Tom Jones International

We already have one fan review from Newcastle and will hopefully have photos to post tomorrow. If you saw Tom there Tuesday night or are seeing him tonight in Glasgow, please send a review/photos/etc. to TJI for everyone to enjoy. Thanks!

It is, as you know, time once again for the TomJonesInternational Fan Calendar and it’s time to look through your photo collections — as the calendar is only as good as the photos you send — and submit your favorites. The photos must have been taken by fans and, when you send them, please send a note saying when and where (or approximately) they were taken.

SURVEY QUESTION! If you got the calendar in 2008 or 2009, please help with this survey: One page — just 1! — from one of those years will be repeated “by popular demand” and I’d like you to vote on the page. Just look through the calendars and pick the page you’d like to see again. The page with the most votes wins and will be in the 2010 calendar.

To vote, send your favorite month and year to me. Do not vote using the comment area of this post. (And, please, try to surprise me.)

As were the 2008 and 2009 editions, the 2010 calendar will feature photos of Tom taken by fans and, as was the back cover of the 2009 calendar, that will feature photos of Tom with fans — with you. As many as can fit will be used, so it’s first-come-first served.

If you send a photo used in the calendar — not one used on the back cover — you will get a free calendar.

All photos — even the fan photos — must be at least 300 dpi. They can be color or black and white. Please do not edit any photos. If you cannot scan the photo you can send the original and I’ll send it back to you.

To send a photo or if you have any questions, just email me.

There are already some terrific photos lined up and I’m looking forward to a terrific calendar which will go on sale later this week. (Note that the calendar covers reproduced above are lo-res, so the color reproduction is not a true picture of the actual covers.)

(Here’s a rehash article about promoting Tom’s appearance in Liverpool. It’s just old stuff. If you plan to see Tom in the UK, tickets are scarce or non-existent at a few venues so hurry or determine you’ll get a single seat and look for that.)

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.

Tom is in Newcastle tonight. Tickets are still available. If you go, please let the fans at TJI know how it was.

Below is another review from Wales where one would kind of experct more than a recitation of songs — one-after-another — rife with misspellings and a stating of the obvious with a sense of discovery and every cornball cliché she could think of. Gads! These are supposed to be Tom’s peeps! Write like it!

Tom Jones, Cardiff International Arena

By Sian O’Neil/South Wales Argus/Monday 12th October 2009

NOT that many feminine undergarments, surprisingly, but it was still frills all the way as Jones the Voice proved he’s still more than got it on the opening date of his latest UK tour, and is worth every nicker.

Sir Tom and his ten-piece band booted up the evening with Sugar Daddy (written for him by U2’s Bono) followed by Thunderball, and then other tracks from his latest album, 24 Hours, which he is proud to have co-written, and the title track is certainly a moving and thought-provoking departure.

He then swung into a selection of his best-loved hits, including Delilah, Burnin’ Down the House, and Mama Told Me Not To Come.

Even though the fired-up capacity audience was singing along lustily to a man (or an oestrogen-fuelled [sic] woman) Jones’ incomparable voice soared majestically above them to fill the auditorium, a showman and entertainer par excellence.

Delighted to touch The Green Green Grass of Home, he then delivered Save The Last Dance For Me and She’s a Lady, segueing via a space-age instrumental slot into What’s New Pussycat, It’s Not Unusual and Kiss, finishing in true party style and with a sexy growl that left the audience even more inflamed.

Tom Jones is an utterly exhausting knight to remember.

You Can Leave Your Hat On, girls, but getting your knickers in a twist is definitely obligatory.

FInally, just because I like it, I posted video of Tom in Rotterdam signing If I Only Knew. I thought it was one of the two best songs on on The Lead and I’m glad it’s back, even if the opening shout is gone from this rendition. He is terrific.

As usual, if you cannot view it, please drop me note using the “Contact TJI” link at right and I’ll send it to you.

First, Happy Thanksgiving to all of TJI’s Canadian friends! May each of you have a day filled with all the things for which you give thanks!

TICKETS FOR TOM IN DALLAS GO ON SALE THIS FRIDAY! Tickets to see Tom in Dallas, at the Meyerson Symphony Hall, Sunday, January 31, 2010, go on sale Friday, October 16 at 9 a.m. local time. For best seats, call the box office at (469) 718-0145. A link to the venue is on the TJI page, Where’s Tom & When’s He There? Please remember that this is posted here with one star (*), which means the gig is on the venue’s site, not on TJ.com. No word yet on any other 2010 dates.

mharding sent this detailed, insightful review of the first Cardiff show. While all fan reviews are so appreciated by all of us, this is especially well-written, very creative while being accurate and exhibits his knowledge of the subject. He is objectively critical, too, and that’s a plus. (For proof of that, check out the fifth paragraph.)

Tom Jones Live at the Cardiff International Arena Friday 9th October 2009

It’s Friday night and Sir Thomas of Jones is due to do his pop music thing at the Cardiff International Arena (the first of three nights at the venue). Relatively speaking it’s a few miles away from where the pre-school Tom would regularly plead with his mother to call him out from behind the curtains of the family home in Pontypridd to show off his talent to an imaginary audience. By the time Tom was in his mid twenties his family had grown tired of him leaping out from behind the living room curtains and packed him off to London to secure a record deal. This he did, enabling him to forsake the factory and site work that had occupied him since leaving school. Instead he has been clocking on for evening shifts at music venues worldwide ever since.

Arriving at the venue my wife and I sit among a multi-generational audience. There are groups of teenage girls here whose grandparents might not have been born when Tommy Woodward first clambered up onto his Laura Street window sill. The audience trickles in until the venue is full.

First on stage is Tom’s support act, the skilled soul belter Florence Rawlings with selections from her debut album A Fool in Love. She and her young band prove to be a worthy choice as support for tonight’s main turn — speaking of which…

To start Sir Tom’s set there’s a bit of Close Encounters type melodrama on the darkened stage as eerie spotlights stream upwards through unfurling smoke clouds and the band stands silhouetted while sound effects twitter and bleep mysteriously. A shadowy figure steps out from behind the drum kit and Tommy Woodward is back ’on the window sill’ to do his pop music thing again.

When I last saw him at this venue Sir Tom opened the show with Tom Jones International, a bragging song written for him by another pop singer (Wyclef Jean) about how great Tom Jones is. This time Sir Tom opens with a new song, Sugar Daddy, It’s a bragging song written for him by another pop singer (Bono) about how great Tom Jones is. In it he claims to have been singing this song since before I was born. This seems unlikely as he seems to ad-lib a couple of the lyrics. “Sexual positions?” Did he just say “Sexual positions?” I don’t remember that on the CD. Such errors are minor though and the easiness that Sir Tom displays on stage makes you feel that he is ultimately in charge and the audience is in safe hands.

The song is gratefully received by an enthusiastic audience as is the rest of the set which consists of songs from the new‘24 Hours album and of course a selection of his hits from the sixties onwards. As well as these, Tom usually throws in a few other numbers, sometimes ones that he hasn’t recorded and that I suspect reflect his current personal listening. It’s a process that, during the eighties led to Tom recording a hit version of Prince’s Kiss which played a significant part in changing public and media perception of him.

For the rest of this review and to read the Times’ take on Cardiff, (more…)

Today we have notes from two fans about Tom in Cardiff Friday night, a silly story (another slow news day?), some photos from last month and a video you’ll not see anywhere else.

First, the silly story is from — surprise! — Wales On Sunday It says there are photos, but none are online so, instead, here on the left are pictures of Tom (with Mark and Don in the background of the two on the jump page) taken last month.

The story is headlined, “Sir Tom still enjoys partying in style” and says:

“CHAMPAGNE has been the order of the weekend for Sir Tom Jones’ return home to Wales.

Fans have not been disappointed as the star, bringing that Vegas glamour to the stage, has crooned his way through the classics and his latest songs from the 2008 album 24 Hours.

“And, for the after-show celebrations, a relaxed Sir Tom has been spotted on at least two nights at the new Ronnie Scott-style venue Piano Wine Bar at Gio’s in the capital’s Mill Lane ordering bottles of Dom Perignon and Italian canapes.

“‘It is not often you meet a living legend and it is something I will never forget.’”

Now, from the fans: Here’s a short note to go with the photo here from Andy:

This is a photo of me with Tom Jones in the hotel bar at St Davids Hotel in Cardiff. The photo was taken about 0130hrs in the morning after his concert at the CIA on Friday 9 October 2009. The concert was very good and Tom was up to his usual high standard throughout. Tom was chatting to his fans and band members in the bar and was happy to pose for photographs. This is the third time I have met Tom, I first met him when I was 10 years old at Gatwick Airport purely by chance.

As he went through passport control I chased after him for an autograph only to get stopped by security. Tom turned around, saw me and he then walked back and signed the autograph. He said, “Is this for your mum?” I replied, “No its for my dad,” as my dad is a big TJ Fan.

I met him again about 10 years ago in the Hilton Hotel Bar in Cardiff after another concert. I was with my dad (a huge Tom Jones fan)
chatting at the bar with a friend of his when Tom came over and joined in the conversation. Before he left he came over to me and shook my hand saying, “Nice to meet you”. He is a true legend with his feet on the ground and is always happy to talk to his fans. I have been a fan since I was 8 years old when my dad took me to see him at The Royal Albert Hall.

—Thanks,
Andy

Next, a lovely review from Gill:

After many months wait the 9th October arrived. Before I made my way to my seat, I spent some time looking at the ages of people there — from 20 to 80 and many in wheelchairs.

I spoke to a few people who all said they had seen Tom before, showing he still has the pulling power.

So I made my way to my seat and was pleased that I had a good view, although not close. The atmosphere was relaxed.Miss Rawlings sang for 35 minutes, but I felt she didn’t put a lot into her performance.

After the stage was cleared,”The Voice” stepped on stage wearing jeans, a dark-coloured shirt and a leather jacket, looking very trendy and well.

For the rest of this review, two more photos and that terrific exclusive video, click here (more…)

Here’s a nice interview with Sir Tom from the BBC. Even though we knew about the new album, we can now hope that his 70th birthday TV special — if there is one — is shown here. (And, since the interview is on BBC news, you can see it no matter where you live.)

Tom Jones treats fans to a performance to remember

Oct 10 2009/Western Mail,/Madeleine Brindley

HE MAY be celebrating his 70th birthday next year but Tom Jones last night showed little sign of his advancing years.

Jones marked the first of a three-night residency at Cardiff International Arena with a blistering set spanning his long career in the music business.

As he sashayed and crooned his way onto the stage, there were no signs of any pre-gig nerves Jones had confessed to suffering from as he returned to his home turf.

The opening three songs represented a no-nonsense start as they came in quick succession with minimal interaction between Jones and the highly- charged crowd.

But from then on it was as if the flood gates had opened.

His first words to the crowd as he walked on stage were “Thank you” and “Diolch” which brought a huge cheer from his faithful followers inside the International Arena.

“It’s great to be back home once again,” Jones said. “Is everything all right so far? Good –just checking.”

Backed by a new 10-piece band, Jones instead brought a little piece of Vegas glamour to the sell-out audience in Cardiff last night.

For the rest of the review and to learn the 70 things you can appreciate about Sir Tom, click to (more…)

Hopefully, all server issues have been solved (if not, and the site is down again, we will change hosts). Thanks for your patience and, since site availability has been so sporadic the last couple of days, take some time to check out the video and reviews you may have missed. Tom returns to Wales tonight. We’ll have lots of stuff about that in the next couple of days, along with some nice video and a look at Pontypridd.

Tomorrow, October 10, is the 4th anniversary of TomJonesInternational.com.

Tom played Rotterdam Tuesday night. Despite what’s been written elsewhere, the venue holds 10,000 people and it was almost sold out. I did some homework on how various acts are doing in terms of sales and am happy to report that in the scheme of things, Tom is doing well. As TJI has said about shows in Las Vegas over the last year or so, tickets for just about anything are available and, in this dismal world economy, Tom stacks up quite well when compared to others. Things are, indeed, tough all over.

We have three fan reviews and some terrific video for you. The first two reviews are from long-standing friends of TJI, Tupelo Mississippi Flash and Dre, the guy who always sends your moderator links to many things Tom. The third review comes from newer friends, Ralph and Erik, who also contributed video. The photo, from the local paper, was sent by Flash.

I’ve posted video of Tom arriving at the venue and of Tom waving at Ralph and Erik when he was singing It’s Not Unusual. Those two clips are © by Ralph/used with permission. The last clip — all three were put together in one video — is of Tom singing Take Me Back To the Party, a song on the “international” version of 24 Hours that many people haven’t heard. The video link follows the reviews.

First, Flash’s review:
STUNNING TOM JONES SETS AHOY ON FIRE

A review is always influenced by whether or not the audience had a ball. Well, yesterday an almost-sold out Ahoy Arena in rainy Rotterdam went wild!!

The show started with the talented, long-legged Florence Rawlings, who didn’t make a solid, confident impression, but was a nice addition to the main event.

Then, after a 15-minute break, the arena went dark and the first beats of Sugar Daddy made its entry. Suddenly Tom appeared on stage and started to perform. First of all: I think Sugar Daddy is a great song, but wouldn’t be my first choice as an opening tune. Give A Little Love was better received and after he did Delilah the crowd lost its mind. Tom looked really surprised and said that he loved to be back in Rotterdam.

In Style And Rhythm, If He Should Ever Leave You and Mama Told Me Not Come were next. The stage was filled with screens which produced nice colourful videos. The highlight of this new screen production was Thunderball with a spectacular red video show and a well-sung bluesy version of the James Bond soundtrack.

For the rest of the reviews and he link to the video, click (more…)

If you’re seeing Tom in Hamburg tonight, please let us all know how it is. And have a great time! Also, since there’s been some issues with the TJI server, you may have had a bit o’ trouble accessing the site for the last two days. They say the trouble’s fixed, so you may want to take some time to catch up with the stuff you may not have been able to access.

From Sunday’s Mirror comes this total non-story: “Apparently a man with a hairy chest, like superstar Sir Tom Jones, is a better lover than one without, like footballer David Beckham. Hair on the chest is supposed to be a sign that a man has more of the male hormone testosterone.”

The caption on Beckham’s chest says, “Bit of a smoothie…David Beckham doesn’t do chest hair.” The caption on Tom’s photo says, “Hair we go…Tom Jones shows off his hairy chest.”

The print by the glove over Tom’s right shoulder says (erroneously) “Big-voiced Welsh sex god Tom Jones’s first job was selling gloves. This earned him the princely sum of £2 a week.”

The online photo is different and a hell of a lot duller. So, go ahead and be angry at this post. I just ran out of time, writing for a client and writing my Huffington Post blog (link in sidebar at right) about fans, some of whom you may know.

Tomorrow, there will hopefully be lots of stuff from Tom’s gig in Rotterdam Tuesday night. Friday, we’ll celebrate TJI’s anniversary a day early, post some Tom-in-Wales-related-video and, again hopefully, Saturday we’ll have reports of Sir Tom’s homecoming at the CIA.

The book from which this and other info was gleaned is The Great Book of British Useless Information by Hannah Warner, published by Metro, is available from October 15 at £9.99. (Should it be titled The Great Book of British Useless AND ERRONEOUS Information?) But books like this are always fun.

Thanks so much as always, Pat! And, if anyone is moved to comment on this post, please behave!

Note: There have been some server issues for the past day or so but now the site is back up and running as it should. Apologies for any inconvenience and, please, if you couldn’t access TJI, take some time to check the video that’s been posted.

Tonight’s the big night for all the TJI friends in The Netherlands! Hope you all have a ball and we all so look forward to your stories about the show! We’re thinking of you and hope it’s as wonderful as you anticipate! (Surely it will be.) There is an article in a Dutch newspaper today about a long-time Dutch fan many of us “know” named Femmy who talks about being a fan for a long time and says, “I don’t throw panties at him.” This kind of excitement at the prospect of a Tom Jones concert gives those of us who can see him several times a year because he plays where we live and those of us who have the time and money to travel several times a year to see him, something to think about. We are very lucky and, hopefully, we won’t forget that and not take it for granted.

Tom’s 1994 Interscope release, The Lead and How To Swing It was one of “those” albums. There seemed to be no middle ground. People either loved it or loathed it. It was an unusual collaboration between singer and producers — many of the top figures of the day in music served as producers on individual tracks.

(For what it’s worth, the same “love it-loathe it” schism also seemed to apply to the — manscaped?/photoshopped? — cover photo. Also for what it’s worth, I seem to recall reading that the title of the album came from a phrase his dad used. But I could be wrong. I looked it up and it seems to be a military phrase. If you know, please explain.)

On October 21, 1994, Entertainment Weekly’s website featured this review by David Hiltbrand: “Tom Jones The Lead and How to Swing It (Interscope) The Welsh lion roars back into the mainstream with a surprisingly spry collection of up-tempo pop and soul. There’s the brassy Memphis soul stew of If I Only Knew, produced by Trevor Horn, a techno-rave cover of Yaz’s Situation, and the impassioned ballad I Wanna Get Back With You, with Tori Amos providing choral flourishes. Sure, some of the album is cheesier than a fondue pot, but on the material suited to Jones’ peremptory delivery, he’s huffing and puffing better than ever. A- ”

From allmusic.com is this very unenthusiastic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine: “For some reason, some critics named Tom Jones as the most likely successor to Tony Bennett’s throne as most unlikely hero to Generation X. So, Interscope signed the aging sex symbol and had him record with several of the hippest names in dance music — or at least the hippest names in dance music in 1991. And the result, the clumsily titled The Lead and How to Swing It, is a record neither true to Tom Jones’ core audience nor appealing to Gen Xers, simply because it doesn’t feature Jones doing what he does best — famous songs written by other people. Instead, it’s a set of written-to-order dance numbers that are immaculately produced and sung, yet hardly engaging. And they’re devoid of the camp factor that made his version of Prince’s Kiss so entertaining.”

I don’t know what you all think, but I love If I Only Knew and, while it’s a difficult song to sing, I hope he keeps it in his live show. Now, the video — a very strange one starring a dog, a young guy and Tom, who is shot in terrific black and white, singing — is another story. Watching this video, I came to like all three songs he does here. I don’t think I paid them the attention they’re worth before. What do you think?

He promoted the CD with a tour and, here (thanks to Lampie who shot this amidst the smoke and haze of the club), we have him at the House of Blues in LA singing three of the strongest songs from the project: I Don’t Think So, Show Me and Situation. Just listen to him sing and watch the guy move!

You can watch the it in the TJI.com Video Library.

That photo at the right, ladies and gentlemen, is Sir Tom Jones in Vienna, Saturday, October 3, 2009. It’s a screen shot from video of Tom singing Delilah and bits of Stoned In Love, Sex Bomb and Kiss. I put it together from a few sources and posted it mostly because of the fine quality of the Delilah part. But, as you can see, the shirt color has changed (remember, the fan reviews have said he leaves the stage to change his shirt) and the energy is all there. In a different economy, Tom would be a sell-out wherever he plays. He is amazing!

Note! Please accept my apology for making you jump around so much with this post, but after you watch this one, please navigate right back to this page for three more videos. And, if you know any fans who might enjoy them, be sure to spread the word. This took way too long to post and I hope as many fans as possible see it.

You can watch the Vienna video in the TJI.com Video Library.

Here is the 30-second promo video for Tom’s UK tour. Oddly, all the promo video is 10 years old. It’s difficult to believe that no more recent video showing Tom as he is today could be found. It looks strangely dated, doesn’t it?

With the exception of the first night in Cardiff there are tickets available for every show. For some, however, there are only single tickets. But, really, if you absolutely have to see Tom, you can probably survive sitting by yourself. For most venues, however, there are tickets available in pairs.

I must also note that Florence Rawlings is neither a back-up nor “support” singer. When you go to the LiveNation ticket page where you can buy tickets for the UK leg of the tour that starts in Cardiff, you’ll see that the billing is “Tom Jones and Special Guest Florence Rawlings.” [So, that uppity woman who criticized me at great length "on another site" (as she refers to this one) for saying at first that Rawlings is a back-up singer — because the word "support" is different in the UK and the US — is as wrong as I was. But, sadly, she'll never admit it.]

Now, from the fun website ChannelBee.com TJI has some videos for you. To access them click here to (more…)