Tom Jones International

Don’t forget! Tomorrow 11 a.m. EDT, on VH1. And, for once, the usually loathsome Mirror is nice and correct — they call Tom “a legend.” The post below has a link to the Arctic Monkeys’ version. And check the comments below for more cover suggestions.

TOM’S ARCTIC ROLE!
EXCLUSIVE: Veteran crooner Jones to sing Monkeys hit at Princess Diana concert
30/06/2007.The Mirror 3 am

FIRST it was Dame Shirley Bassey raving about how she liked the Arctic Monkeys.

Now fellow Welsh crooner Sir Tom Jones has spoken about how he loves the lads — and is set to wow the Concert for Diana with a cover of one of their hits.

The legend will perform I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor at the Wembley Stadium extravaganza tomorrow.

Speaking exclusively to 3am, he said: “I’m a massive fan of the band and I felt like doing something different with my set.

“It’s a great song and I wanted to do it as a surprise for the Princess Diana concert. I haven’t been in touch with the lads about it but I hope that they like it.”

Ladies’ favourite Tom trialled the song at Sir Elton John’s White Tie & Tiara Ball at his home in Old Windsor, Berks.

We heard it and it was something special indeed, receiving a rapturous reception from the starstudded crowd.

He said afterwards: “I thought it went really well — it’s one of my favourite songs and it got a great reaction.”

The Arctics have a massive young following but news of Dame Shirley’s and Sir Tom’s support could broaden that fanbase. At Glastonbury, Dame Shirley thanked the Arctics for covering her staple Diamonds Are Forever before belting it out herself.

A source close to Tom said: “He has watched with interest as the Arctics’ career has taken off and always wondered about doing a Tom-style I Bet You Look Good…

“At first, he thought it was a gamble but then decided to go for it with a full backing band. He has been over the moon with the feedback so far.”

With millions watching the Wembley bash, Tom will be studying the reaction to the cover.

Our source adds: “Depending on the reaction, Sir Tom may even consider releasing it as a single. It really is a very special cover indeed.” We can’t wait to hear it again.

According to the UK’s Sky News (via mharding) Sir Tom will sing The Arctic Monkeys hit I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor at the Concert for Diana. Go Tom!

Next, news about Tom’s evening with Shirley Bassey at Elton John’s “White Tie and Tiara Ball” for charity. No photos of Tom in this article, though. In The Mirror a report on the party described Dame Shirley and Sir Elton duetting. Then said, “But all hell broke loose when Sir Tom took to the stage. The dancefloor was packed, and the air was full of bras and knickers being flung towards the stage.

“As the evening wore on, guests descended on a makeshift casino at the end of the bar. There Liz Hurley’s husband Arun Nayar was chatting to Louis Walsh. Two feet away, Tom Jones was telling Natasha Bedingfield how much he “loved her work”. Not that old chat-up line!” (We say: We’re sure he meant it. Really.)

Here’s a DVD review from the Chicago Sun-Times.

Here are the wireimage photos from Hampton Court.

News on Thursday says Tom will also team up with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry at the concert.

According to VH1 UK, Tom will duet with Joss Stone on Ain’t That A Lot of Love (which he did with Simply Red on Reload) at Sunday’s Concert for Diana.

The full concert will be broadcast in North America on VH1 live, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT Sunday, July 1. NBC will broadcast a one-hour special that night at 8, 7 Central.

The pairing makes sense as Tom and Joss share music producer Steve Greenberg — she for her first big hit and he for his forthcoming CD.

In his widely reported comments on his interview with Princes William and Harry, Matt Lauer said of the talent line-up for Sunday’s event, “I think if you look at Kanye West and Fergie — those are probably on the boys’ side, but if you look at Duran Duran, Elton John and Tom Jones, those are clearly Diana’s picks.” He might be right, but he “clearly” hasn’t seen the audience at one of Tom’s shows lately…..not all middle aged and older women….But, no matter, we’re looking forward to the concert.

And, hopefully, the teaming with Stone will bring Tom to her audience, possibly a new one for Tom.

MODERATORS’ NOTE: The announcement of the duet came first on MTV UK and illustrated yet again how nasty the British press are about their own Tom Jones. Maybe that’s why; maybe because he’s a Brit they feel entitled to say rude things (often in a lame attempt to be amusing). But the fact remains that Tom Jones gets more respect as an artist in interviews and stories outside the UK and, yet, there is little effort to promote him outside the UK. It’s infuriating and such a waste of opportunity.

In between Dyan Cannon and Ralph Bellamy, in front of Frederick’s of Hollywood, at 6608 Hollywood Blvd., Tom’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled 18 years ago, on June 27, 1989.

The star was the result of hard work by a lot of fans who held raffles and fundraisers to get their man this honor.

It’s the kind of thing fans used to do in a spirit of cooperation and it was awfully nice.

Thanks, D., for the star.

From today’s Newsday blog writer Diane Werts, who reviewed the DVD (June 25 post below) interviews DVD producer Paul Brownstein, president of TV Classics, abut the issues involved in choosing the material. Should answer a lot of fan questions.

We hope that in the next set there will be more Tom, less comedy and, if some music has to go to make room for other songs, that It’s Not Unusual isn’t used so often. From the comments we’ve gotten from fans the verdict is, simply, “more Tom, please.”

There is another article (link below after the Brownstein interview) about TJ fans on Long Island that, we must say, is unfair to the majority of fans there. But, it’s press for Tom and we like that, but…..well, judge for yourself.

Finally, we hope the positive reception this project has gotten will encourage all those involved in future projects — CDs, DVDs — to understand and respond to the strong US/North American market for Tom Jones who, though Welsh by birth, lives in the US and is a citizen of the world.

There was just too much great stuff. That’s what ace DVD producer Paul Brownstein found when he started mining the archives of the vintage 2-inch videotapes of “This Is Tom Jones” — 63 variety hours produced 1969-71 for ABC and featuring some of the 20th century’s top performers alongside the Welsh sex-and-soul symbol. (Full DVD review from Newsday is below.)

“Ray Charles got moved to a later set to make room for more music” in the initial three-disc release, says Brownstein, who did find ways to include segments from eight shows spotlighting the likes of Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin [pictured left with Tom] and Joe Cocker. Subtitled Rock ‘n’ Roll Legends, the first This Is Tom Jones set hits store shelves Tuesday from Time Life, with a follow-up release (possibly later this year) planned to showcase “legendary performers” like Charles, Sammy Davis Jr., Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett and Johnny Cash.

Brownstein is used to big names like that. His TV DVD credits include acclaimed sets for Sonny & Cher’s 1970s showcase, The Dick Van Dyke Show and the “definitive edition” of The Twilight Zone, for which this self-proclaimed “raider of the lost archives” scrounged up more extras than anyone knew existed — not just new commentary tracks by cast and crew members, but also old audio recordings of lectures by creator Rod Serling, radio versions of episodes, isolated music scores, vintage commercials, etc.
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Amazon’s begun shipping so you should get your copies soon.

Finally, a high-circulation newspaper, Long Island NY’s Newsday had a known writer/reviewer do a review! Some random quotes: “…to say that Jones delivered would be an understatement.” “Tom Jones - rock and soul god! Seriously. There’s evidence now on DVD shelves that, before the strong-voiced Jones was a swoon-inducing showroom star, this Welsh coal miner’s son could kick out the jams with the best of them. Make that the best of the best. Aretha Franklin. Janis Joplin. Joe Cocker. Stevie Wonder.”

You get the idea, it’s a rave from a long-time TV critic in a major national newspaper that is in the top 20 of US newspaper circulation.

And, here’s another review of the DVD set. This guy gave it an 8 out of 10.

We’re really hoping to see it reviewed in even more widely read, credible pubs like Rolling Stone, People, ET and the other 19 of the top 20 newspapers, for example. Not so much because their reviews have more credibility but because they are read by millions of people.

And, of course we would love your reviews — often the most credible of all.

As we noted earlier, Tom did a private show in Moscow before he hit Hampton Court. He did another in London Saturday night. You can read about it here. There were 17,000 people there. The first public concert — last night — starred Jon Bon Jovi.

And we like the huge dragon, in case anyone forgets where the man is from. Nice employer, to invite Sir Tom to the company party, huh?

LeRoy Neiman, very well known for his brilliantly colored paintings (mostly of sporting events), did this sketch of Tom on November 17, 1965, at the Dudes ‘n Dolls Discotheque in New York City. The ink on white paper drawing is 22 by 30 inches and is signed by the artist. It is for sale now at Centaur Galleries in Las Vegas. The cost, framed, is $27,000.

Moderators’ Note: mharding sent this video so you can compare and contrast. We thought it worth bringing from the comments section to the main post. Enjoy! And thanks again, mh.

First, check out Herman Matthews’ journal. This talented musician writes about the Hampton Court concerts and, best of all, has posted an amazing photo he took in Moscow last week when Tom and the gang went there for a private gig. If you haven’t signed up for Herman’s mailing list, you should. And if Herman’s site isn’t a regular stop on your internet travels, it should be.

UK fan Paula Aston went to two of the three Hampton Court concerts. (We were hoping our Inside Scoop could go but, unfortunately, after spending all that time with Tom in South America, Scoop’s finances were depleted.) Paula missed the one that got rained upon but she has sent us lovely reviews of the other two concerts — admiring and really honest as only a truly thoughtful fan can be. The review of the first show follows the review of the second one below. The first show was a benefit for the Prince’s Trust charity. In the front row Paula wasn’t allowed to take photos, but she did send this shot of the setting in Hampton Court. It’s the 16th century palace that Cardinal Woolsey built and then then generously gave to King Henry VIII before the king ordered him decapitated. We thank Paula for her review and look forward to the next one.

Wednesday was another fine evening weather-wise so we escaped the drenching that Tuesday night’s crowd had to endure. The audience was if anything, even more wildly enthusiastic than on Monday – everyone was certainly on their feet a lot sooner. As is inevitably the case there were many people on corporate junkets who may have spent just the tiniest bit too long in the hospitality tent if you get my drift………

The fans were also out in force though and I waited for Tom to appear in my usual heart-thumping state, seated front and centre. And then he did and my, did he look divine: this time he was wearing the blue-grey striped suit with the black lapels. The underwear thing started almost immediately but he completely ignored all of it and good for him. I know it’s just a bit of fun that he takes in good part but I hate it, always have, and feel it devalues his remarkable talent. It wasn’t long at all before some women rushed to the front proffering their frillies and to my surprise (and annoyance) security just let them.

The show followed its familiar pattern and I was struck as always by the obvious joy Tom gets from what he does: he was born to sing and entertain, just lives for it. For Tom, singing seems to come as naturally as breathing in and out – he makes it seem so effortless. How can he continue to inject new life into songs like Delilah when he has been singing them for what, to him, must seem like forever? I have no idea – but he does and it’s amazing.

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After reading the responses to our June Question of the Month, and reading what you’ve written on the forum at tomjones.com (which, as fans we always read), we’ve decided to produce a TomJonesInternational.com 2008 Fan Calendar.

The calendar pages will each be 8.5 x 11 inches. The cover will be glossy card stock and the pages will be glossy paper. It will be stitched, rather than bound with a spiral binding.

All we can say about the quality of the finished product is that it will be consistent with the quality of this website and sturdier than the ones we’ve seen sold on eBay over the last few years. The quality will be such that, after the calendar is used, we’re sure the photos will be well worth saving or, even, framing.

We’re working with vendors to find the best price and keep the cost at under $20 plus shipping, entirely consistent with the cost of other fan merchandise.

To do this we need your help.
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