Tom Jones International

The CD is now in stores just about worldwide. Please listen and click the link at the right to add your review. Professional critics are fine but success is made with fans both new and established. Please tell us what you think of 24 Hours.

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Tom was on Live With Regis and Kelly this morning and will be on Entertainment Tonight this evening. We’ll post all the video after ET. And, don’t forget his radio gig on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15(PST).

On Live he sang I’m Alive and, over the closing credits, It’s Not Unusual. No interview at all. Nicole Kidman and some chefs discussing Thanksgiving (US holiday Thursday) and, at the very end, Sir Tom.

However, tomorrow on the last hour (10 to 11 am) Tom will be interviewed on Today by Hoda Kotb (no, that is not a typo) and Kathie Lee Gifford. He will not sing. We’d guess that the show’s concert segments are booked way in advance and, tomorrow, they have Beyoncé; Friday, Barry Manilow. While we’re sad he won’t sing, a good interview would be fun. So, we look forward to it. Just hope that Kotb — an experienced journalist — takes the lead, not Kathie Lee, who tends to gush. We’ll see.

Please don’t forget: You can order 24 Hours (which is released tomorrow here in the US) by clicking the button on the top right. Notice the price is down to $11.98. And, you can post a review of the CD by clicking the button under that. We hope you’ll do both. Thanks!

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Don’t forget Sir Tom Jones on Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW Tuesday morning, 11:15 am, PST. He’s there with the band and singers and, what’s really great is that the show begins at 9 am and, unlike most shows, they tell you what time Tom comes on. That’s really considerate. He’s also on Live With Regis and Kelly at 9 a.m. on ABC (syndicated; check listings) where Nicole Kidman is also a guest. Thus we figure Tom will be on during the last half-hour. And, tomorrow night, he’ll be on Entertainment Tonight. This show is also syndicated, so check local listings.

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Graham Norton Uncut is the “rest” of the weekly half-hour show Norton does on the BBC. They take that show and, as our correspondent Liz said explained, and sort of “unedit” it. The taping for the show lasted around two hours and lots, therefore, was left out.

So, on Sunday evenings, the BBC shows what they call an “uncut version.” It’s really cut, but it does last about 50 minutes or so. The very brief clip here addresses a topic many fans brought up — those people on Strictly Come Dancing who actually danced while Sir Tom was singing. It’s funny and proves that great minds (Tom, his fans and Graham Norton) think alike.

You can watch the entire show at our TJI.com Video Library.

If you have RealPlayer Download (which comes with the latest version of RealPlayer — a free app available at realplayer.com) you can download the clips and watch them on their desktops on a much larger screen with RealPlayer.

And, if you want to see more vintage video of Tom on TV, check out The Tom Jones Collector’s Page)

Meanwhile, Vince sent us this video of Sir Tom from Portugese TV. It’s a canned interview but, nonetheless, it’s fun.

Accompanied by Mark and Don, Tom came into the studio where his band and singers awaited him. The band has gotten its bearings and rehearsed a bit and Sir Tom, just came in and did what he does best. This time, for a short bit on Good Morning America today in New York.

If you watch the video, you’ll notice lots of people peering in the window (the studio is in Times Square — “The Crossroads of the World”) watching the performance. That’s partly because there was apparently a security issue at the studio, with guards and patrol dogs checking inside and out. But Tom acknowledged the fans with a wave to those he knew.

At any rate, we kind of wish Tom were on for more time but, since, after the show, he continued to sing, maybe they’ll use that footage another time. He’s introduced and interviewed by Robin Roberts.

At any rate, here’s: GMA Part 1 • GMA Part 2

If you cannot access the video here, check it out on the TJI.com Video Library.

Here’s Tom Jones on Star Academy. Don’t you wonder what he’s thinking as he looks at the contestant? On the right, new busking video from Wednesday. If anyone has video of Tom singing Money Honey that day, we’d love to see it.

And, thanks to Dre, who also told us about the busking video at right, here reporters and presenters of the BBC Wales newsroom practice singing the Tom Jones classic Delilah for Children In Need.

Liz, a fan from the UK (shown left on the South Bank where Tom did his busking) got tickets to Graham Norton following the notice on TJI.com and we began a correspondence. She most kindly agreed to be the TJI.com “official correspondent” for the “Afternoon of Tom” in London. What follows is her report, some of her photos and a video. We are very grateful and thank her most sincerely. It’s so great when the community of TJ fans comes together like a community should, isn’t it?

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This was the probably the most wonderful day my husband [Ron] and I have had. (I guess I should say since our wedding day!)

We took the train and arrived in London around 12:30pm. The weather was lovely. Very sunny although a little cold but more importantly no rain. We had a wander along the Thames and around Westminster for a couple of hours before heading back to the Royal Festival Hall around 2:15pm. It was soon obvious where he was going to be busking by the number of photographers, a microphone and a small set of speakers. We headed straight over and I stood right behind the photographers in-line with the microphone whereas most of the fans had congregated to the sides.

For lots more of the story, a fun video and eight more photos, (more…)

Our friend Dre sent this. The 3:36 interview’s in English with subtitles. Check it out.

These are two of the photos that ran with the November 14 interview in The Sun.

Tom, accompanied by his PA Don Archell, left Las Vegas (via Chicago) for Europe on Thursday. We thought he was headed first to Dublin to do something on TV Friday night (or he could have flown direct to London from Las Vegas on Virgin Atlantic). Now, we suppose, he’s back in London preparing for his live TV appearance Sunday.

Tom will be singing If He Should Ever Leave You on November 16, 8:15 pm (20:15) on BBC 1. His appearance is billed by the show as “Legendary singer Tom Jones will be on the show for a very special performance..” (In case you’re wondering about the name of the show, Strictly Come Dancing is a combination of two other names. Come Dancing was a show that ran on the BBC from 1949 to 1998. Strictly Ballroom was a 1992 Australian film that was hugely popular worldwide. Put ‘em together and you get the oddly named Strictly Come Dancing.)

We also heard he’ll be in France, Italy and Copenhagen. If you hear about those gigs or see him, please let us know.

He’s back here to New York next week for GMA, Regis and Kelly, Rachael Ray (we think) and the Trump Marina in AC. Then, in early December back to LA for some TV and, perhaps, back to Europe again. It’s a killer schedule but he really seems proud of the new CD and wants it to be a hit. He’s out doing one thing and another until December 20 or so, we hear. Then, home for the holidays and January 15 back to the MGM Grand.

Follow this link and it will take you to the screen shown at right. There are four photos to the right of the large one in the center.Click on the photo of Tom (third from top or, if you prefer, second from bottom) and this picture, along with the video, will come up.

The contestant, along with Tom, sings Sex Bomb.

Maybe some of our friends in France can send better video and/or explain what’s happening. Looks like all the Idol shows to us.

Tom’s French may be limited to merci beaucoup, but you’ll get the gist. And he looks good.

First, click on this link.

This is screen you will see:









Scroll down to where you see in the center of the page:








Click on the picture dated 20-11-2008.

When that comes up, use the gray arrows to go to the right and you’ll see: “Le Grand Journal du 20/11/08 - La Suite 1.” Click on that and you’ll be able to play Tom’s part. Tom comes on at 2:35 in the segment and you can use the do-hickey at the bottom right of the screen to make the picture full size. Enjoy!

Check the post below if you missed Tom with Graham Norton last night.

Every morning this week, Sir Tom has been the guest celebrity on the BBC Radio 2 show, The Tracks of My Years, a recap of 10 songs that influenced him and some brief discussion about why.

His picks were:
Monday: Great Balls Of Fire ~ Jerry Lee Lewis • Love Is A Losing Game ~ Amy Winehouse
Tuesday: Son Of A Preacher Man ~ Dusty Springfield • Purple Rain ~ Prince
Wednesday: Yakety Yak ~ The Coasters • Drift Away ~ Dobie Gray
Thursday: The Midnight Hour ~ Wilson Pickett • Addicted To Love ~ Robert Palmer
And, finally, today:
Fallin’ ~ Alicia Keys • Superstition ~Stevie Wonder (with Tom at right)

Tom talks more today and tells a story about Stevie Wonder. Ken Bruce, the host, for the first time, discusses 24 Hours with Tom. (And we have to say that almost all the fans we know — regardless of age — appreciate Tom’s honest way with a song.)

Below you can hear all of Tom’s choices and his explanations of each:
Monday • Tuesday/Part 1 • Tuesday/Part 2 • Wednesday • Thursday/Part 1 • Thursday/Part 2 • Friday/Part 1 • Friday/Part 2

What do you all think? Any choices that surprised you? Any others that surprised you by their absence? (Of course, there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. It’s all just opinion.)