Tom Jones International

The story below is pretty unbelievable….well, not really. Some dope was bound to do this to some performer at some time or another. Um….do y’think this lawyer is looking for publicity? I wonder if, as in the US, there are penalties for filing a frivolous lawsuit in Singapore.

Fan to file suit against Tom Jones

BY JOY FANG/AsiaOne/Wed, Mar 31, 2010

AN IRATE Indonesian concert-goer — one of the 4,000 disappointed by singer Tom Jones’ walkout last Friday — has issued a letter demanding compensation from the veteran singer and concert organiser Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

Mr Hotman Paris Hutapea, 50, a litigation lawyer and founder of law firm Hotman Paris & Partners in Jakarta, wrote that his firm is preparing to file a civil suit against RWS, its agent in Indonesia and the singer.

He is also seeking compensation for his and his friend’s expenses on flight, accommodation and transportation, and punitive damages of US$2 million (S$2.8 million).

He and his friend each bought a $368 concert ticket. He paid $540 for flights for both of them, and stayed two nights at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore.

Jones, 69, had cut short his gig after singing two songs. A specialist later diagnosed him with acute laryngitis, or inflammation of the voice box.

The gig has been rescheduled for 8pm tomorrow at RWS. Those who cannot attend can get a refund at the Singapore Indoor Stadium’s Sistic box office.

Mr Hutapea will not be able to make it as he had to fly back to Jakarta on Sunday to prepare for work on Monday.

He told my paper he was filing a civil suit because he wanted to teach the singer and the concert organisers “a lesson”.

He was incensed at the way the concert ended abruptly, especially since he had postponed a meeting last Friday to fly specially to Singapore to catch the gig.

Click here to see the promo video and to (more…)

Singer Tom Jones Is Fan Of Blind Woman

The Palm Beach Post, Florida/May 20, 1983

JACKSONVILLE (AP) — Singer Tom Jones, who has millions of fans and packs them into concert halls, can recall in detail a meeting with one obscure Jacksonville fan, a woman who is blind.

“It made me realize that what I do onstage is more meaningful than I anticipated,” Jones said, recalling the time Cheryl Clark “saw” his face with her fingers.

Miss Clark, an X-ray technician at Methodist Medical Center in Jacksonville (Florida), is blind for the fifth time in her life. The first came after unsuccessful surgery to clear tear ducts when she was 14.

Jones’ records, she said, helped her maintain her sanity when she was first losing her sight, long before she met him in person.

They have met five times since, most recently last month in Louisville, KY. But the most special moment took place six years ago in Birmingham, AL at the second encounter.

Jones had remembered meeting Miss Clark backstage at a concert a year before in Dallas. At the time, he sight had been restored through implantation of a tiny telescopic prothesis.

In Birmingham, she was blind again. Her body’s immunity processes rejected the prosthesis.

“During the concert, my mother tried to describe Tom to me, but I couldn’t hear over the screaming woman,” Miss Clark said.

After some tough persuading through a line of front men, they met Jones backstage.

Miss Clark gave Jones a T-shirt with buttons spelling his name in Braille.

“I still have it. I wear it once in awhile,” Jones said.

The reporter gives a reasoned rundown of canceled concerts. But, truthfully, I really doubt that Engelbert was “rubbing his hands with glee” when Tom took ill. That is just stupid.

Don’t blame Tom Jones for gig postponement

By Victoria Barker/AsiaOne/Mon, Mar 29, 2010

WHOSE fault is it when an artist cancels a gig?

That was the question on the minds of the confused audience at the Tom Jones gig last Friday night.

Though British crooner Engelbert Humperdinck must have been rubbing his hands with glee when his rumoured long-time rival pulled the plug just two songs in, claiming that he wasn’t feeling well, the audience was left dumbfounded.

Why, why, why, some concert-goers jokingly began singing in a nod to the guy’s 1968 hit Delilah. And unlike his other 1965 smash, the situation was, to put it simply, highly unusual.

Later, the singer’s camp revealed that Mr Sex Bomb himself was suffering from acute laryngitis.

Now, this is not the first time an artist has pulled out of a show on little or no notice, and it certainly won’t be the last. Back in 1996, American alt-rockers Smashing Pumpkins cut short a gig here because of technical difficulties and frontman Billy Corgan being unwell.

Click here to (more…)

That beautiful woman at left is someone you should recognize if you’ve seen Tom’s show in the last several years (before September 2009). It is, of course, Sharon Hendrix, the “one in the middle” between Darrelle Holden and Tony Reynolds singing backup and, occasionally and memorably — as with The Letter — duetting with Tom.

Well, now Sharon is back on stage here at Paris Las Vegas backing Barry Manilow in his amazing new show. It’s difficult to see, but that is she in the middle behind Manilow in the photo at right. However, there are two things you should know: First, she not only sings, but she’s a terrific dancer and she dances a lot. Second, we may know her as “Sharon,” but to the people in the show and to Fanilows, she is “Muffy.” And Muffy, along with the other singers, has several costume changes, performs all kinds of music and appears to be having a blast. She first worked with Manilow 20 years ago and says she’s really enjoying it now.

We got to speak for a bit after the show and she sends all of you her very best. If you are in Las Vegas and are looking for a wonderful show, check out Manilow’s. It is so beautiful, so well done and so much fun that it is absolutely a must-see. Here’s my review.

---

Earth Hour:

Last night, March 27, at 8:30 pm local time, nations around the world celebrated Earth Hour. Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hours is, the WWF says on its website its effort to unite people around the world by “‘boldly stating their concern about climate change by doing something quite simple: turning off their lights for one hour. Earth Hour sends the message that we care about our planet and our future, that we want to ‘turn the lights off’ on pollution and climate change and switch to a cleaner, safer, more secure world.”

Landmark lights around the world will be turned off for that hour. These include the lights on bridges, the Empire State Building, the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign and hotel lights on The Strip.

On February 18 Tom, arriving in New Zealand, attended that nation’s Earth Hour kick-off. (Photo at right). He also recorded a very, very brief endorsement of the concept. You can here that here.

Singapore show rescheduled for Thursday, April 1.

In a rather awkwardly and oddly phrased (“the artist?” “both dates are looking to reschedule?”) statement, Tom’s official site says, “It is with regret that Tom Jones has been forced to postpone shows in Singapore at Resorts World Sentosa on March 26th, and the Araneta Colliseum Manilla [sic] on March 28th, due to illness. Both dates are looking to reschedule, hopefully as soon as next week.

“Sir Tom has been diagnosed by a specialist with Acute Laryngitis and has been ordered complete vocal rest. The artist is deeply sorry for disappointing and inconveniencing his fans.

“All ticket holders are informed that they should hold on to their tickets for either re-entry to rescheduled show or full refund which can be made at point of purchase.”

The cancellation made the newspapers. Asia One noted, “Ten minutes into the concert, which was held at Resorts World Sentosa, Tom Jones shocked the crowd by announcing that he’d have to postpone the concert as he had a bad sore throat and was unwell. He had sung two songs.”

Straits Times‘ wrote in part: “I have a problem,’ he said and cleared his throat. ‘Honestly, I don’t think I can carry on. I hope we can do this again soon.”

“Then he walked off the stage. At first, the nearly full-house audience of about 4,000 thought it was a stunt. Some cheered for him and sang the chorus of his hit song, Delilah. Reality hit home when the lights came on and confusion followed.”

Finally, Christopher Toh, a blogger, who’d been at the show wrote about it. He made a couple of interesting points: First, about the band leaving the stage and, second, about expenses of people who’d flown in from other cities/countries to see the show. Anyway, here’s what he wrote:

Concert cancelled, confusion caused: Tom Jones

“I don’t really want to stop the show/but I thought you might like to know…” – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles

IT WAS to be a night to remember. And it was. But for all the wrong reasons.

I was quite happy to be at the Tom Jones gig because the last time I saw him, he did a powerhouse show. I mean, I don’t care much for his sappy stuff like Green Green Grass Of Home or Delilah, but Thunderball and his versions of Kiss, Momma Told Me Not To Come, You Can Leave Your Hat On and Sex Bomb were fairly fun.

So there we were all happy campers when he comes out slinging with Sugar Daddy and then moves on to Give A Little Love. Then he says, “I’m sorry to do this, but I have a slight problem with *hack hack*…My voice isn’t good and I can’t continue, I hope we can do this some time soon. Sorry.” Then he turns and walks off stage. Quickly followed by his musicians. A little too quickly. Hmm. Was it all staged?

For a couple more photos, the promoter’s video and to see how the audience reacted, click here to (more…)

On November 9 Tom played the 24th Annual AVO Festival in Basel, Switzerland. (“AVO” is a brand of cigarettes in Switzerland.) The performance was recorded and more than 70 minutes of it were shown on Swiss TV in January. These photos are from that show.

I don’t think the reviewer knew exactly what he was seeing, but it’s a nice review nonetheless. Isn’t it odd, though, that they take time to comment on the “more risque elements of Tom Jones’ Las Vegas performances of the ’60s and ’70s” yet probably had to expend some effort to catch the photo at that exact moment? And!, Please don’t forget, read the article from the Singapore paper….it is fun.

The night the knickers flew

24/03/2010 at 12:00 AM/Bangkok Post/By Ezra

With thick grey hair and black blazer against a tanning-salon tone, Welshman Tom Jones is still recognisable as the idol who had female fans in ecstatic paroxysms during the sexually charged shows of his heyday in the ’60s and ’70s. On Sunday night at Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani, a fit Jones was remarkably entertaining, and while lacking the endurance of past decades his voice has managed to keep much of its energy and range.

At three months shy of 70, Tom Jones can still hit the notes.

A large back-up crew of 10 musicians preceded him on stage to start things off, and you might have been justified in assuming they were there to soften the deficiencies of another fading crooner with an ageing show, sent out on the road one last time to squeeze a few more pay packets out of the nostalgia of baby boomers.

Despite Jones’ age, though, just short of 70, he can still entertain, and the energy of the show was a pleasant surprise. Opening with Sugar Daddy, he came out belting and with the swagger of old. By Thunderball, the title track of the 1965 James Bond film, an upbeat atmosphere was established, no mean feat at the square, lingering dusky boxing-stadium staidness of Impact Arena. The instrumentalists – with brass section, keyboards and electric organ, drums, guitar, bass and backing vocalists – created a full, rich sound that wasn’t cluttered or overly intricate, designed to complement the frontman without taking any focus away from his stage presence.

Delilah got sections of the crowd on their feet and a chorus of screams going like it did when it was unveiled in 1968, and Jones’ stage manner likewise descended into type, with bum wriggles and more suggestive hands and resonant notes. At the end of Randy Newman’s Mama Told Me Not to Come, which Jones had recorded with Stereophonics, a fellow Welsh act, he added his own quip: “Maybe I should have listened.” He probably wasn’t talking about the wild party of the song but the series of contingencies that once launched him on a trajectory from vacuum cleaner salesman and truck driver to international star – a decades-long party that has seen him amass fame, fortune and even a knighthood.

For the rest of this review and an unusual interview, along with another photo from the Bangkk paper and another the moderator posted because the photo from Singapore was really bad, click here to (more…)

TJ fan Errol de Cruz went to see Tom in Kaula Lampur and he wrote about it for his local newspaper. There are a few factual errors (Say You’ll Stay Until Tomorrow was not a number one anywhere) and Gordon Mills was not Tom’s harmonica player. Also, it is highly doubtful that Tom Jones “helped put Las Vegas on the map” — any map. He did, however, write about what Tom said before Never that is nice and a bit different. No matter, he he likes Tom and give a nice view of the show — no talk of undergarments or older people acting silly. Not so in the review below this.

The enduring Tom Jones

2010/03/22/ERROL DE CRUZ/erroldecruz@gmail.com/New Straits Times

Die-hard Tom Jones fan ERROL DE CRUZ is elated that the silver-haired crooner is still as hot as ever

THE Tom Jones warm-up party last Friday had begun early, more than three hours before the 8.45pm concert at the ballroom of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Irish pub Malone’s, just a stone’s throw away at Suria KLCC, was bursting with chatter from die-hard fans of the Welshman. Why, one middle-aged Mat Salleh was even showing off the knickers she had brought along to throw at him! Didn’t she know that Jones was hitting 70, and that there would be no hip swivelling or sexy gyrating that night? The show began with a duet from two young local artistes who performed four songs competently but seemed out of place opening the night for Jones.

One would have expected a veteran act such as the Alleycats, Strollers, Falcons or Heavy Machine to open the night for such a huge star. The audience, however, was generous with its applause and the duo left smiling, knowing they had done a good job and added a powerful gig to their portfolios. The silver-haired Sir Tom, on the other hand, was a totally different deal, a dream come true.

Dressed in a bright blue suit and his signature silver cross, he was full of charm as he breezed through two hours of hits that began with It’s Not Unusual followed by Sex Bomb, Kiss and his latest, 24 Hours. The sound for the first few songs — Sugar Daddy, Give A Little Love and his James Bond hit, Thunderball — was muffled and muddy, but his powerful vocals blasted through the night and kept the almost-packed hall that way for the rest of the night. These were followed by equally mesmerising renditions of Too Hard To Handle, and a touching piece titled Never (from the 24 Hours album).

Click here for another review, another photo and to (more…)

Sean, a TJ fan who is regular visitor to TJI,com, saw Tom in Melbourne and shared this photo, the review below and the link to video of Tom’s opening number, Sugar Daddy. I’m sure you’ll all join me in thanking him.

Tom Jones Live at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Thursday, 11 March, 2010

Set list in order: Sugar Daddy, Give A Little Love, Thunderball, Style & Rhythm, If He Should Ever Leave You, Delilah, Mama Told Me Not To Come, Hard to Handle, Too Many Lovers, Help Yourself, Never, 24 Hours, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, He’ll Have to Go, Green Green Grass of Home, Save the Last Dance For Me, One Night, What’s New Pussycat, She’s A Lady, You Can Leave Your Hat On, If I Only Knew, Stoned In Love, Sexbomb, It’s Not Unusual. Encore: Kiss, Take Me Back to the Party.

We arrived at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena at 7.00pm in time for the pre-show support act by David Campbell (son of Australian Rock Singer Jimmy Barnes) which started by 8pm.

Luckily we arrived early and took our seats because it didn’t take long for the arena to fill to its near full 15,000 capacity. The audience was mixed from early 20’s and 30’s to 60’s and beyond.

David Campbell took to the stage with his band and started by warming the crowd with big band songs and old tunes. His performance was received well and he did his best to warm the crowd by asking everyone to sing along. After the first song David introduced himself as “some of you might now my father Jimmy” to which the crowd responded to with applause. He then declared that he has been asked to support Tom with his tour to which he said it was a hard act to support Tom as he is one of the world greatest entertainers! Everyone cheered and laughed in agreement. David then said “Hey, it could be worse, I could have been the support act for Whitney [Houston]”, which brought laughter to the entire arena. David’s performance ended after approximately 40 minutes to which there was an interval of approximately 30 minutes until Tom started at around 9.15pm.

To finish this review and to see the video, click here to (more…)

The real Tom Jones

By ALEXANDER IRVINE/SPECIAL TO THE NATION/Published on March 19, 2010

Sunday night at Impact, the Welsh crooner will prove yet again he’s still got it — and in fact it never went away

For a knight, Welsh sexpot Tom Jones is disarmingly modest in a chat ahead of his return to Bangkok for Sunday’s concert at Impact Arena.

“Just call me Tom,” says Sir Tom Jones. “I’ve been Tom for so long, you know.”

He’s also been singing for a long time.

“I’ve never known life without singing, really. It’s always been there – and my voice has always been pretty big.”

And in fact he says this in a big, deep voice, which still harbours that Welsh accent despite years of being based in America.

Landing in the global spot via American television at the tail end of the original British Invasion, Jones toted the influence of 50′s rock and roll.

“Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry — that’s the music I grew up with. It was the same with the Beatles and the Stones — it’s just that they came out a different way to what I was doing.

“Van Morrison and Joe Cocker tell me the same thing. We were basically listening to the same stuff. It’s just that when we do it we all sound different.”

So is that the real Tom Jones we see onstage?

Click here to (more…)