Tom Jones International

Rumors about Sir Tom pass from ear to ear to chat room to discussion list to forum. Of course, we hear them, too, and are frequently asked by site visitors about the truth of a given story they see or hear. In an effort to separate fact from fiction, we’ll very occasionally post a rumor — a possibly credible thing we hear and try to get at the real story. You can follow them in the Rumor or Reality? link at the right.

The only rule about the rumors we’ll post is that they must be about Tom’s professional life. Nothing personal. We leave that stuff to others. So, if you hear something and would like us to help check it out, send us an email. Of course no rumor is considered fact until it’s confirmed on Tom’s official site but, meanwhile, we’ll try to fill you in.

---

To begin, there’s the rumor that Tom will soon be recording a new CD.

We can tell you for sure that we heard back in December from two very excellent sources that this is true. Tom is recording with producer Steve Greenberg, who produced Joss Stone and discovered Hanson and the Baha Men (!). Greenberg met with Tom and his management in Las Vegas in December.

We held back on this news for several months, but now that it’s all over the place, we thought we’d address the rumor with correct info as we know it. As for all the speculation we’ve read online about the “kind” of music it will be we, frankly, we do not know and do not care. If Tom is true to form he will do whatever it is very well.

Although we were told his recording schedule is why his May stand at the MGM is one week instead of two, we’re just not sure. It seems logical but all of his other dates there this year are shorter, too. We hope this is because he’ll be touring to promote the new work, but we honestly don’t know.

We do know we really wish him every success — as we always do.

Remember, this is a rumor and is not fact until it is confirmed on Tom’s official site.

Each year The Sunday Times of London’s Rich List is published. It looks at all of the UK and, then, breaks the list down into countries and industries. This year, the Music Millionaires Top 10 is: 1.Clive Calder £1,300m; 2.Lord Lloyd-Webber £750m; 3.Sir Paul McCartney £725m; 4.Simon Fuller £450m; 4=Sir Cameron Mackintosh £450m; 6.Madonna and Guy Ritchie £275m; 7.Sir Elton John £225m; 8.Sir Mick Jagger £215m; 9.Robert Stigwood £212m; 10.Sir Tom Jones £190m; 10=Keith Richards £190m.

Now, we weren’t going to post this, as it’s really none of our business how much money anyone else has. It would be our business only if we fans were to get a share. But in discussing the issue (and we do discuss lots of things before we post them), Ursula pointed out, “We do get a share. At each performance Tom gives us 200 £s of Heavenly Joy.”

“We marvel at the miracle, the blessing, that is Tom Jones’ voice.”

We were fortunate to see a promo copy of two of the three discs in the This Is Tom Jones DVD set to be released in June. The discs we saw were solely excerpts from shows; the lengthy interview with Tom done specially for these DVDs and the ABC-TV promo for the show which will be in the final set were not included. In short, these are kind of rough drafts.

So, what did we think?

Well, if you’ve been reading this site, you know we’re not given to gushing publicly about Tom’s appearance because, in the end it is about the voice. With that in mind, we’ll say it at the outset: As beautiful as he is today, watching these reminded us again of how Tom was just soooooo breathtaking then. He was….well, you’ll see (and you get a hint of it from these photos.) OK, we’ve gushed. Let’s get on with it. (We actually took notes as we watched so we wouldn’t forget.)

First, the main question — what about Tom?

Talking to guests Tom appeared a bit nervous, awkward at first. Still, you can tell how much he was enjoying their talents. But when the music played he moved with enthusiasm and abandon. He looked so sweet and we had forgotten his charming overbite. (Are we gushing again?)

Johnnie Spence and the orchestra and, especially, Big Jim Sullivan, were so outstanding. Among the musical highlights for us was a stunning rendition of Danny Boy. (WE mean the one from disc #1 although it is also on disc #2.)

Throughout, Tom sounds amazing. We marvel at the miracle, the blessing, that is Tom Jones’ voice. In these shows it had power and range where, today, it has power and more depth. But, however you define it, for 40+ years, it’s been extraordinary.
(more…)

Tom’s official site has posted an updated tour schedule. It shows Tom at the Hilton in AC November 30 through December 2 and at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas December 6 through 12. We are sure this schedule will be fleshed out with more dates throughout the fall. The easiest tour schedule to follow and access can be found by following our link at right, Where’s Tom & When’s He There?.

Our Inside Scoop has finally been able to play catch-up and send us word about TJ’s Florida tour. We love what Scoop says about what makes a good show. The only thing omitted, we think, is the fact that individual experience comes into play. We can see a show we consider to be kind of average, but the person who’s never seen Tom before is just knocked out (which is a good thing). But Tom seems to please the very vast majority of his audience. That comes from being a great performer who loves performing. That’s why so many fans can see so many shows — over and over. Whatever, we’re always happy to hear from Scoop.

FOLLOW-UP: If you want to see photos of Tom’s concert in Amsterdam, they’re posted here. Just click on the words “Tom Jones” under his photo. A new screen will come up. Click on the words “Tom Jones In Concert.” The concert pictures are on the third page (the other pages have lots of grip-and-grin pictures of TJ and casino VIPs).

---

As many of you know, it has been a very long time since Tom Jones has performed in Florida. Well, the drought is over. Friday night’s sold-out show at the famed Hard Rock Cafe on the grounds of the famed Universal Studio Walk was everything I had hoped it would be. An eager, enthusiastic crowd greeted Mr. Jones with thunderous applause as he steped out front and center from stage left.

It was difficult for me to determine whether or not the room was built for shows only, or if it doubles as the main restaurant seating area, too. There were just too many folks inside when I arrived to tell.
(more…)

OK, after following all the questions and the issues raised on forums and discussion groups and in emails to us from fans, we’ve got the answers to the important questions about the This Is Tom Jones DVD.

The release was held up because of a correction that has to be made on one of the three discs. The DVD will be released by Time Life for shipment on Monday, June 4 if it is pre-ordered from Time Life between now and then.

Time Life is giving buyers free shipping, but the DVD from them costs $39.99 ($5 more than from Amazon). Full retail price, by the way, is $49.99.

Amazon will also give you free shipping, but they are shippping on June 26, the new retail release date. With free shipping, amazon promises delivery by July 11.

So, for fans, the question is this: “Do I want to pay $5 more to Time Life and get the DVD up to one month earlier than if I pay $5 less and order from amazon.com?”

We have provided you with direct links to TimeLife and amazon.com. If you have any questions, just ask and we’ll try to answer. And, as of now, the simplest way to check the contents of each disc is to follow the link to the Time Life page.

Last October I was contacted by Holland Casino to help them with the promotion on a special event especially organised only for members of the Holland Casino. They needed some 7” single covers to make a poster (left) to let these selected members know they could win two free tickets for an exclusive Tom Jones concert at the Heineken Music Hall on April 21 2007.

With the help of two of the greatest collectors in Europe I managed to mail them as many covers possible. The most difficult thing was to keep my mouth shut, because this was not meant to go public until December last year. As a reward I received four free tickets. Last night was the big event and here is a short review of Tom’s concert.

It all began with an opening performance from Dutch singer/performer Jeroen van der Boom (here with Tom holding his recording of She’s A Lady). I saw him a couple of months ago at the dinner show Novomundo. That was not a very impressive performance, but this time he suprised me with a decent show singing some Robbie Williams tunes and typical Dutch hit songs. He received a positive response from the invited audience who now were nervously waiting for the main things to come.

With the full band present Tom came on stage singing his first song Raise Your Hand. As the audience were not all Tom Jones fans the reaction was a bit suprised. Next to me, a somewhat aged lady almost went in shock as she was expecting some nice smooth tunes and didn’t expect a rock tune as an opening. Later that night she was carried away after the Bodyrockers’ I Like the Way. That was too much for her.

Tom had to warm up the first couple of songs. His line-up was not much different as the Chile concert a few months ago. After Help Yourself and Delilah his voice got stronger during the beautiful The Reason. The two Jools Holland-album songs 200Lbs Of Heavenly Joy and End Of The Road were well chosen and the public responded very well on these relative unknown melodies.
(more…)

LIke it is in TJLand, it must be a slow news day in Wales. Otherwise there’s no explanation for this story….It’s filled with grammar errors and the very word “cheesiest” isn’t defined. And it’s meaningless. So, why are we linking to it? Like we said, it’s a slow news day. But things will liven up real soon.

---

A story on the cheesiest song lyrics was published in icWales today. Included, of course, were only songs sung by Welsh artists. A list of the 30 cheesiest accompanying the story names three TJ songs:

At #21 is Delilah: “My, my, my, delilah; Why, why, why, delilah; I could see that girl was no good for me; But I was lost like a slave that no man could free”

Number 14 on their list is What’s New Pussycat: “Pussy cat pussy cat I love you, yes I do, you and your pussycat nose”

And, at #9, is Sex Bomb: “No don’t get me wrong ain’t gonna do you no harm no; This bombs made for lovin and you can shoot it far; I’m your main target come and help me ignite, ow”

For the record, their #1 cheesiest lyric is Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.

We think “cheesiest” is the wrong word. Looking at their list, the word for the lyrics might be “silliest.” Not that there’s anything wrong with silly song lyrics.

When it’s a slow news day in TomJonesLand, we like to look back and revisit some things you may have missed or not seen in awhile. Here’s one a note from mharding led us to discover. There will be others to come. Meanwhile, enjoy!

---

In 1992, Tom was main guest at the Glastonbury Festival for Contemporary Performing Arts in southwest England. (To be precise, it’s at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle, six miles east of the town of Glastonbury. It is possible that King Arthur is buried here in the mystical “Vale of Avalon.”)

Anyway, the 1992 event took place a year after the festival went on a one-year hiatus due to clashes between security and attendees in 1990, the Festival’s 20th anniversary.

But, we digress. In 1992, Tom played there (as we said). It marked another renaissance in his career, reintroducing him again to a new generation and enhancing his youth cred. Because of the goings-on at the 1990 Festival, people were watching closely to see what a resumption of the Festival would bring. And, with Tom there, it looks like the Festival was back on track. (But what else do we expect?)

Here is a BBC news report from 1992 posted on youtube. Stick with it, because there’s a good deal of our guy in it. And, take note: When asked why he was doing the festival, he said that the festivl organizers had called and invited him. “That’s all I need — is an invitation. And then I’m here.” Hmmmm.

(The poor-quality photo here is obviously from the newscast. Thanks so much to mharding for sending this.)

This Saturday, April 21, Tom will be at the 5,500-seat Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam for a one-off gig.

Opening for him will be a Dutch singer named Jeroen vanderBoom who has a recording of She’s A Lady out now.

In a Dutch newspaper article (kindly translated for us by Dre) vanderBoom said Tom’s management was very enthusiastic about his own release, a new dance version of She’s A Lady, an old hit for Tom.

“‘I got a very positive reaction from Tom’s management.’

“According to Jeroen it isn’t easy to be chosen to open for a big star like Tom Jones. Six or seven other entertainers applied for the job.

“Jeroen (34) sent a link to his website to Tom’s management and a copy of his version of the song…Jeroen is hoping for a meet and greet with Tom…”

You can go to vanderBoom’s website and hear a bit of his version of the song. (The best link we found to listen was the center icon for the iTunes Store.) No need to comment on this guy’s voice. No one’s voice can compare with Tom’s. We know that. But this guy looks fine.

We hope to have a review — and maybe some photos — from a fan who is there. Stay tuned.