Tom Jones International

Wearing a new burgundy suit with black velvet lapels and a black turtleneck, Sir Tom unveiled the first single from his new CD which will be called Gemini.

The song, If He Should Ever Leave You, was well-received by the audience. It is to be the first single release from his new CD which he characterized as having a “retro” feel. We think it’d be great if he added it to his setlist on Thursday, don’t you?

In other news, falling into the “Rumor or Reality” category: We hear Git Me Some is not on the new CD. Also, Tom is not playing Westbury, but will be in Atlantic City this winter. He will, we hear, be touring Europe to promote the CD and will be making the talk show rounds — daytime and late night — here in the USA. Remember, nothing is official until it’s announced on tomjones.com.

Please let us know what you think of the song.

Now a report from Fay, our correspondent on the scene: “You could Tom was really anxious to get out and sing. I was looking for him, I could see him champing at the bit to get out and sing. He came out and sang It’s Not Unusual and did his dance moves — jumping up, swiveling his hips. The audience was going cra-ZA-zy! You can see the judges standing up and dancing.

When the new song was on, there’s a lyric that says, “The curve of your waist” and everyone flipped out. I was amazed that people were listening to the lyrics. The crowd ranged in age from a two-and-a-half year old in a stroller to the elderly parents of a producer who looked to have a backstage meet-and-greet.

In person, Tom looked like a million bucks. He’s trim and seemed so happy. And, as far as the audience was concerned Sir Tom could do no wrong.

Here’s video of Tom on Canadian Idol last night and tonight. (Listen for that great laugh during the interview.)

©Photos courtesy CTV

It’s being reported by Canadian Idol that Tom Jones will appear on the show this season.

Since there are only eight contestants remaining, we’d guess that if this is true, he’ll be on in late August or September.

What we find odd is that Tom has expressed his strong views on this type of show — Pop Idol in the UK and American Idol here. And those views are not positive. But, on the bright side, maybe he’s doing it to promote his new CD. And look what it did for sales of Neil Diamond’s CD. (After his appearance on American Idol Diamond’s new CD debuted at #1 — a first for him.)

Remember, it’s not true unless confirmed on tomjones.com. But if it is true, we hope our Canadian friends can go the show.

Prince Charles (left) will be 60 years old on November 14 and a big bash, as we reported below, is planned. Among the entertainers it was reported he’d requested at the event, to be broadcast by ITV, is Sir Tom Jones (right, at age 60 in 2000 on the red carpet for Men Strike Back).

Apparently, Sir Tom has accepted the invitation.

Of course, nothing is official until confirmed by tomjones.com.

Meanwhile, Tom plays tonight at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, CA. The Fair has a great musical roster, starting with the incomparable BB King who played opening night. In addition to Tom, before the Fair ends on August 3, Fergie, Emmylou Harris and Chris Isaak will be among the musicians to play there. Looking forward to hearing from those of you who are there tonight (and at other shows throughout the week)..

On May 28 it was reported in an online blog that ?uestlove (that’s “Questlove”) has said he’ll produce Tom Jones. He says, too, that he has a meeting with Tom in July.

According to wikipedia, “Ahmir Khalib Thompson (left) (born on January 20, 1971), known professionally as ?uestlove or Questlove, a.k.a. BROther ?uestion or Brother Question, is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for hip hop band The Roots and has produced for artists such as Common, D’Angelo, and more recently, Al Green. He is a member of the production teams the Soulquarians, the Grand Negaz, and The Grand Wizzards.” If you read his full bio, you’ll see that his music credentials are really solid.

We first heard of him when someone told us what a terrific drummer he is. He’s certainly played with some great people. We don’t doubt, at the least, that there’s a meeting set for next month. Still, we’d sure like the CD still being worked on now to be completed before a new project is begun. (Unless this is merely but one cut on that CD.)

We have to give ?uestlove props for his comments about critic Robert Christgau in the same article. The former Village Voice music critic used to write for Newsday, the daily on Long Island and, a few months ago, we posted his review of Tom and Enge from the Westbury Music Fair in 1972. These reviews are well-worth reading again. (Photo of Tom at right was taken in 1972.)

So, it might be jumping the gun to say for sure what’s going to happen, but it is great that artists from every music sector admire Sir Tom.

Our first Tom Jones poster is now on sale!

In response to fan requests when our 2008 TJI.com calendar was published without a photo capturing this precise moment, we secured a photo of Tom singing “You can’t be too flirty mama, I know how to undress me.”

The poster is 11.5″ by 17.5″(suitable for hanging almost anywhere, even behind a door or in your closet!) and is, of course, in full color (although the color on these low-resolutions photos don’t do the real poster justice).

The poster costs $20 in the US and Canada; $25 in all other countries. The price includes shipping and handling.

This will be on sale for a limited time. Our 2008 Tom Jones International Calendar sold out and, because we weren’t able to fill later orders, some fans were disappointed.

To order your poster with secure payment via PayPal, just click on the appropriate link at right (”For N. America and Canada” on top or “Outside N. America and Canada” on the bottom). We’ll let you know when they are mailed to you. We’re hoping you’ll have them by the end of May.

If you cannot use PayPal, or have other ordering problems, please email Ellen.

For people in the northeastern US, here’s one post-June gig for you: Ticketmaster has listed Tom at the Trump Taj Mahal in AC, Friday and Saturday, August 1 and 2 at 8 p.m.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, May 17, at noon EDT. No prices are listed yet.

He’ll appear at the MGM Grand August 7 through 21 and October 30 through November 12.

Despite the link to “buy tickets” for the MGM August dates on Tom’s site, tickets are not available yet. But we cannot wait!

1/21 — 2008 Tour News: It has been confirmed that Tom will be at the MGM from May 8 through 21.

Burdon’s wonderful, rambling set — with an audience that looked like they were still in the 1960s — was crowned by what the singer called “the new American anthem — House of the Rising Sun. It was nostalgic, raucous but, still, very relevant. Great blues and a great back-up band.

Chubby Checker was a real surprise. First, the man can still move and he can sing. Of course he did his hits —The Twist, Pony Time, Let’s Twist Again — but, having taken his stage name in tribute to the great Fats Domino, he also did some of Fats’ music and a really, really good Elvis impersonation. He has a gift and the audience loved him. Checker’s band, too, was terrific.

It was really fun to see shows that were full of surprises, even though they did the hits the audience came to hear. We recommend each. With all this music, we cannot wait for Sir Tom on Thursday.

So, now to answer some of your questions about Tom’s 2008 schedule, (and a few other things) here’s what we’ve found out so far (Please remember, nothing is confirmed until it’s posted on his official website or it’s been seen onstage):

The Show: Don’t look for a new set list yet. If it doesn’t come before (and it usually happens in February), it should come with the release of his new CD. NOTE: If you are going to the show at the MGM the first weekend (January 18, 19 and 20), remember that it will be very crowded in the hotel. Of course it’s MLK Day on Monday, so it’s a three-day weekend but, also, be aware that Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) is playing at the Grand Garden Arena. Expect lots of rugrats around the hotel.

Tom At MGM In March & May: Tom is definitely playing on March 31st. As near as we can figure, whomever posted the tour dates on his site (where it says he’s performing March 30 and, then, April 1 with no show March 31), just forgot the old poem “Thirty days hath September,” etc. We also have found out he’s set to be there for two weeks in May. But we’ll confirm that for sure as soon as we can. January 16: We have confirmation that Tom will be here for two weeks in May; still not on his site, and tickets aren’t being sold, but if all goes as expected, it will be two weeks.

Atlantic City: The probable reason Harrahs doesn’t have his May gig on their site yet is that their site doesn’t go that far ahead. But the fact that you can already get tickets on Ticketmaster is a pretty good indication that he’ll be there. (We think.)

We also hear he will be doing other dates in AC after May this year. So look for them.

Westbury: We hear that Tom will be playing this venerable Long Island venue sometime in the fall. We’re looking for confirmation.

The new CD and other tour dates: We hear that the CD will, if all goes according to present plan, be released in late spring or early summer. Expect some promotional dates and, maybe, TV to come at that time. If we hear anything, we’ll let you know. Please do the same for us.

Our wish list: Aside from hoping everyone gets to see Sir Tom this year, we’d love to see some club-like venues — HOB, Irving Plaza, the Fillmore — added. Those are well worth a road trip.

Although it’s not fact until confirmed by tomjones.com, we’ve been told by two reliable sources that Tom will be playing the MGM Grand next year on, basically, the same schedule as he did until the last couple of times. That is, several two-week stands equaling 10 or 12 weeks.

While this hasn’t been confirmed by Tom’s management, we’re hopeful (and optimistic) that the people who told us this are right.

Remember, the MGM website has nothing for the Hollywood Theatre beyond January 2, 2008, so nothing should be read into the fact that they don’t have Tom there next year.

It’s been noted on the tomjones.com forum and in emails to us that Amazon.com has posted news of a new This Is Tom Jones Christmas DVD.

Anyway, information is very scant at this point, but we’re told by a very good source that it’s another Time Life product that, as of now, is set to be released October 30.

We must repeat our usual warning: This hasn’t been officially announced by tomjones.com so, until it is, caveat emptor.

We’ll keep you posted.

OK: This was posted on Tom’s site today: So, it is not rumor, it’s reality!
Sept 28, Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, CA; Sept 30, Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay, San Diego, CA; Nov 23 & 24 Pechanga Casino, Temecula, CA

That said, we have it from two extremely reliable — and very separate — sources that Tom’s December engagement at the MGM will last for two weeks, December 6 through December 19.

We’ve heard that, beginning with that engagement, Tom will be back to performing two weeks at a time when he’s in Las Vegas.

We’ve also been told that dates have been booked this year at Chumash Resort and Casino in Santa Ynez, California (near Santa Barbara) and at Pechanga Resort and Casino in the Temecula Valley of California.

As we noted, these are not official dates, but we can hope, can’t we?