Tom Jones International

If you missed it, be sure to check out what Bono has to say about Tom and Sugar Daddy in the post below!

The Belfast review makes some excellent points, from the headline at top through the entire piece — until he uses the awful “c” word in the last sentence. The review from the The Telegraph of Tom’s show in Brighton (which ran the photo posted here) is full of (grudging) admiration of this gifted man and nasty remarks about his fan base. Here in Las Vegas — and everywhere else, from what I’ve seen and read — his audience may be older than, say, that of The Killers, but there are plenty of younger people, too. It’s just so easy to take shots at the 40-70 age range. Maybe they’re just loyal and have good taste in music. As for “old enough to know better,” he should lighten up. Finally, we always say that, as in the first review, Tom “doesn’t take himself too seriously” and I believe that’s a slight misstatement. I think he takes his singing — his gift, his job — very seriously indeed. It’s his image with which he has fun. The reason for the inclusion of the audio from Cardiff (and every stop on this European tour) is explained below. Finally, I don’t understand why The Telegraph reviewed Tom’s show in Brighton and The Times his Cardiff show. They’re London media. Why didn’t they review his only London gig Saturday night at Wembley?

Timeless Tom Jones bridges generation gap with Belfast gig
Odyssey Arena, Belfast

Wednesday, 28 October 2009/Damien Murray/Belfast Telegraph

It’s not unusual to begin to show your age as you get older — unless you are Tom Jones.

The singing legend best described as ‘The Voice’ hit town again last night to a rapturous response from his adoring fans and — having attended many of his concerts since his first visit here in the 1960s — it did seem unusual that he now appears to be more comfortable with his mature looks than ever before.

His physical appearance may have changed slightly, but his powerful vocals remain as strong and impressive as ever as he set the tone for the evening (while sending himself — or, at least, his perceived image — up) with the Bono/Edge opening song, Sugar Daddy.

Totally relaxed and with a tongue-in-cheek approach, the Welsh warbler doesn’t take himself too seriously, as he has nothing left to prove in a career that has spanned five decades.

With a knack for reinventing himself for every generation and a rare ability to cut across all generations and genres, this crooner remains one cool dude.

For the Brighton review and to hear Tom sing Take Me Back to the Party live, click to

Tom Jones at the Brighton Centre, review
Tom Jones showed he is still worthy of all the knickers at the Brighton Centre. Rating: * * * *

By Thomas H Green/Published: 5:19PM GMT 26 Oct 2009

Tom Jones has gone though more career reinventions than Madonna and David Bowie put together, but on his apparently endless tour to promote last year’s 24 Hours album he seems finally to have accepted his age. Not only did he announce at one point that he’s 69, but the day-glo orange tan and dark-dyed curls have been replaced by white hair and a goatee beard that give the singer an unanticipated dignity.

What’s also less than expected, especially to a sceptic who has seen him perform before, is how very contagious his current show is. Clad in an iridescent blue suit and backed by an eight-piece band and two backing singers, he delivered in spades.

Initially, it was predictable enough, the Bond theme, Thunderball, was belted out with aplomb alongside sundry other numbers, but the venue remained firmly glued to their chairs. Unsurprisingly it was one of his most famous hits, Delilah, that changed the mood but how suddenly and how much was a big surprise.

The audience, mostly aged between 40 and 70, waved their arms and, as one, yelled the “Ha, ha, ha” that greets the line “She stood there laughing”. From then on, the atmosphere buzzed as Jones delivered tune after familiar tune with requisite pizzazz. His passion for soul shone through as he tackled songs such as Hard To Handle and Burning Down The House, but like the expert Las Vegas entertainer he is, he can persuasively switch modes in an instant, dragging everyone along for the martial, country-tinged Green, Green Grass of Home, and moments later riding a four-to-the-floor electronic beat as he sang Stoned In Love, his 2006 hit with dance producer Chicane.

As far as the notorious cult of knicker-throwing went, initial attempts were rather desultory, falling well short of the stage. By the time of Sex Bomb, however, the crowd had surged to the front and the underwear was hitting its target to roared approval.

It’s Not Unusual was Jones’ first hit 45 years ago and was greeted with such fervour it seemed unlikely that he’d top it, but when he returned for an encore of Prince’s Kiss the wiley old coot showed us his tummy on the line, “I know how to undress me” and caused a pandemonium of shrieking from women old enough to know better. He ended with Take Me Back To The Party from his latest album, but its relative unfamiliarity didn’t matter a jot and he left the stage to a rapturous wall of applause.

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In response several emailed requests, TJI was given a copy of Tom doing the last song of the show in Cardiff on October 9. It’s being posted because so many fans outside Europe haven’t heard this, as it wasn’t on their copy of 24 Hours. Here’s Tom singing Take Me Back To The Party