Tom Jones International

Hot off the TV, the photo at left is one of several screen shots from the April 30 edition of Top Of The Pops chart show broadcast in the UK at 7 p.m. today. Its message is clear.

The host of the show said of Chicane’s collaboration with Tom, “This band is giving this young man his first shot at stardom. Maybe you have seen him in Mars Attacks!”

Congratulations to Sir Tom and Nick.

The Screen Shots set from Top of the Pops is now up. There are a couple of terrific photos of TJ like the one at right.

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May 1: On the dance singles chart the song is #9.

Again, we really appreciate the photos, Andre.

We’ll start the ball rolling with review of the shows we see and hope that all of you who saw one (or more) of these 14 shows will share your experience.

Be sure to check the “comments” for additional reviews of this Vegas stand.

— Ellen & Ursula

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Several people had been to another show this week, in addition to the Saturday night show. All reported a terrific show from Tom with little interaction between him and the audience.

But, how was the most important thing? The performance? Just grand.

Tom was clearly in a good mood, bounding onstage after Tony introduced him with (something like) “Ladies and Gentlemen, three short words — Sir! Tom! Jones!”

The audience roared at his entrance and didn’t stop all night. As even this rather poor photo makes clear, they threw undergraments and a t-shirt (folded on top of the table back right in the photo) handprinted with a message in various colored Sharpees. Tom paused the proceedings to read the message on the shirt, telling to the audience, “I”m having a read. You talk among yourselves.” Members of bachelorette party wore headdresses with blinking red lights, causing Tom to comment, “What is that? Oh. For a minute I thought I was in a place where women dance on poles. But I have to do the show first.” The audience Saturday night, for what it’s worth, was like many weekend audiences: a bit too talkative and as a result there was a lot of “ssshhh”-ing going on.

Yes, Sir Tom was feeling good and so was the audience. They were feeling so good, in fact, that by You Can Leave Your Hat On there were lines of women in the aisles — at least 100 all together — just dancing with abandon to the music. It was really fun.

And, what about the music? Well, he’s dropped St. James Infirmary Blues in favor of Stoned In Love. He told the audience that this was his new single (”already in the top 10 in the UK”) and he’d like to see it get some play here but that there’s a problem with a record company.

The audience reaction during this song was interesting, as it was the first number in the show with which very few people were familiar. We thought he did it well — no tricks with his voice — but the applause wasn’t as hearty as it was for the other numbers. Since we know Tom Jones fans everywhere are very sharp — and this, unlike many audiences in Las Vegas, was filled with Tom Jones fans — that’s probably a function of the newness of both the sound and specific song.

You must know we do love Tom and his talent is, as a Canadian friend always says, “gi-normous.” But we’d love to see a new finale after all this time with High Heel Sneakers and Kiss. (And, before you write in protest, it’s not that we dislike these songs, but we can remember when the show was changed more frequently. These — both done really well — have closed the show for at least two years now. That’s all.)

We and many who looked for it again missed the merchandise. We think it’s time now — not in October for the UK tour — for a new tour book, some t-shirts — any merchandise. It disappeared last year and the only place it’s available is on the official website. [NOTE: It's not available there YET. It's "coming soon." Look on eBay's Tom Jones pages. if you're really needing TJ memorabilia.] It would be really nice if merch were again added to personal appearances.

Please don’t misunderstand. We would rather have Tom doing this show, with no merch for sale and absolutely no interaction with the audience and the same basic setlist, than no Tom at all. And those of us fortunate enough to live in or visit Las Vegas do know how lucky we are.

As a Welsh lady we know says, “We luv ya, Tommy,” and know how blessed we are that you share your gift with all of us.

Here is an interview from msn.co.uk. We’ve put in some of the photos but there are more (not really new ones) on the link to the interview. This is definitely an interview that is for UK audiences, but it is good. We like what he said about Las Vegas. And be sure to notice the reference to the sign at Glastonbury — a sign Sir Tom loved.

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‘I Don’t Do Showgirls…’

Back in the spotlight thanks to his collaboration with dance maestros Chicane, Sir Tom Jones talks exclusively about his 40 years in the business…

Few artists have remained successful over the course of five decades, fewer still credible. How many have managed both? Engelbert Humperdinck? Go on then, name his last hit single. Cliff Richard? Exactly.

Sir Tom Jones is the exception that proves the rule. We caught up with him to talk about his latest single, Stoned In Love, and how he’s always managed to stay ahead of the game…

Sir Tom Jones has a story he is fond of telling. Having become a figure of fun by the ’80s, a medallion-wearing, hairy-chested lothario of the old-school, he pulled off the greatest comeback ever thanks to some canny management decisions, an ability to laugh at himself, and, of course, that voice.

Despite this, when he was asked to play Glastonbury in 1993, he wasn’t sure what kind of reception he was going to get. Were they, you know, taking the you-know-what? What would a crowd of people young enough to be his grandchildren make of him? Then he walked on stage and saw a banner bearing the legend ‘Tom F****** Jones!’ and he knew it was going to be ok.

13 years later, as I sit anxiously in a hotel room in London, I know how both he and the guy holding the banner felt. Nick from Chicane walks in first. Lest we forget, Nick is the reason Sir Tom has a new single out, the soon-to-be dance anthem, ‘Stoned In Love’. Then, two minutes later, the man they call ‘The Voice’ enters. Tom F****** Jones.

How did the collaboration with Chicane come about?

Nick – I had the song written but my singing is atrocious. I spent a lot of time thinking about who and what would be good. While we were doing the song, it became obvious that it was a big song, big chorus, and I was trying to figure out who would be the right person for it. Everything has to slot into place. I mean, you can have the best song in the world and the best singer in the world but it just doesn’t gel, you know? Tom sprung to mind, as did two other Welshmen…

Can I ask who they were?

Nick – James Dean Bradfield from the Manic Street Preachers and Kelly Jones from the Stereophonics. It wasn’t a Welsh thing particularly, it’s just they’ve all got absolutely stunning voices, but Tom was the one I fancied most of all, simply because I think he’s got the biggest voice and the biggest charisma. So I sent it off and…

Tom (interrupting) – And I heard it. And I loved it. I thought the song was a great song, a proper song. The structure of it is right. It could be done in different ways really but it happens to be done in a dance vein, which works really well. I loved the way the track sounded. So that was it. Nick came over to Malibu, he already had the track, and he told me what he wanted, which was to sing the verse lighter at the beginning, not to give it away too soon.

How did the performance on Jonathan Ross’ show last night go?

Tom – I thought it was great. It felt great. I hope it comes across that way because you can never tell with television. It sounded great in the studio but when they squash it all up… let’s see what the mix is like but the vibe was definitely there.

If it were 1966 and I asked you what you thought you’d be doing in 40 years time, what do you think you’d have said?

Tom – Ummmm…..well, you don’t know, you don’t know which way music is going to go. I would definitely have said I would like to be trying new things, to get the same kind of thing across, but not necessarily in the same way.

I approached songs differently even then. The Green, Green Grass of Home wasn’t like It’s Not Unusual or What’s New Pussycat? You know, they differ. They’re done in different ways and with different producers.

I did It’s Not Unusual with Peter Sullivan and What’s New Pussycat? with Burt Bacharach, you know, so there’s two different ones right there. So I was always open to listening to new things and trying new things, so I would have said at that time, hopefully, that I could continue to do different things.

Among your contemporaries, I can’t think of anyone else who is as credible and successful now as they were then. Why do you think that is?

I think it’s about ability too. And to get with the right producer, to have new ideas rather than to fall into a rut where you’re doing everything the same. New ideas, fresh ideas that you need to embrace if you want something to sound new. There’s a lot of different things that need to come together and I think I’m able to do that. I open-minded enough to do it.

You’re both known for being open-minded in terms of collaborations. You’ve both done stuff that people wouldn’t have expected.

Nick – Yeah, I guess so. It’s the recipe for longevity and to keep things fresh. I said this in an interview the other day but I think one of the other reasons Tom has been so successful for such a long time is he’s got a great set of ears. I called him the best A&R man going.

Tom – I can recognise a song. You’ve got to have those instincts yourself. Sometimes they work but they don’t always work, you know. If they don’t, you think, ‘Well, let’s wait for the next one’. Still keep an open mind though. You can’t think, “Oh.. that didn’t work, so maybe I should….” No, no. You were almost there. Maybe.

Is there anybody you wouldn’t work with?

Tom – Christ, I’ve never been asked that question before.

Nick – I’m not a huge supporter of your Ushers, your Sean Pauls, the people who are more of the… shall we say… poetry side of music. I won’t say I’m not into it because there are some great purveyors of that. I think some bits of Busta Rhymes are fantastic, some bits of The Streets are interesting and very cool but I’m not keen on some of it. I’m not keen on the aggressive side of rap, I think that’s a bit… strange…. but I haven’t got anyone I wouldn’t work with particularly.

Tom – It all depends again on what the song is. It’s back to that song again, you see, that A&R thing again, trying to recognise a song and the way it should be done. But nobody comes to mind where I would think, “I could never work with that person”.

I saw the promotional itinerary for this single and it’s pretty hectic. Tom, I’m assuming you don’t need the money, so what keeps you going? What makes you want to keep doing it?

Tom – The excitement of it all, the freshness of it. If I wasn’t doing this, I don’t know what I’d be doing. I wouldn’t want to be repeating myself. I’ve always liked to try new things and that’s what keeps you fresh, that’s what keeps the whole thing alive, that’s what prevents you from getting caught in a rut. And retiring would be a rut for me. I wouldn’t know what else to do really. I know I would hear something and think, “I’ve got to have a go at that”. I don’t want to stop too early either. In another ten years I might think, “Why the hell did I stop then? There was so much more to do.” I don’t want to stop until I have to.

What have got in the pipeline?

Tom – Tour. The next thing for me is my tour which comes up in October, November, the British tour, which I’m looking forward to now that we’ve got the new song Stoned In Love. It gives it a real shot in the arm. It’s all part of this thing called showbusiness.

Nick (silly voice) – Showbusiness!

Tom – Yeah. You make the record and you hope it flies and everything benefits from it. The live shows are better for it because you’ve got something new to present.

Speaking of showbusiness, do you still do Vegas?

Tom – Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah.

Does your more contemporary stuff like this song feature in that set?

Tom – Definitely.

Nick – I hope so.

Tom – The band that I use in the States are looking forward to doing this now. We’ve rehearsed it already, you know.

I had an idea that Vegas was more of a nostalgia thing. Is that not the case?

Tom – No, no, not at all. I mean it never has been for me. Vegas to me is just another place to play. I go on with the same kind of show. I don’t change my show for Vegas. I’ve never used (grand voice) SHOWGIRLS.

Nick (collapses into hysterics)

Not on stage anyway.

Tom – Exactly!

James Hurley, Entertainment Editor/MSN UK

It took a few days, but our new “stand-alone” section, “Jonesin’ for Photos” is finally organized. Check the menu on the right side of this page.

The new “Screen Shots” photo set is ready.

The first ones are shots from the April 21st Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. Tom looks great and, for those of us who couldn’t see the show, this is the next best thing. An added treat is a photo from the late 1970s-early 1980s.

If you have other screen shots — or other photos — you’d like to share, send them in. We are often adding to our flickr sets, so check them often.

To the envy of fans not able to see or hear the shows, Tom has been on UK radio and TV flogging away at Stoned In Love. (This is his new single with Chicane, in case you hadn’t heard.) Luckily for us, though, the intrepid mharding has been kind enough to listen/watch (and watch and listen) and send us details (including the fact that, “Tom was keen to point out that his receiving the title was due to the effort made by the public”).

So, thanks to one of our three favorite “Taffys,” mharding. We are grateful.

(On Wednesday, April 26, mharding noted that you can access the Popworld interview on your computer. The screen shots on this post are from that interview.)

1 Leicester Square: Not as long an interview as the JR show. Tom and Nick Bracegirdle (he who is hovering at Tom’s shoulder in the Western Mail photo) were interviewed by Russell but there was no performance. An interesting factoid to mention is that Tom’s vocals were recorded in Malibu and Nick brought the track out to him. Nick said it was “very cool” to work with Tom. It was a light-hearted interview as was the Ross show and Russell made Tom and Nick giggle a lot. He spoke to Tom mostly:

“Did he have protection from gangsters?” “No, but it had been offered.”

Standard questions, really. Russell referred to Bracegirdle’s surname as sounding like that of a Victorian undertaker and ratcatcher and accused him of manipulating Tom’s talent for his own “evil” ends. Knighthood wasn’t mentioned as this is youth telly and nobody cares.

Popworld: This interview on Saturday morning had Tom on his own with two zany, postmodern youth presenters who were all hipster jeans and smart-arsed irony. Tom walked through it on his hands to be honest and played along with the stream of consciousness ramblings of the two interviewers though there were a couple of moments where you could see he was waiting for them to stop rambling and get on with it.

“Was he condoning robbery with the new video?”
“No, they were worried about that when making it but it was intended to be a joke.”

Given that he now works with Ibiza legend Chicane has he ever larged it (meaning “lived it large” or partied excessively) in Ibiza clubs? No, but he had been to similar club resorts like Monte Carlo.

What did he think of Grime?*

“Wellll…what IS grime”? Tom mused, entering into the postmodern irony mode. “It’s just a grimy thing really isn’t it” he shrugged.

Would he ever do French-Canadian Post-Rock? “I don’t know what that is. It would depend on the song.”

Good enough answers, I thought.

They asked him if he thought the American Church that is dedicated to preaching through Tom (Pastor Jack at www.churchoftomjones.com/) was weird and he said he thought it was okay as it was a positive thing with it being a church.

They played him the new Orson video (http://www.orsonband.com/orsonband.htm) and asked his opinion.

One of the presenters said the band had been described as “Slipknot meets Engelbert Humperdinck”. Tom let that pass, commenting “It’s a good hard sound, which is very important to me”.

What about the trilby hats? Tom opined that you have to do something to look different. One of the presenters countered “It’s not really that different though is it, Tom?”

They all agreed (ironically and post-modernly) that Tom had caught them out when he retorted “Who else is doing it then? With the hat?”. Will Young (http://www.will-youngonline.com/) was the best they could come up with.

On HTV Wales News April 24: Tom was interviewed from his hotel room. Standard stuff again but he did say he was told about the Knighthood at Christmas and that he read up on the history of it at that point and when the importance of it sank in he started to question his character, worthiness, etc. He said that he’d like to thank very much all those who campaigned for him to receive the title and stressed that Downing Street (the Prime Minister makes the recommendations) needs to be made aware that there’s a public demand for a particular person to be acknowledged.

Tom was keen to point out that his receiving the title was due to the effort made by the public.

Paul O’Grady Show: Tom took part in a regular musical phone in game they have and had to act as a dog handler for a homeless dog.

London Tonight: Here he was with Nick in the hotel room. There’s been a rumour going around that Tom doesn’t like J. Timberlake and he again tonight was asked about it. He claimed it was a misquote and he doesn’t think JT is crap.

Then he pointed out that they could edit the tape to make it look as if he had just said “Justin Timberlake is crap”.

Nick had his head in his hands laughing; he’s heard these questions a million times now.

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Tom also said he was to appear with Chicane last night (Monday, April 24) at Carling Academy in Islington.

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*Grime (As defined by wickipedia.org): a genre of urban music which has been developing in London’s underground since 2002. Grime’s tempo is typically around 140 beats per minute. Style of flow also varies but its most common for rappers to “spit” double time or aggressively over the beat. In contrast to its more soulful progenitor, Grime can often be dark and aggressive, featuring MCs as opposed to singers and jettisoning the R&B influences of earlier 2 step UK Garage. In contrast, the success of grime is inseparable from its connection with pirate radio, with many performers honing their skills and achieving underground success before approaching the mainstream. Grime has roots in both hip hop and electronic music and is characterised by rapid and rhythmic rhyming over sparse break beats, futuristic bleeps and guttural bass growls. Perhaps due to its experimental nature and diverse stylistic influences, grime resisted attempts to classify or pigeonhole it for a long time, but in the past has also gone by the names sublow, 8bar, nu shape or eskibeat.

An interview with Tom is available via podcast. In it, he describes how he heard about his Knighthood, discusses his music and collaborators — for a relatively short interview, there’s some real substance. There is no fee for the download.

If you have iTunes, open it and go to the “Advanced” menu (above the iTunes screen) and, then, to “Subscribe to Podcast.”

When the subscribe screen comes up, put in the url: http://www.umtv.co.uk/tomjones.xml and the podcast will download.

If you do not have iTunes, go to www.apple.com/itunes/download (or, in the UK to www.apple.com/uk/itunes/download/) then download iTunes and, then, the podcast by following the directions above.

(Remember, you do not need to have an iPod to use iTunes.)

Stoned In Love is for sale.

Overseas (non-UK) fans can buy it on eBay, at eil.com in both CD and vinyl (!) format, at amazon.com and, of course, from amazon.co.uk

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From MTV-UK

It’s official: Tom Jones is the daddy…

Chicane are number one in this week’s Galaxy Dance Chart with Stoned In Love. The Galaxy Chart premieres on MTV Dance (MTV UK) every Sunday at 9 pm. And you can vote any time going to the link above.

The Galaxy Dance Chart is your weekly countdown of the hottest tracks in clubland — voted for by you.

Congratulations, Tom!

Once more: Thanks, Matthew

From the April 20 Western Mail, this article is notable mostly for the photo, we think. But you can check it out at icWales.

There’s also a review of the new CD and a rundown of Tom’s past Welsh collaborators, as well as a list of the the TV shows he’s doing through Monday (and, even, will be on Top of the Pops on April 30).

It’s odd, isn’t it (or, as they say in Welsh, “inn’t it?”) how UK fans complain that he never plays there in person and fans outside the UK that he’s rarely, if ever, on TV or in print interviews elsewhere?

Is this an issue of never being able to please everyone? Or is it an issue of balance? The bulk of his personal performances are in the US and Canada, but the recordings and new, positive media exposure seem only to be for the UK. Is there a solution?

Thanks again, Matthew!

The Sunday Times of London’s 2006 list of Britain’s 1,000 wealthiest people was published today, April 23, 2006.

With £185 million, Tom is tied with Sting at #9 in the music list. He’s also #9 overall in Wales. The full music list is in PDF format at the Times Online Check it out.

The wealthiest Brit in music is a man named Clive Calder, a famously — and rigorously — publicity shy record label mogul who sold his Zomba Recordings, onetime label for Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, to BMG for $2.7 billion in 2002. Today his fortune is estimated at £1.3 billion. At one time, Zomba owned the Jive label on which Tom’s Move Closer CD was released in 1989.

As is to be expected, Paul McCartney is the highest-ranked musician on the list.

If you want to know how the newspaper compiles it’s list you can read the full story here.

Well, as the song says, Tom sure works hard for the money. Once again, we say he deserves it.

This is a good interview with Tom from iVillage the women’s website in the UK. Our only quibble? We’ve not seen Sir Tom in leather slacks since…..well, we cannot remember when. Why do writers seem to always talk about them?

Sex Bomb Tom

by Peggy Nuttall

As Sir Tom Jones tries his luck in the dance music scene, we talk about his knighthood, his hair and his soft spot for Charlotte Church

From his humble beginnings in Pontypridd, South Wales, where he sang at local YMCAs, bunked off school and courted the local Catholic girls (one of whom was to become his wife) to internationally acclaimed and newly knighted superstardom — Sir Tom Jones has come a long way.

And now, after over four decades in the business he turns to unlikely collaborating partner, Nick Bracegirdle — mastermind of dance act Chicane to experiment with a new modern sound with their single Stoned in Love. ‘It’s not a drug reference,’ insists Nick, talking of the suggestive title. So it’s a (rather strange) allusion to biblical punishment, is it? Unlikely, and the lyrics are no more enlightening.

The single’s contemporary sound is similar to that of the recent number ones dominating the UK charts — upbeat tempos and familiar vocals, usually sampled from old TV theme tunes or aging rockers’ hits from way back. But this song, Nick asserts, is an original piece of writing. ‘There’s a real trend at the moment to take a huge chunk of someone else’s work, slap some beats on top and have a hit with it,’ he says. ‘You get a bit tired of it, to be honest.’

Stoned in Love was Nick’s self-penned brainchild, and enlisting Tom for the vocals didn’t occur to him till later on the process when he realised that it needed a ’serious pair of lungs.’ And Tom, closet MTV addict, is very excited. ‘I was looking for something new and thought, “Christ, this sounds like a hit to me!”‘

With softer falsetto vocals and not a hint of the brassy-backing that set the Welsh wonder’s hips gyrating back in the day, you’d be forgiven for not recognising this as the work of the original sex bomb.

For those of you who’ve never heard Delilah, missed his stint as premier Vegas headliner or failed to catch his cartoon appearance on the Simpsons, Tom’s credentials are old-school and heavyweight, and although ‘Stoned in Love’ is certainly a new sound for him, it’s far from the biggest musical adjustment he’s undergone.

The real music revolution for Tom happened in the mid-50s when the big band crooners made way for the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley (who became a close friend) and Fats Domino. And after baffling his school choir teacher by singing the Lord’s Prayer like a ‘negro spiritual’, he came into his own in the rock ‘n’ roll movement. ‘I just sang along with it. I went to see if I was singing correctly and they just said “you’re doing it right.”‘

‘Only black people were doing it really,’ Tom recalls ‘until Elvis kicked in’. And he has a lot to thank his close friend for, with a consistent run of hits and probably enough pairs of women’s knickers to insulate the roof of the giant LA mansion in which he currently resides.

Although Tom has moved on from the knicker-throwing days it would surely be unfair of him to abandon the loyalists after all they’ve given him, so what will they make of the new sound? ‘They’ll like it because it’s a proper song. Everybody I’ve played it to loves it, so I don’t think there’s a problem there at all.’ With numerous collaborating partners under his belt - Cerys Matthews from Catatonia (for Baby It’s Cold Outside) and Stereophonics (for Mama Told Me Not To Come) to name a couple of recent picks — are there any more Welsh partnerships on the cards, say Charlotte Church for example? (well, we had to ask!) ‘I couldn’t tell you what my next project will be,’ he says. ‘But I’m so pleased that she did the cross-over, I’m very, very happy for her. She’s a cracker.’

One thing he promises is that there will be no style makeover — he’s still working the leather slacks with the tan that never fades. ‘It just works,’ he modestly asserts. And with a knighthood under his belt (meeting the queen for him was like catching up with an old friend ‘I met her in the ’60s. I think [meeting her again] might have made her realise how long she’d been around’), Tom remains solidly British. After more than 30 years in LA he’s sounding as Welsh as ever - and it looks like we’re set for a few more years of the roaring rogue we know and love. There is one area, he coyly suggests, that might get a bit of shake-up: his hair. ‘I might put a bit of a rinse in, you never know.’ Watch this space.

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Here’s one from April 20’s Manchester Online in which some quotes from other interviews are lifted and combined with a few new quotes.

Thanks again, Andre! You’re the best!