, hit followed hit, and the further into the show he got, the harder it was for the crowd of adoring females (old and young, I might add) to contain themselves.

Cue You Can Leave Your Hat On, She’s A Lady and, of course, Sexbomb – which only Jones could have made anything other than cringe-worthily bad.

The atmosphere truly was electric, and as be roared out The Green, Green Grass Of Home and Delilah it was somewhere between pop concert and football match, complete with Mexican waves.

With excellent support from up-and-coming soul diva Florence Rawlings, Jones served up what was surely one of the best gigs the arena has ever seen, and certainly one of the most appreciated.

Granted, as more and more underwear landed on the stage, he didn’t look like he knew whether to collect them or donate them to the Airborne Regiment, but he clearly still loves the attention.

And who wouldn’t, at his age? At 69, he won’t be around forever.

So if he returns, to paraphrase one of his hits – you’ll have to go.

Phenomenal 10/10