Tom Jones International

Tom opens tonight in Biloxi, MS, and will then play two nights in Lake Charles, LA, two nights in New Orleans and one night near Dallas. Until we get some reviews from those of you fortunate enough to be there, we’re finding other TJ tidbits to post. We’re really looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

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We love the top story from this guy who — as if with a bolt of lightening — was struck by the talent that is Tom Jones. He was one of thousands at the venue where Tom played truimphently and it’s a pleasure to read his recollection — still sharp 16 years down the road, so it must have been an amazing show. As for the second bit of “news,” the paper is just being dopey at the end but, why not? What a kick it would be to fly into Sir Tom Jones Airport….can see the luggage tags now: “STJ” or, better yet, from our point of view — “Tom Jones International!” Not bad. Not bad at all.

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The Glastonbury Festival opens Friday and a blog from New Zealand called webweavers world looks back on the sensation that was Tom Jones who was the “surprise guest” at the 1992 festival.

“Immediately after the Family Cat had finished playing on the NME stage, the weekend’s “special guest” was due on the Pyramid Stage. I don’t remember there being a special guest in previous years, so maybe this was the first time. No one knew who it was in advance — it hadn’t been announced — but by the Saturday night the rumour was flying around the festival site that it was going to be Tom Jones.

“Tom Jones? At Glastonbury?? You have got to be kidding me!!!

“Sandra, Sean, some of The Family Cat and I all decided it might be good for a laugh, so we headed around the corner to the Pyramid Stage to join the 70,000 other crusty folk ranged all the way up the hill on that beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. We approached the stage from behind the left-hand side, so we were able to push our way into the crowd right near the front, and gradually moved closer to the middle as time went on.

“Imagine the scene. You’ve got 70,000 grubby hippies (for that was the Glasto crowd in those days) all standing there waiting to take the piss out of Tom Jones — a performer more used to entertaining our mothers — and we’re all thinking how completely incongruous this is, and wondering what on earth was Michael Eavis was on when he chose Mr Jones…

“And Tom comes on stage with his band, and starts up with the first song - and his band is so tight, and he’s so bloody professional that they have the entire crowd in the palm of their hands before they’ve even finished the first verse.

“It.was.amazing. Tom Jones was amazing!

“He sang, he danced around the stage, he took the piss out of himself, he waved to his family watching from the backstage area, they played a whole heap of great covers, he did every one of his famous songs — and the crowd sang along with him for the entire set.

“At one point early on he said something like ‘I gotta take my jacket off — it’s so hot!’, proceeded to take his jacket off with a wink and a smile and threw it aside with a flourish — and the whole crowd went completely nuts.

“By the end of the gig there were crusty hippies sitting on each other’s shoulders reaching towards the stage yelling ‘I love you, Tom!’ and throwing their equally crusty knickers at him. It was completely insane. I’ll never forget it.

“I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that Tom Jones at Glastonbury is the best festival set I have ever seen anyone play. Ever.”

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The Telegraph had a story about the effort to rename Wales’ largest airport, Cardiff International. After speculating that it might be named after Catherine Zeta-Jones and, perhaps, Richard Burton.

Pointing to the success of the branding Liverpool’s Speke airport as John Lennon Airport,the article goes on to quote various tourism and advertising execs. At the end, it says, ““We’re interested in marketing for people coming here, rather than going out,” he says. “In terms of incoming traffic, how the name is viewed from overseas is important. That’s what we’re lacking in Wales. It has to be about the name that works best overseas.”

Then, the Telegraph suggests, “There’s also always Sir Tom Jones, of course”