Tom Jones International

Sorry for the paucity of posts but tomorrow is the last day of CinemaCon. Thus far it’s been very interesting, with previews of a bunch of terrific films, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain America, Thorand several others. Appearing at the event thus far have been Colin Farrell, Hugh Jackman, Jack Black, James Cameron, George Lucas, JJ Abrams, Cameron Diaz, Jason Segal, Amy Adams, Larry the Cable Guy….that’s all I can remember. Tomorrow we’ll see Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds and several more. It’s very interesting and the technology in store at your local theater just keeps making the movie-going experience better.

Anyway, in Wednesday’s Mirror is this silly anecdote by Alison Phillips. It is part of an interview with singing sisters Coleen, Bernie, Maureen and Linda Nolan to promote their new book, they told several “shocking” anecdotes. Here’s one:

BERNIE SAYS: By 1976, the year I turned 16, we were household names.

People like the Two Ronnies and Val Doonican liked working with us because we were not showbizzy kids. We weren’t pretentious or obnoxious, we could just sing.

In 1977, we toured South Africa with Rolf Harris and comedian Stu “Stewpot” Francis. If I’d been a bit more grown-up and in control of my own career, I would probably have refused to go – it was still at the time of apartheid. But back then I just did what I was told. And the country was beautiful and fascinating.

Linda and I were only allowed to go if we took tutors, so we wouldn’t miss our schooling. Someone hired two girls from New Zealand but we all just went swimming and shopping.

One afternoon, we went to the sauna at the hotel and who was sitting in there – in nothing but a towel – but Tom Jones! We couldn’t believe it. We tried to act dead cool.

He was absolutely lovely, saying how much he enjoyed our singing and that our harmonies were spot on. I might only have been 16 but I was old enough to look at a semi-naked Tom and think: “Oh yes, I like this!”

Moderator’s Note: The paper — never one to sensationalize, of course — called this a “shocking” episode. Jeez! It should be the most shocking thing that happened to any of those involved.

Thanks, Pat.

Two more European dates announced: Jazz á Vienne in France on Wednesday, June 29. Tom will spend Bastille Day at the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland on Thursday July 14. tickets for Jazz á Vienne are €45. Tickets for the festival in Finland go on sale tomorrow, March 30. Elton John plays there Saturday, July 16.And, the official site says, “More dates still to be added!!”

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We know that Sir Tom has fans around the world and, in a sense, we form a unique community. So, I am hoping you’ll do this:

Japanese fan Masanouri Teramura sent a note to TJI requesting that fans visit his Tom Jones fan page and leave a message of encouragement.

He wrote. “Please, put a message of courage on the page. Because the message spreads, Japan gets well. Everybody becomes cheerful with encouragement,” and noted that 500 people a day visit the page.

He added that you can write in English, German and French and he will translate. Note: if you have the google toolbar with translator installed on your browser the page will automatically be translated. If not, go to Google Translate and put in the URL where indicated. It will translate the page. There are some very nice photos on it, too.

This week, as noted below, I seem to have movies on the brain (and am grateful that I still have a brain on which to have movies). This brief video is one of those that should have been made a long time ago, not just for a Saturday Night Live sketch last month. It is both hilarious and very true.

It is absolutely, positively not making fun of British people, so please don’t get all indignant. There’s a shining core of truth in this. In fact, when I saw it I thought of my father. He was highly intelligent, a great achiever, a professional. But, he hated to go to British movies. When they took me to see My Fair Lady on Broadway, he really couldn’t understand a lot of what was said. I always thought that was extreme but know, too, that some people have trouble with accents.

So, check out this trailer for a British movie and, of course, notice the antic Russell Brand in it.

Enjoy!

As several people have noticed, there’s been a dearth of TJ material these days. So when, in looking around, I came across this bit, it really made me smile. Thought I’d share it. What do you think? And, by the way, it’s from a show in Rochester, NY in June, 2009.

TJI will soon have more of that but, meanwhile, what do you think of Tom Jones singing 200 Pounds?

Note: Starting tomorrow, for four days I’m going to be happily covering CinemaCon, the annual convention of movie theater owners so, though I’ll try, posts may be sporadic. I’ll get to go to interviews with lots of interesting people, includuing Helen Mirren, Jack Black, Russell Brand, Ryan Reynolds, JJ Abrams and several others. If you have any questions you’d like asked, email me and I’ll see if I can ask them.

From Nadia Neophytou, a South African, New York-based entertainment writer on Miss Ntertainment.com comes this story about a special show Hugh Laurie did in New Orleans the other evening:

When I first heard House star Hugh Laurie was a singer on top of being a great actor and comedian, I was somewhat surprised. He himself admits he’s broken a cardinal rule of art, music and career paths: “actors are supposed to act, musicians are supposed to (make) music. That’s how it works. You don’t buy fish from a dentist, or ask a plumber for financial advice, so why listen to an actor’s music?”

Last night gave me a reason why.

I was invited to attend a special show where Hugh and a nine-piece band would be performing some of the songs off his debut album, Let Them Talk. So special, it would be filmed live in New Orleans, a site of such musical ancestry and the place that inspired many of the classic songs on the album.

The venue, called Latrobe’s on Royal Street in the French Quarter, is the perfect setting for Hugh to celebrate the New Orleans blues songs he has recorded on his debut album. He arrives a few moments after we do, chatting briefly to people before going behind a curtain to prepare. There are a handful of us, about 25, seated in the room of this much-loved venue built by an architect – Hugh will soon proudly tell us – who is also from Yorkshire.

He saunters in cheerily, and makes his way to the Steinway & Sons piano, to perform songs that he has come to hold dear to his heart. Every now and then, he brings in horns supremo Allen Toussaint, who gently, yet masterfully conducts the horn section of the band. Each time Allen comes in and goes out again, Hugh stands and bows to thank him for joining him in the recording.

It’s a recording for broadcast, so camera angles need to be changed and lights need to be adjusted. Each time the sound engineer comes out to fix something, Hugh calls him the WOM – “not a well-oiled machine, but a well-oiled man!”

At one stage, he brings out a small brown guitar, telling us it’s from the 1930s and he loves it so much that he wants to cover it in cream and eat it. Hugh talks about his old piano teacher Mrs Hare, before dedicating Swanee River to her, and tells us how she cut short his formal training because she refused to teach him this very ditty.

Hugh also brings out special guests: “I now call to the stage, no wait, this isn’t a stage…it’s a floor. No actually, a rug. I now call to the rug the wonderful Irma Thomas.” The New Orleans singer gloriously croons alongside him. “Just how excited can you get?” Hugh asks us, before Sir Tom Jones comes out and they, together with Irma, dive into Baby, Please Make A Change (originally done by Mississippi Sheiks). The comraderie between the two – as singers – is evident as they banter about song lyrics and Tom gives Hugh a knowing nod during the song.

Hugh also name-checks pianist Professor Longhair and before he plays Tipitina tells us: “This song means a great deal to me, and if I can, I want to make it mean a great deal to you.”

That’s what tonight – and the album – is all about. Making music lovers appreciate the blues all over again. And that’s doctor’s orders!

Here’s a brief sample of Sir Tom with Hugh Laurie and Irma Thomas singing Baby, Please Make A Change.

In a story about Hugh Laurie’s new album, Let Them Talk, to be released in the UK on May 9 and the US on May 17— on which, more than five months ago, back in October TJI told you Tom is singing a cut — the UK Press Association quotes Laurie saying some terrific stuff about the music he clearly, like Sir Tom, loves:

Laurie talks about the music and his album in the video at left.

But, in a separate interview, he said, joking, “I’ve never eaten grits, cropped a share, or ridden a boxcar. No gypsy woman said anything to my mother when I was born and there’s no hellhound on my trail, as far as I can judge.

“Let this record show that I am a white, middle-class Englishman, openly trespassing on the music and myth of the American south.”

Hugh said he wanted to popularise the genre: “I could never bear to see this music confined to a glass cabinet, under the heading Culture: Only To Be Handled By Elderly Black Men.

“That way lies the grave, for the blues and just about everything else: Shakespeare only performed at the Globe, Bach only played by Germans in tights.”

In the August/September 1985 issue of the TOMgirls TOM JONES FAN CLUB newsletter (with the sketch of Tom they used in the newsletter at right) club president Terry Harmon, from Texas, wrote:

I just returned from seeing Tom in Nashville & Memphis. On Sept. 4th my L.A. friends met me in Nashville to see Tom perform at the Grand Ole Opry. We had an extra bonus, as we were also able to see Tom as he appeared on Nashville Now. This was a live program from Opryland and aired on the Nashville Network. He looked absolutely gorgeous in black slacks & shirt. with a black leather jacket. As a special request from Ralph, he sang Green Green Grass of Home. Frank Jones f’rom Polygram Records came on to present Tom with a 2’ crystal goblet. and later they had a party for Tom to celebrate the release of the new LP, TLC (Tender Loving Care). Later backstage in Memphis 1 asked Tom when the album would be released, and he said Sept. 12th or 16th, then someone else said the 19th. So Just be sure to ask for it at the record store. The album cover is beautiful. with a close-up shot. Torn has on a white jacket. Black shirt w/ whlte scarf tied loosely showing hls gorgeous chest. Here are the songs: Not Another Heart Song, That’s All That Matters, It’s Four In the Morning, Dallas Darllng, TLC, I Can Help, A Million Times Today, Love Burns A Hole in the Night, Still enough of Us and Hold Me To It.

Moderator’s Note: I know people who were in Nashville for the show (maybe Memphis, too?) and they had a ball. When I was editor of a country music magazine, the year before this, I went to see Ralph Emery’s show. His guest was David Allen Coe (who wrote, among other things, Take This Job and Shove It and Stand By Your Man). His was a most memorable appearance but I am too sober at the moment to tell you why. However, in 1985, when Tom played the Opry, he played the Opry theater in the Opryland amusement park. Next month, when he plays the wonderful, historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, he’ll be in the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. It’s quite a place.

Anyway, here is some video (not too good, I’m afraid) from 1985 of Tom singing TLC on the Merv Griffin Show.

Enjoy!

Watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Sunday night on TV, I once again had to really admire Bette Midler. She was there to induct Darlene Love who, among her many other credits, was one of the Blossoms that backed Tom for awhile. Anyway, Midler is not in the Hall of Fame and, she said, she was particularly glad to be there inducting Love “because, now when you Google ‘Bette Midler Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,’ at least something will come up.”

Also inducted were Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Leon Russell and Alice Cooper. While their music isn’t my first choice, I can tell you what a very nice man “Alice” is and his entire band, while speaking after they were inducted, took time to thank their fans. It was a lovely, wise and honest thing to do. No one gets there — or, for that matter, has much of a career, without fans. Congratulations to all the inductees.

OK, back to Sir Tom: Clearly, at the left is the ad; at the right the promo piece, for Tom’s appearance at Sandown Race Course on Wednesday, July 27. These are, I believe, flat races. First race is 6:10 and the last at 8:55. The concert begins at “approximately” 9 o’clock.

Tickets begin at £33 and there are VIP packages starting at £99. You can book here.

Is anyone going? Who knows, maybe we can all meet there.

Thanks, Pat.

The short UPI story below comes from the August/September, 1985 newsletter of the TOMgirls TOM JONES FAN CLUB.

Other People
By United Press International

While Kennedy Center employees in Washington, D.C., are beginning to adjust to a different kind of audience in the Concert Hall this week for LIBERACE’S Las Vegas glitz, they aren’t at all certain what to expect from a TOM JONES audience. The Welsh singer performs there July 31 and Aug. 1, and his publicist has informed the Kennedy Center that extra stage personnel will be necessary to pick up all the roses, keys, women’s underwear and love letters that his fans toss up to him on the stage while he performs. Another surprise to the organizers of the concert is that Soviet news agency Tass correspondent ALEXANDER LUTY called to request concert tickets and an interview with Jones. Luty said Wednesday that
Jones is popular in the Soviet Union. Luty said the newspapers Soviet Russia and Soviet Culture had requested an interview with Jones.

Also at the Kennedy Center that summer were: Loretta Lynn, Johnny Mathis, the Pointer Sisters and Victor Borge.

The ultra-la-di-da Washington Post reviewer hated Tom’s show. He said, in part, “Tom Jones, a Welshman, has captured the very essence of lowbrow American pop music. But the saving grace of a Jones performance is that he clearly takes neither himself nor his act seriously. Indeed, how could he? His one-hour program last night at the Kennedy Center was 60 minutes of vulgarity, schmaltz and shameless audience manipulation.”

Not that there isn’t/wasn’t those qualities in Tom’s or any non-classical concert — performers ask for applause, for example, when they ask if everyone is having fun — but that’s part of the entertainment. The reviewer is an ass.

If you saw either or both of the Kennedy Center shows, please share your memories.

British actor, singer and TV host Michael Ball pays tribute to his musical heroes — Tony Bennett, Sinatra, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel and Tom Jones.

Here, he explains what song (even though he gets the name wrong) Tom Jones told hm to sing. (Then, for some reason, he sings a few bars of Billy Joel’s great New York State of Mind.)

That song, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, was first a hit for skiffle singer Lonnie Donegan. In the USA, Donegan’s two big hits were Rock Island Line and — remember this? — Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor?

Anyway, here is a bit of Micheal Ball singing I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.

And, because it is St. Patrick’s Day, here once again is Tom Jones performing Danny Boy.