Tom Jones International

January 3: András from Romania sent tji.com a nice note with links to two more clips he posted on youtube. They’re both from Romanian State Television. The first is What’s New Pussycat. The second is 10+ minutes of You Can Leave Your Hat On and It’s Not Unusual. Watching them — especially when he thanks the audience (who are up and dancing) at the end of It’s Not Unusual — you can tell from the look on Tom’s face how happy he is at the reception he got from the audience. It’s terrific!

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NEW VIDEO POSTED JANUARY 2:

Here’s a 30-second clip of Tom’s arrival in Romania. It’s so nice that — as it was in South America last year — his arrival is treated as a worthwhile news item, isn’t it? Thanks, Dre, for the video link.

As this year ends, we look back in gratitude that we had another year of Jones the Voice here to entertain us. His is a singular gift and we are so fortunate that he shares it with us. And we trust that he, in turn, is cognizant of, and grateful for, the devotion of his fans.

Looking back over this year, of course, it can in no way compare to 2006, when Tom became Sir Thomas Woodward. But there have been highlights and among them we count: Here’s That Rainy Day; I Like the Way; Git Me Some; Grandma’s Hands ; the continued presence of the best band and singers in the business; the Concert for Diana; the release of the This Is Tom Jones DVDs and the one coming in February; Tom’s return to Florida after an absence of several years; the announcement that he’s making a new CD that will include a Springsteen song and one we’re told was written for Tom by Bono, along with the most welcome news that the intention is to release it in North America as well as in the UK.

Starting 2008 with tonight’s gig in Romania, Tom will also be traveling to some parts of the USA and Canada where he’s rarely appeared. We look forward to reading your reviews. More video at the bottom of this post.

As 2007 comes to an end, we want to thank you all again for your enthusiasm and support and your understanding of this website’s mission: to serve fans of Tom Jones by concentrating on his professional life. We appreciate your points of view (even — perhaps, especially — when provocative) and your devotion to this singular talent expressed by, among other things, your support of this (absolutely unofficial) site.

We look forward to much more in 2008, beginning with our Question of the Month for January to be posted in the next day or so.

Also, in 2008, look for some tji.com merchandise including, of course, a 2009 calendar (already being worked on).

Thanks again — most especially for your overwhelmingly positive response to the calendar — and may your new year be healthy, happy and filled with joy, laughter, love and great music. Remember, things will be great in 2008!

—Ellen & Ursula

Photos above by © 2007 by Dwight McCann (top) and Lois Gooding. See flicker sets (link at right) for full-size pictures. Thanks to Holly for the Romania link above!

Here’s more from Romania.

We came across this and really had to laugh….It’s a clip of Tom and John Farnham doing My Yiddishe Momma from the November 20, 1999 episode of the Australian TV show Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday, which ran for 27 years, from 1971 to 1999 (with a brief time-out in 1978). We love the way they relate to each other. Two real pros having a ball. We have to note that the reference we found gave that 1999 date, but it looks to be from several years earlier. We’ll keep researching.

Tom is off to Bucharest, Romania, this weekend for a New Year’s Eve concert with a very popular local performer as one of his opening acts. We wish Tom and everyone traveling with him a safe journey, a good trip. Or, as we say in Romanian: “Drum bun!” The news story about this is below, along with a video of the Romanian singer doing Sex Bomb.

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Mihai Traistariu sings with Tom Jones

From ECS Today, November 28, 2007

Mihai Traistariu, the Romanian representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens has already scheduled four concerts during New Year’s Eve with the biggest one taking place in Romexpo where Tom Jones will give a concert and with Mihai Traistariu as his support.

International superstar Tom Jones has been invited to Romania by LA Entertainment, Luminita Anghel’s label, for the New Year’s Eve annual event in Bucharest. Tom was personally interested in finding Romanian artists to support him in the show and asked Luminita to send him their albums. Tom Jones has already chosen Mihai Traistariu and he is looking for a female voice as well. He is somewhere between Luminita Anghel(ESC 2005), Elena Gheorghe and Andra(NF 2007).

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Here you can see Mihai’s version of Sex Bomb.

We wish Tom’s “drummer from Texas,” Herman Leslie Matthews, III, a very, very happy birthday today. He’s a wonderful musician and a real mensch who deserves a day of joy.

We wish him a year of great music, lots of joy and good health. You can see what he’s up to today and all year on his website and his terrific myspace page. And, when you’re visiting these sites, check out his CD, on which one of the songs is I Am A Drummer From Texas.

While we’re on the subject, we wish all of Tom’s musicians, singers and others who work with him, a terrific new year. (Note: We’d wish each of them happy birthday, but we don’t know when their birthdays are.)

Our best wishes to everyone in the worldwide community of Tom Jones fans.

While we are hoping our calendar will brighten our holidays and the new year for you, Tom’s elves — (from left) Frank, Herman, Brian and Mike— have a special holiday greeting for you this season.

Click on the link, wait for it to load (takes a few seconds) and enjoy! Of course, we send them all the season’s best, too!

Friends:

The 2008 TJI.com fan-photo calendars were mailed Monday. The US Postal Service says that they will be slowest arriving in Canada. In fact, people in Europe and Asia should get them before Canadians.

We cannot of course vouch for the accuracy of that statement but, with that in mind and, also, bearing in mind that ’tis the season, please allow some time for them to arrive.

Then, please let us know what you think.

Thanks!

Did you see Sir Tom at the MGM in the last two weeks? If so, please let us know what you thought.

If you did see him — and if you’ve seen him many times before — you probably noticed a difference this run. For the first 10 days, when the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) was in town, Tom went on at 7:30 and Rodney Carrington followed at 10. That left an hour between shows for the staff to clean the room, get all the people out and get Carrington’s audience seated. So, the shows were rushed. Even the last few days when Carrington wasn’t following him.

After several days, Tom dropped With These Hands from the setlist and the expected replacement number never materialized so, from that time on, the shows ran 10 to 15 minutes shorter than usual.

In fact, we found the shows rushed and there was a minimum of audience interaction. Yes, when a fan gave him a rare Jerry Lee Lewis album, he stopped to talk about Jerry Lee and his one-time wife. But, other than that? Nothing.

He was generally in good voice, but there was something missing. We’re assuming it was the leisure to have fun with the fans. And, by the way, the fans were always enthusiastic and most welcoming.

Among the fans, by the way, were Ricky Hatton, Tony Danza, Rachael Ray and Earl Thomas, who wrote Git Me Some.

This isn’t, by the way, an attack. It’s our observation; our opinion. We don’t want to argue. We welcome your opinion.

Tom Jones to headline Hawke’s Bay Mission concert
12:00PM Wednesday December 19, 2007

Legendary crooner Tom Jones has today been confirmed as the headline act for the 2008 Mission Estate Winery Concert.

Sir Tom, a veteran artist with over 40 years of success in the music business, is known for his powerful voice and hits such as It’s Not Unusual, Green, Green Grass of Home, Sex Bomb and What’s New Pussycat.

A new special guest, iconic Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes, has also been confirmed to join Tom Jones on stage at the March 1 event.

The pair replace original headliners Elivs Costello and John Mellencamp.

Since the inaugural concert in 1993, the Mission Estate Winery Concert has become a landmark occasion on the New Zealand events calendar, and has hosted renowned international acts such as Rod Stewart, the Beach Boys, Shirley Bassey, Ray Charles and Eric Clapton.

- NZPA/Reuters photo

Judging by an interview in today’s Daily Mail,, fighter Ricky Hatton’s mother Carol apparently didn’t meet too many people of whom she approved when she came to Las Vegas for her son’s losing effort against Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Even though she says talking with Tom was “surreal,” she also says, “I actually saw him when he was about 20, when he was called Tommy Scott, and was singing with a group called the Squires,” Carol recalls, after I inquired whether she’d aimed any garments at the lingerie-friendly Welshman.

“I remember queuing outside the Apollo Theatre in Manchester when I was about 15 to get tickets to see him.

“So to be having a chat with him is quite surreal.

“Tom Jones must be getting on for 65 now [he's 67], but the one thing that hasn’t left him is his voice.

“I don’t think he should have jet-black hair and eyebrows, though. It’s not exactly natural-looking.”

She also deals with Stallone, the Duchess of York and — even though she says she’s beautiful — criticizes Angelina Jolie.