Tom Jones International

The first review is from the BBC Wales. As you can see, it’s not wonderful, although it is sort of funny.

Stoned In Love
Universal/Globe: 24 April 2006

“Tom Jones’ vocal chords get hijacked by upstart danceteer Chicane.

“Foghorned-voiced, armadillo-panted sexagenarian Tom Jones joins forces on this four-four techno number with crossover dance act Chicane, aka Nick Bracegirdle.

“While it does the business in builds and breakdowns, providing the cheap tech-house thrills, it’s a mystery what Chicane has done with Tom’s vocals. He’s simply not used Tom’s voice as it should be. Like buying a Versace suit and using it as a dressing gown.

“Instead, he’s compressed and fiddled with The Voice to such an extent he resembles foghorned-voiced, armadillo-panted sexagenarian Cher. And where’s the point in that eh? — Words: James McLaren”

In a story dated April 1, 2006, contactmusic.com says:

“JONES GOES QUIET”

“Welsh crooner SIR TOM JONES has discovered a great new singing technique — not shouting. The DELILAH singer admits he has been ‘hammering it’ for far too long, and has unleashed his more restrained vocals on CHICANE’s new single STONED IN LOVE. He says, ‘I sang it as light as possible at the beginning. Hammering it is second nature to me. Of course when the chorus comes round I slam it as hard as possible. It’s a different approach and I like it.’”

(Thanks, Laura)

(We must point out that contactmusic.com is not the most reliable of sources, often taking things out of context and, in fact, misquoting. Though his voice is strong and does carry, we don’t think Tom Jones is guilty of “shouting.”)

Here’s an item likely to cause some real wonder. It’s found in the April 1 The Daily Record it says:

“A spokesman for Chicane, real name Nick Bracegirdle, revealed he’d also approached other music veterans with the song. He said: “David Hasselhoff was all set to sing if Tom had turned him down. The Hof was asked if he’d contribute as were James Dean Bradfield and George Michael. Nick wanted Tom but was worried he’d say no so he lined up a few other possibilities. Luckily Tom, the father of reinvention, agreed and it’s a killer single.”

You can visit the Stoned In Love official website.

(Thanks, Andre)

What do you think of Stoned In Love? Please let us know.

BBC Wales is having a contest with a copy of the CD as the prize. Doesn’t say anything about only people in the UK being eligible to win, so give it a shot.

Meanwhile, we’ll look for more reviews of the CD and, if we can find them, the video. If you come across any, please send them.

There is probably more live, top-notch entertainment in Las Vegas year-round than in any other US city except, perhaps, New York. Thus, for the public’s entertainment dollar and their loyalty, Las Vegas is one of — if not the — most competitive venues anywhere. It takes a lot for an entertainer to get noticed and to consistently win critical raves.

Each year, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the city’s daily paper, polls its readers to find out who and what are “The Best of Las Vegas.” The 2006 picks were in the Sunday, March 26 edition.

The readers usually make the obvious choices so, in an effort to get a more balanced view, the staff — if they don’t agree with the public’s votes — notes their own pick. And, usually, their choices are more discriminating.

Case in point:

Best Singer — Reader’s Pick

Céline Dion Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South Las Vegas , NV

This is the third year readers have put the power of love behind the Canadian singer with one foot on the bow of the Titanic and one foot in [suburban] Henderson. Clint Holmes is the second-place choice for all three of those years, this year coming within 15 votes of a singer who has sold a lot more records.

Best Singer — Staff Pick
Tom Jones MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South Las Vegas , NV

Yeah, baby! The Tomcat turned 65 last summer. But you can take that AARP card and shove it — in your wallet, then head to the record store and try to get a seniors discount on Reloaded. Put on the greatest hits CD and let Jones blow the doors off your Oldsmobile with the opening notes of If I Only Knew. Or you can just go down to the MGM Grand every so often to watch him do it live.

Los Angeles Home Purchased By Tom Jones Is Up for Sale

By Troy McMullen/From The Wall Street Journal Online/January 20, 2006

What: Four bedrooms, seven full baths in 4,600 square feet on 2.5 acres. Where: Los Angeles

Amenities: Pool, guest suite with sauna, parking for 10 cars, wine cellar, two fireplaces, library, wet bar in master bedroom. Each room in the house has views of downtown Los Angeles or Stone Canyon.

Asking Price: $4.95 million

Opening Bid*: $4.5 million

Listing Agents: Sotheby’s International Realty and Previews Coldwell Banker

Due Diligence: Singer Tom Jones, who was recently given a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music, bought this two-story house for his parents in 1980, shortly after his father retired from his coal-mining job in Wales. Mr. Jones’s sister, Sheila, now lives in the midcentury house and says she and her brother decided to sell the property after their mother, Freda, died two years ago. (Thomas Jones Sr. died in 1981.) The house, just west of downtown Los Angeles in the city’s Bel Air district, was originally designed in 1962 for TV director Jack Denove. Besides the wet bar, the second-floor master-bedroom suite has a fireplace and deck. Neighbors include Lindsey Buckingham, of the band Fleetwood Mac and, in nearby Stone Canyon, Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek. Local brokers say the home is priced about right for the area.

Additional Photos:



(Note: not sure if the house is still on the market)

(Thanks to Andre)

Although it received lots of coverage around the world the day it happened, March 29th, we’ll post news articles and links about the knighthood as they come (if they have anything in the least new) in in the next few days. If you find anything, please send on the information.

Thanks!

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From Hello Magazine in the UK, March 30, 2006 — a bit nervous and a bit from Mark and you gotta love the Beverley Sisters’ quote at the end:

‘SEX BOMB’ TOM BECOMES A KNIGHT

The king of disco became a Knight of the Realm on Wednesday when iconic crooner Tom Jones was honoured at Buckingham Palace. With his son and manager Mark looking proudly on, the legendary performer knelt down before the Queen as she tapped him on each shoulder with the blade of a sword.

One might expect that, after five decades as a performing artist, Wales’ favourite son would be immune to the perils of stagefright. The perma-tanned 65-year-old admitted to feeling a tad anxious as his moment of glory approached, however. “I got a little nervous,” he confessed afterwards. “The adrenaline was pumping.”

But a few last minute jitters did nothing to take away from an experience that was, well, lovely. “It was fantastic — it was lovely seeing the Queen again,” enthused the Sex Bomb singer. “I love seeing the Queen and I have always been a royalist. She is lovely. Her whole face brightens up when she smiles.”

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, he said the new medal would be his most prized possession. “When I was a kid all I wanted was a hit record,” he said. “I never thought about a knighthood. This is the best thing I’ve ever had — it’s a wonderful feeling.”

And he wasn’t the only one feeling a little emotional. The Beverley Sisters, who were honoured with MBEs, seemed distinctly overwhelmed by the combination of meeting Her Majesty and Tom Jones at the same event. “Oh, we love you Tom — you’re so wonderful!” they declared, enthusiastically planting kisses on their hero’s face.

Tom’s son meanwhile laughed and threw his eyes to heaven, saying “it was like this in the Sixties”, as he watched his father accept their affections. Babs then said it was time she and her siblings, Joy and Teddy, beat a hasty retreat. “It’s all a bit too much for us,” said the 73-year-old. “We’re off home for a cup of tea.”

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While the New York Post writes the best headlines in the world (who can ever forget the immortal, “Headless Man Found In Topless Bar?”), the British tabloids aren’t too shabby either when it comes to clever headlines. Here are two examples. The one below is from the March 30th Daily Mirror; the one at right is from The Sun on March 30. A UK friend explained that “gong” is slang there for a medal. Oh.

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Below is a link to video of CBS News’ coverage. Check it out!

CBS News has a brief story, video on the right side of the page and, on the left, there’s a link to a photo essay about Sir Tom. One of the photos is at right. A couple are from yesterday and the rest take the viewer on a nice trip memory lane (before the memory goes).

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Here’s a photo and the first few paragraphs from story in the March 30 Western Mail in Wales that’s a bit different from all the others we’ve seen (the rest of the story is the same as every other seems to be).

“It’s not unusual for Tom to meet the Queen — it’s ’six or seven times or maybe more’”

by Mike Jones/newsdesk@wme.com

TOM JONES’ revitalised career obviously agrees with him, as he arrived at Buckingham Palace yesterday to pick up his knighthood looking better than ever.

Tanned and trim, he appeared significantly slimmer than his previous visit in 1999 when he collected an OBE.

Sporting a goatee beard and wearing tails, the singer was accompanied to meet the Queen by his son and his family, although Tom’s wife Linda did not make the trip.

Regular concerts and a massive uplift in sales of his albums have seen Sir Tom’s return to the top of the music charts topped with this new honour.

To celebrate his knighthood, he announced his will set off on a 10-day UK tour, which includes one Welsh date, on October 10 this year.

Tickets for the concert at Cardiff International Arena on October 20 will go on sale tomorrow.

Thanks once again to Matthew.

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This is the first online story (March 29) from the Western Mail via icWales.com:
A knighthood? I had just hoped for it, reveals Tom
Mar 30 2006/Paul Carey, Western Mail

THE Queen told Tom Jones he had given “a lot of people a lot of pleasure” as she knighted him yesterday.

Sir Tom said the Queen asked him how long he had been in showbusiness.

She said she remembered his performance at a royal charity performance in 1966.

“I told her 41 years successfully and she said to me that I had given a lot of people a lot of pleasure,” said Sir Tom after receiving the honour.

When asked if he thought the knighthood was rather long in coming, he replied, “I just hoped for it, all you can do is hope — you can never know.”

The Pontypridd singer was at Buckingham Palace to receive his award alongside former Wales coach Mike Ruddock, who was made an OBE.

The popular Grand Slam winner from Swansea, who was accompanied by his wife and children, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience

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From the Herald Sun, Australia:

Sir Tom: that’s new for Tom Jones

31mar06

IT’S not unusual for hip-swivelling singing legend Tom Jones to meet the Queen, but yesterday was something special as she dubbed him, “Sir Tom”.

The 65-year-old veteran star who thinks he’s met the Queen “six or seven times, maybe more”, said his knighthood was “just tremendous”. “This is the best thing that I have had. It is a wonderful feeling, a heady feeling,” he said

The Welsh-born star was knighted Sir Thomas Jones Woodward.

The BBC website has video and an interview with Sir Thomas. These (Associated Press) photos are from their site:

Here’s the BBC story:
Singer Tom Jones has been knighted at Buckingham Palace for services to music. He was invested as Thomas Woodward, his real name and the one under which he began singing for relatives as a boy in the 1940s south Wales valleys.

The 65-year-old miner’s son said accepting the knighthood was a “great and humbling honour”.

Speaking after the investiture, he said: “It is fantastic. It was lovely to see the Queen again.

“I love seeing the Queen and I have always been a royalist. She is lovely and she still is lovely.

“She has got a great smile and her whole face lights up when she smiles.”

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Here’s the story being reprinted around the world from the Associated Press:

LONDON - Welsh singer Tom Jones is getting used to meeting Queen Elizabeth II — but Wednesday was something special as she dubbed him, “Sir Tom.”

The 65-year-old singer, a coal miner’s son from the Welsh town of Pontypridd, received the honor from the queen at Buckingham Palace.

Jones said he had met the British monarch “six or seven times, maybe more,” starting with a royal charity performance in 1966.

“I love seeing the queen and I have always been a royalist,” Jones said after the investiture. “She is lovely and she still is lovely.”

The big-voiced belter, who was accompanied by his son, daughter[-in-law] and granddaughter, said receiving the knighthood was “just tremendous.”

“When you first come into show business and you get a hit record, it is the start of something,” he said.

“As time goes on, it just gets better. This is the best thing that I have had. It is a wonderful feeling, a heady feeling.

“Sometimes you just can’t believe it, you think you have been dreaming.”

Born Thomas Jones Woodward, Jones began his singing career at age 3. His string of hits started with It’s Not Unusual in 1965, and includes What’s New, Pussycat?, Green, Green Grass of Home, Help Yourself, She’s a Lady, and I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.

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After the ceremony, Tom and Mark look ecstatic. Mark, Donna and granddaughter Emma accompanied Tom to the ceremony. He was allowed three guests. He also was congratulated (and did congratulate) singers The Beverley Sisters, awarded MBE’s for services to music. Photos from the Sky News website.

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Here are a story and photos from the BBC website March 28:

Tom goes to palace for knighthood

Tom Jones is to be knighted at Buckingham Palace for services to music.

He will be invested as Thomas Woodward, the name under which he began singing for relatives in 1940s south Wales.

He will be joined by the former Wales rugby coach Mike Ruddock who will collect an OBE for guiding Wales to their first Grand Slam in 27 years.

The former president of the National Farmer’s Union Peredur Hughes will also receive an OBE.

Tom Jones has come a long way since humble beginnings in Treforest, near Pontypridd in the south Wales valleys.

Known as Jones the Voice, the 65-year-old has sold millions of records amassed a huge fortune, and retained a devoted fan base while reinventing himself to appeal to a younger, trendier crowd.

He began his career in 1963 as a vocalist in the group Tommy Scott and the Senators then changed his name to Tom Jones and was a regular in working men’s clubs in south Wales, before moving on to fame and fortune nationally and internationally with his second single, It’s Not Unusual. His live performances made him a Las Vegas favourite and he moved to the US in the 1970s.

However Jones has always kept strong links with Wales, and last year gave a homecoming concert in Pontypridd’s Ynysangharad Park to mark his 65th birthday.

Wales Labour Party stalwart Anita Gale underwent her own name change when she became Baroness Gale of Blaenrhondda said she does not believe Jones the Voice will change now that he is Sir Tom.

“He’s a valleys boy,” she said, “and it will be strange for valleys people to call him Sir Tom. “But I think there will be a great deal of pride from local people that he’s got his title.”

From Celebrity Stock Exchange on the BBC website.

Wednesday 29 March 2006
Tom Jones Receives Knighthood from The Queen
Probably at her house
Tom Jones will today receive a knighthood from non-other than Her Majesty. Fingers crossed for some right royal dividends!

Picture Potential:



Celebrity rating:




Broadsheet coverage:



Tabloid coverage:

If you are having difficulty accessing it, try this link to Tom’s official site. It is now open for fan registration.

And, you may also want to check out the BBC archive of their Tom Jones stories over the last few decades. And the web search on that page provides exhaustive results. It can keep you busy for hours….days….weeks…well, you get the idea.

We all know this is a big week for Tom Jones news, especially in the UK.

Because so many North American fans are hungry for news about The Man and cannot get articles about Tom here, we’re adding a special page to our site this week.

Tom In the News will feature articles from the UK. There will of course be a link to the media outlet but, since most online sites do not carry photos — or, at least, as many photos as the print publication — we’ll also try to bring the photos to you.

A list of the articles here will be updated as we get new material:

Celebrity Stock Exchange Rating of Tom’s Media Coverage Stock (Silly, but fun)

A Battle of the Titans: The Fight to Have Tom Sing at A Concert

Is It Faenol or will Tom’s No 1 Choice be Katherine? Terfel and Jenkins compete to get Welsh superstar to perform

Mar 25 2006 — Claire Hill, Western Mail

THE race is now on between Wales’ two classical singing sensations to win the ultimate prize — Tom Jones.

World famous bass baritone Bryn Terfel has often spoken of his ambition to persuade “Jones the Voice” to perform at his four-day Faenol Festival in North Wales.

But today the world’s fastest-selling female opera star, Katherine Jenkins, has entered the fray by announcing she wants to hold a two-day summer musical extravaganza of her own in South Wales.

Just which one would Tom — the 65-year-old from Pontypridd, put on a pedestal for his legendary singing prowess — choose?

Katherine’s festival, which she hopes will first take place in 2007, marks a change in direction for the mezzo soprano from Neath. She once said, “My three ambitions have always been to sing at the Millennium Stadium and the Sydney Opera House, and to get to Number One in the classical charts” and she has now achieved all three within two years of bursting on to the music scene.

Her first-ever festival underlines her long-held desire to now give something back to her home nation.

A source close to Katherine said, “This has been planned for over a year. There’s been a demand for this. The four-day Faenol Festival has been very successful up north and there is definitely a demand for a big classical festival in South Wales. People have been asking her for this.”

Organisers are keeping tight-lipped about the details, but the Western Mail can reveal they are looking at several sites along the M4 corridor.

The contenders could be:

A hometown base for Katherine at Margam Park, the stately home estate between Cardiff and Swansea;

Swansea’s Singleton Park, which hosts the annual dance festival Escape in the Park, or

Cardiff’s Coopers Field, which hosts the capital’s biggest outdoor events next to the city centre castle.

That decision depends on whether Katherine wants to copy the Faenol, which takes place on an estate near Bangor, and appeal to the blanket and hamper audiences, or whether an urban setting would pull more people.

The line-up also remains under wraps but organisers are confident it will feature a star-studded cast of international singers and performers.

Brian Lane, Katherine’s manager, who is seen as very well connected in the music world, said last night, “We want to present a festival that extends the festivalgoer’s experience to all aspects of the arts and we have some fan-tastic ideas in development.

“We’ve already been planning this for over a year now and although we can’t say too much at this stage we’ll have more to tell everyone in the coming weeks and months as this all starts to come to fruition.”

Katherine, who sang Happy Birthday to Tom Jones at his Welsh homecoming gig last May, could use her charms to ask some of the bigger Welsh legends to perform at her festival. That has triggered speculation Tom would be a natural choice.

But Katherine, 25, would be up against Bryn, who has always encouraged all forms of music — from Westlife and Jamie Cullum to Andrea Bocelli and Katherine herself — to perform at Faenol, which is now in its seventh year.

It is no secret the burly opera star, last seen in Wales last month at the Wales Millennium Centre in the title role of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman for Welsh National Opera, has coveted a performance from Tom.

Terfel has said, “I’ve been dreaming, for years now, of Tom headlining the night where it’s just Welsh music, which we call Tan y Ddraig (Dragon’s Fire). My dream would be to get all these really great Welsh acts from the ’70s together and then have Thomas come out and sing with them.”

Now Bryn is waiting for the It’s Not Unusual singer to ask him to perform because Tom never returns his calls. But he has won one big coup — Dame Shirley Bassey has agreed to headline one of the Faenol nights this August.

Name: Katherine Jenkins

Age: 25 From: Neath Albums: Premiere and Second Nature Facts: Second Nature monopolised the number one spot for almost nine months and won the singer a Classical Brit award as Album of the Year. She is the biggest-selling female classical artist ever in the history of classical music having sold over 1.5 million records in barely two years. Also the Forces’ Sweetheart. Performed at: VE Day celebration in Trafalgar Square, Live8 concerts in Berlin and London, Faenol Festival, Sydney Opera House, Millennium Stadium and the Royal Albert Hall. Background: Was Welsh Choirgirl of the Year. She gained an Honours degree at London’s Royal Academy of Music. But she had to work as a freelance singing teacher in Hertfordshire to fund her postgraduate studies in opera.

Name: Bryn Terfel Age: 40 From: Caernarfon Albums: Everything from classical to folk. Several award-winning CDs featuring German Lieder by Schubert and Schumann to English songs by Vaughan Williams. Plus two albums of show songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe. Facts: He’s been honoured with the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal performance in 1996, Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for the platinum-selling Bryn in the 2004 Classical Brit Awards. Got a CBE in the 2003 New Year Honours. Has performed at: All the major opera houses of the world, with music as diverse as Mozart and Wagner, Puccini and Stravinsky, Verdi and Britten. In 2004 he made his debut as Wotan in Wagner’s Ring Cycle at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and critics said he fulfilled his “operatic destiny”. Most recently he returned to the WNO to headline in The Flying Dutchman. Background: He sang at Eisteddfodau [Welsh music competition] from the age of four. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, his first big break coming when he won the major Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1988. The now-famous “battle of the baritones” with Dmitri Hvorostovsky followed at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition the following year.

Adding spice to an already hot cuisine, there’s an Indian restaurant in Newport, Wales called The Bombay Bicycle Club.

As you can imagine from the photo, the restaurant is Tom-themed in that it has his 60’s and 70s album covers smartly framed all over the inside walls. Background music is only Tom and the Beatles and Tom’s photos appear on the menus. They also have a cartoon logo of Tom standing legs astride with hands on hips that appears on the windows and elsewhere. The restaurant has been there for years now.

Thanks to Rachael!

And if that’s not enough to prove that Welsh restaurateurs have a sense of humor, there’s a “chippy” (a fish-and-chips shop, to us Americans) in Brigend, Wales named “A Fish Called Rhondda.”