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Rumor Or Reality? We Think Tom Will Sing At Calzaghe-Hopkins Fight. But What Will He Sing?
Friday, April 11th, 2008Note: After you read this post, check out comment #2 below. Seems the people who wrote the Welsh national anthem were from……..guess where?……..Pontypridd.
OK, this is kind of a tongue-in-cheek notion but on April 19 Welsh fighter Joe Calzaghe (pictured with Tom in 2006) is set to fight American Bernard Hopkins for the World Light Heavyweight Championship here in Las Vegas at the Thomas and Mack Center’s Planet Hollywood Ring.
Word comes on good authority is that Tom will be among a host of celebrities from both sides of the Atlantic to attend and, we’ve heard, he’ll sing “the” national anthem.
However, we’ve also read that following the disaster that took place when the US anthem was sung at the Hatton-Mayweather bout last year, it was agreed to drop the anthem singing for this match.
So, we’re wondering if instead of God Save the Queen or the official Welsh anthem, Tom will be singing that other Welsh anthem…you know, Delilah. If that is true, is it possible that The Star-Spangled Banner will be dropped in favor of Billy Joel singing the other American anthem, Piano Man? After all, who could boo either of those songs?
While we’d love to see that, in truth, we just hope that everyone respects everyone else’s patriotism. It was a total embarrassment last time and we really felt sorry for Sir Tom who had to stand through that heinous demonstration. This time 25,000 British fans are expected.
Calzaghe, who has never fought in the US was at the Mayweather-Hatton fight. He said, “The tremendous reception Ricky got, it was incredible, absolutely incredible. The sight of all the thousands of fans, it was just brilliant and I wanted to get a bit of that before I retired…”
By the way, if you want to go to the fight, tickets begin at $350 and go up to $1,500 for center ringside. And those are the prices before scalpers get into the act.
The fight will be telecast live, not on pay-per-view, on HBO April 19 at 9:45 EDT, 6:45 PDT. It will be rebroadcast on HBO the next day at 9 a.m. and on HBO2 April 20 at 5:00 pm and April 22 at 11:15 pm.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I cannot speak about the British anthem but I think the US anthem would be fine if it was changed to Piano Man or anything easier to sing. I would like to hear Tom sing it, too. Maybe he can do both “anthems.”
April 11th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
We’ve just been informed — no-nothing Americans that we are — that there is a Welsh national anthem. It’s called Land of My Fathers. (In Welsh: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.) Maybe that’s the anthem Tom will sing, as Joe Cazaghe is, after all, Welsh like Tom.
If you’re interested, here are the lyrics with a history of the song and here is an MP3 (but it’s not Tom singing).
OK, we know, we have to get a life…..but we just figured some of you might be wondering about the Welsh anthem.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I know this is silly, but if they don’t allow an anthem, how about Hit Me With Your Best Shot?
April 12th, 2008 at 1:47 am
I,m so pleased to read this. I’ve been wondering for weeks if Tom will be asked to sing at Joe’s fight. Joe is our national boxing hero and I think he will get a great deal of inspiration when Tom sings the Welsh national anthem.
April 12th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Gill: Please remember, the key word here should be “if,” not “when,” as in “if” Tom sings the Welsh anthem. We believe he’s going to sing, just don’t know what. We’d like to hear him sing both anthems — one from the UK and ours. You don’t have to be of a nationality to sing an anthem.
Must say that all this fuss over something that should be routine is, in truth, ridiculous, isn’t it? The appalling rudeness of a a bunch of ill-mannered boors should not precipitate a seismic shift in protocol and tradition. There’s something so pathetic about this entire anthem discussion. Both anthems should be sung and each should be respected. And, if they must jeer at all, spectators should save their booing for the actual sporting event. Maybe there should be extra security on hand and those who misbehave should simply be ejected from the arena. A few people spending thousands of £’s to attend being told to leave before the event might prove a lesson…..but, really, it’s not that important.
They should stick to Delilah and Piano Man. Then everyone can sing along.
April 13th, 2008 at 6:33 am
In reply to Susan. I read somewhere that Tom had been asked to sing the US national anthem at various sporting events here, but he doesn’t because he is not American. He has lived here most of his life and we know he is proud of his Welsh heritage as he should be. This country, however, has more than generously helped him become a superstar, but I doubt we will ever hear him sing any anthem in homage to this country.
April 13th, 2008 at 6:54 am
It will be my pleasure listening to TOM singing an anthem for this sporting event - British, US or Welsh I do not care — but I must admit I would love to hear him singing the Welsh Anthem and I don’t mean Delilah-lol- maybe one day we will have one anthem for all the people of this planet
April 14th, 2008 at 3:33 am
Moderator: I think I must be getting to know you! I had a feeling you would pull me up on this one. Both anthem’s should be sang and respected by each country. After all it is a sporting event and each should respect the other no matter who wins.However; I have read that Tom will not sing the American anthem.Being Welsh (and proud of it) he will want to support his country alough he lives in the states. If I remember correctly, in one of his biogrophies it says that the main reason that Tom decided to live in America, is that he was paying so much in British tax (98p in the £) and that most of his work was there. In the Up Close and Personal DVD Tom states that a song has to mean something to him, I know our anthem will mean a lot to him and I think he will want to sing it.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:03 am
I think you are giving Piano Man more credit than it deserves. It certainly is an iconic song, but not one that everyone can sing along with and it was never done by Tom! Tom should sing Thunderball at the fight, it’s more befitting a boxing match and it conjures up thoughts of another Welsh hottie…Pierce Brosnan!
April 16th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
And Sean Connery? (is he Welsh?)
April 16th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Sean Connery is Scottish
April 16th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Pierce Brosnan? I know Pierce Brosnan and he was born in Ireland
April 16th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Marisa: No, we meant Billy Joel should do Piano Man and Tom, Delilah even though, as with Delilah, just about everyone knows the chorus of Piano Man and, like Tom’s song, it’s a grand drinking number. And, yes, Brosnan is Irish (and not a singer, although what he did to the music of It’s Not Unusual in The Matador was — um — interesting). And Connery, of course, is a Scot.
Anyway, it’s a moot point. Tom is singing the Welsh anthem. Haven’t heard who is doing ours.April 17th, 2008 at 5:01 am
Let’s all just admit it, Tom could sing the phone book and we’d all love it!!! In fact, he could just get up on stage, smile and wink at the camera and we’d all watch the clip 100 times. (By “we” I mean fellow TJI readers. “We” appreciate any tidbits The Moderator can throw at us!)