Tom Jones International

The UK edition of OK Magazine (January 31) listed the top 100 showbiz earners in the UK and Ireland.

Considering the type of publication they are (after all, they’re not exactly the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal), it’s not too surprising that they did this without citing any sources or explaining exactly how they did it. So, for acts like Coldplay and U2 (#s 1 and 2, respectively) they could use ticket and CD sale tallies which are printed in outlets like Billboard and Music Week. And most actors’ salaries are not secret.

But for a performer like Tom Jones — who generally plays smaller venues where the grosses are not always made public — the question of how they figured out his position remains unanswered.

But, no matter. What’s important is that Tom, who they say tied at #35 with actor Clive Owen, singer Enya and chef Gordon Ramsay, was recognized for more than his earnings.

The editors underscored the fabulous work ethic that keeps him perfoming almost non-stop (even though he is, as they noted, an “OAP” — an “old age pensioner,” the state one reaches in the UK upon turning 65) and they admitted — in their apparently random list — they did not include all those shows at MGM.

So, hooray for Tom, whose hard work and love of what he does enables us to enjoy his gift. Long may he entertain and prosper!

We are really pleased that Tom has taken a moment to answer two questions fans posted on our site. We will continue to ask a couple of questions when we have the opportunity and, hopefully, get answers.

We chose questions we thought would interest the most fans.

These were sent to us in answer to our December Question of the Month (If you could ask Tom).

We asked: Do you have any regrets regarding the choices you’ve made in your professional life?

Tom answered: “I would not have changed anything in those early years as everything went to plan as if scripted. “

We asked: “If given the opportunity to turn back the hands of time, would you take it and, if you did go back, what age would you want to be and what, if anything, would you do differently?” Tom said: “As for going back to to any particular time in the past — no, as I am very happy and content with what is happening to me at the present time, especially the Knighthood that has just been bestowed on me.”

We’ve posted a new Question of the Month and we hope you’ll take a moment to answer it.

If you have a question for Tom, please send it to us and, hopefully, we’ll get to ask him.

In his last few nights in Las Vegas, Tom has begun to change the show, trying out new numbers and mixing it up on the way to solidifying a new set list.On Monday night, Mam and Dad’s Waltz was out, along with some other songs. Added were Baptism By Fire (editor’s note: HOORAY!), Glory of Love and a few more numbers.

We hope we’ll have more details very shortly, so check back.

As for the stage outfit, it seems that a jacket over the blue or black sequin shirt is what’s in. As the tour moves into the east coast this month, please keep us updated. Whatever he wears, he looks great, but the jackets are a great look.

As he begins to travel in the east this month, please let us know about the shows you see. It’s always fun to watch the show evolve. If you’re fortunate enough to see it, we hope you’ll share the experience with others via this site.

Thanks!

Ellen & Ursula

PS: We forgot to add a wonderful anecdote from the show on Sunday, January 29.

Tom had paused during his first greeting to the audience (”We’ve got three CDs out….”) and a somewhat large woman (no, we’re not being catty; that’s important to what comes next) in the second row shouted, “I love you, Tom.”

As he often does, he replied, “I love you, too!” and tried to continue talking.

But she stopped him by saying in a torrent of words something to the effect of: “Tom when I hear you sing I am not stuck in this fat suit that covers me from head to toe. I am thin. I am beautiful and I am sexy. I am that way because that’s how you make me feel and that’s why I love you.”

Now, we all know that people shout all sorts of things to Tom and he’s likely heard it all.

But, we’re willing to bet he hadn’t heard this said in this way, in these words and so forcefully.

He seemed a bit taken aback and quite sincerely thanked her.

But, proving she’s a fan like so many others, she gifted him with a bra and panties and, in return, got a kiss from Tom and loud, enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Because, no matter what their personal issue, this woman struck a chord with all the other female fans in the audience and probably caused each of one to stop for a second and think about what Tom means to her.

It was a terrific (and in its way, extraordinary) moment.

What is your favorite Tom Jones song and why is it your favorite?

The tomjonesinternational.com Fan Survey:

We had 206 responses. Experience in marketing has taught us that is an excellent number, especially when we’re dealing with an unquantified universe.

For example, in a city with a known population of 1,000,000 a sample of 200 would give a margin of error or +/- 10 %. So we believe we’ve gotten a pretty accurate picture of fans.

And there were some surprises in the responses. Below is a brief summary of some of the things we learned.

Geographic location of respondents:

While the majority of respondents are from the USA, responses came from Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Finland, Norway and France.

Gender & Age of Respondents:

• Two-thirds of respondents were women and most fell into the 35-54 age range.
• The number of male respondents was much higher than expected and we thought the sample would skew a bit older.
• Interestingly, there were more than three times as many people under age 35 as were over 70 (and we did get responses from people over 70).
• 80 percent of respondents under 25 years of age were male.

Travel to Shows: Eighty percent (80!) of respondents travel out of state or out of country to see Tom.

Number of times respondents have seen Tom Jones live:

• The number of times the entire respondent pool has seen Tom is well over 10,000.
• By a rough estimate, respondents each average 60 shows seen.
• The most one person has seen was 750; another has seen him at least 10 times each year beginning when he was at the Copacabana in New York in the 1960s.
• A few respondents have never seen Tom Jones in person.

Among the things requested of our site are:

• MP3s and video clips (“but not the Canadian series”);
• The ability to listen to his music (”like on Englebert’s site”);
• More items for sale;
• Contests for tickets, autographed photos, CDs, etc.;
• Occasional comments, answers to questions or statements from Tom (Looks like that’s happening and we’re grateful).

Of Note:

While there were many people who asked us to “do something” to see Tom Jones is recognized in the US as he should be — as he is in Europe — one person asked for an “organized movement to bring Tom respect in the US equal to that he is shown in the UK. Our record industry needs to wake up and see what they are missing.”

We have discussed this type of campaign ourselves and are planning on beginning one very soon.. If you have any suggestions, please send them on. If you’d like details or to share ideas, that would be welcome.

We thank each of you who took the time to respond and we want to assure you we’re working to put some of your suggestions (as well as some other things) into place. So, stay tuned!

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The winner of the special edition tomjonesinternational.com t-shirt

Our winner was drawn from the email addresses of all of you who responded by new bass player Michael Mennell at the MGM Grand (photo above) is Sande Amorosia of Sicklerville, NJ. Congratulations!