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Dunedin review, Otago Daily Times

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Welsh entertainer Tom Jones last night treated a remarkably enthusiastic Dunedin audience to a master class of entertainment.welsh_entertainer_tom_jones_gives_a_consummate_per_1532757307Make no mistake, the only thing he left on the stage last night was sweat.

Everything Jones had to offer from his vast array of talent was on display in the Dunedin Town Hall.

He sang, he danced, he gyrated - still a lovely mover - for 90 minutes without a break.

Sublime.

From the moment he walked on to the stage, the personality of Jones filled the auditorium.

It would be surprising if anyone in the nearly packed Town Hall felt he was not singing directly to them; such was the strength of his presence.

The audience responded readily to any calls for participation through clapping or singing some of the ballads.

Jones drew them in and kept them enthralled throughout the night.

Fittingly, for a man ready to celebrate his 70th birthday in June, the first song was off his new album 24 Hours.

Sugar Daddy had the audience moving and clapping from the first chord.

The line "I've been singing this song since before you were born" could not have been more true for some in the audience.

In fact, if you were under 50, the line was particularly relevant.

The favourites rolled out throughout the night.

Thunderball, Delilah, Help Yourself and What's New Pussycat? had the crowd singing and dancing.

Jones sang three country songs, including The Green Grass of Home and Put Your Sweet Lips, in the rhythm style from his pub and club days in Wales.

Every time he swaggered, wiggled his backside or did some gentle pelvic thrusts, women in the audience whistled, clapped and cheered and it did not take long before the Town Hall stage was littered with knickers and a few flowers.

The audience erupted when an older woman walked purposefully to the stage and flung her knickers at the feet of the Welsh master as he sang She's A Lady.

The energy of the singer and his classy band remained at the highest possible levels throughout the performance.

The voice of Jones remains powerful and full of emotion.

It was a consummate performance.

Anna Coddington opened the evening.

Her 30 minutes of songs displayed some of this country's flourishing song-writing and singing talent.

By Dene Mackenzie

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Tom Jones at Villa Maria Estate

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Looking as nimble as his fresh-faced ten-piece band, Jones shimmied about the stage, throwing in some cheeky pelvic thrusts and Welsh quips along the way. Opening with a saucy little number, Sugardaddy, his famously resonant voice shook the vines with songs from his new album 24 Hours and nostalgic hits Delilah, What's New Pussycat and She's a Lady.

As daylight faded, the set took a moodier turn as he showed his introspective side: "I tried to write a song that would explain what music had done for my life, and to thank God for giving me this voice," he said, before launching into a heart-wrenching tribute to everything his career had given him.

He stopped grooving and clutched the microphone as he sang his stirring promise to never fall in love again.

His elaborate band was stripped back to acoustic guitars for the third instalment of Sir Tom's performance - a seductive return to the old pub-singing days.

The crowd swayed along to He'll have to go, Green Green Grass of Home, and Save the Last Dance for Me. These sing-alongs led into the strobe-lit disco finale, which built to a crescendo in a pulsing version of Sex Bomb and ended with the banger It's Not Unusual.

And, with the mesmerised crowd left wondering what Sir Tom's secret to life-long party charm could possibly be, he returned, still twinkle-eyes and twinkle-toes for a stage-show encore - Take Me Back to the Party and his version of Prince's You Don't Have to be Rich.

He thanked his fans and said he had had a ball, and their squeals and kisses - and the odd pair of knickers - said they had too.

By Jacqueline Smith

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10627813

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Tom Jones in Manukau

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3359322The veteran Welsh singer rocked the Villa Maria Estate Winery last night to a loud, appreciative audience. After a slight technical hitch initially, where the usually vocally-strong rocker and his backup singers seemed to be a bit drowned out by the musical accompaniment, Jones went on to literally burn down the house.

Starting with some of his perhaps less-known songs, the vocals soon won out over the accompaniment with the first of his signature numbers, Delilah, got punters on their feet swaying.

As he sang the last few words of the song, "Forgive me Delilah I just couldn't take anymore," Jones held the microphone out to the audience for it to do its version of those words.

Another crowd warmer was the rousing Mama Told Me Not To Come.

A young couple sitting in the second row were asked what they were doing at the concert, being so young.

The answer: "Because it's Tom Jones, you know." The girl said she had grown up with the music.

Other rocking numbers including Mama I'm So Hard To Handle, Help Yourself, She's a Lady, Sex Bomb, Kiss and lastly Take Me Back To The Party, accompanied by pelvic thrusts, which were also acted out by the backing group, brought wild whoops and whistles from the audience.

Before singing Never Going To Give You Up, Jones dedicated the song to "the effect music has had on my life".

He said: "I tried to write a song about thanking God for giving me this voice."

Jones whipped up the crowd even more, getting punters to participate by shouting the question: "Oh yeah?" "Oh yeah?" "Oh yeah?" while flashing his eyes at them and swooning his female fans with: "Oh ladies, please!"

One young concert-goer, 22-year-old Ashleigh Marshall from Pukekohe, said she had seen the veteran pop star ten years ago at the North Harbour Events Centre in Albany and again in Las Vegas in 2008.

At least twice, Jones thanked the audience in his original Welsh tongue, saying "diolch yn fawr (thank you very much)".

He was encored hard at the end, after his large back-up group also left the stage shortly after him.

Jones returned to sock it to the audience twice more with the incomparable hit Kiss and Take Me Back To The Party.

With his 70th birthday looming in June, the singer has "still got it", both musically and personally, according to his wide age ranging fan base.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/gig-reviews/3359293/Gig-review-Tom-Jones-in-Manukau

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Watch Full Tom Jones Media Conference in New Zealand

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Welsh music superstar Sir Tom Jones is in New Zealand for a series of four concerts.  ex_tomjones_320 After releasing his first single in 1964, Jones has sold over 100 million records. His career highlights included a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, a Silver Clef Award for Lifetime Achievement and a knighthood in 2006. Today he held a media conference in Auckland and David Farrier attended and had the chance to ask a question he has always wanted to.

Watch the full media conference here:  Press Conference

Still excited about Tom Jones - The Philippine Star

FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo (The Philippine Star) It was just a brief and simple announcement in this column a few weeks ago, but it was enough to stir a flood of inquiries from hundreds of excited and jubilant music fans titillated by the prospect of watching live a rare musical event featuring one of the world’s most enduring singers and entertainers.

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I refer to the “curtain-raiser” item (Funfare, Jan. 20) announcing that international balladeer and artist Tom Jones is coming to Manila to perform at a one-night concert on March 28 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Promoter Renen de Guia of Ovation Productions has confirmed to Funfare that the show, billed as Tom Jones Live In Manila!, will be staged as scheduled as he expressed elation over the widespread interest in the event, as indicated by the number of calls, text messages and e-mails being received by his office since the item came out.

From faraway London, Renen said he got an e-mail from Ms. Jennie Harris, Tom Jones’ representative, who read the Funfare item in the on-line edition of The Philippine STAR and expressed pleasant surprise at the early media plug on the musical event.

But none could perhaps match the range of the Tom Jones fever that has gripped the local concert circuit and galvanized thousands of fans who have yearned to watch the singing legend perform live his greatest hits that they have loved and adored through the years.

Jose Mari Chan was exuberant in his praise for Jones: “The Tom Jones concert will really be a great treat for Filipino fans. It will be an experience to watch this musical icon perform here. He is an exciting act to watch.”

Mike Enriquez said, “Tom Jones’ hits have become enduring classics, enjoying regular airplay on radio over the years. Ardent music fans never seem to get tired listening to them.”

According to De Guia, Ovation Productions was fortunate to be given the opportunity to mount the one-night-only concert in Manila as part of the forthcoming Asia-Australia tour of Tom Jones, also including New Zealand.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=550000&publicationSubCategoryId=70

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Santiago takes its hat off to Tom Jones - Santiago Times Review

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(Editor’s Note: Welsh singing sensation Tom Jones is touring Chile. His first performance was last Saturday in Viña del Mar, and he hit Talca and Santiago earlier this week. The 69-year-old legend, who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and is best known for his hits “It’s Not Unusual,” “What’s New Pussycat” and “Delilah,” will wrap up the Chilean leg of his tour this weekend. When he was in the Chilean capital, Santiago Times writer Laura Burgoine had the chance to meet and greet the star. She recounts her experience here.) 4071529569_57d8aae380Santiago is still swooning after Tom Jones’ epic concert, and here at the Santiago Times, we have personally been swept off our feet by the legend himself. An intoxicating four-day TJ binge has seen this group of young journalism interns form a cult-like following of the music god in our very own Jonestown.

It began with two press-passes and five interns fighting for the chance to catch a glimpse of TJ onstage but ended with backstage cocktails, hanging with the band and all of us sipping wine, poolside, with Mr. Jones himself.

To backtrack a few nights: a quiet dinner at home with my co-workers was interrupted by an SMS-text invitation to join Tom Jones’ band for drinks. Instantly deserting our chicken and throwing on our best clothes, we raced to the bar in hopes of spotting the star. As we sat drinking with the band at the Backstage Bar in Santiago’s entertainment district, Jones sat inside with his personal assistant, quietly nursing a cognac.

We were stunned when the down-to-earth singer and his PA joined us on the patio. Oozing star quality, the bronzed, now grey-haired, music sensation sat with the little people, reflecting on his pre-fame days as a laborer while puffing on a Cuban cigar and sipping French champagne.

With style and grace, he chatted candidly, asked us about ourselves, told racy jokes and even belted out a few songs, although not his own. When the bar closed, he invited us all back to his five-star hotel for poolside beverages before personally hailing down three cabs off the street.

Santiago allowed Jones to mingle casually without being mobbed by paparazzi, but he was still a magnet for adoring fans. This is not a man who blends into the background. People of all ages, from all walks of life, approached him just to gush in his presence while our young waitress was rendered completely helpless by one of his infamous smoldering looks.

At 69, he’s still got it.

Jones and his “family” of crew and band members have been on the road since August last year and will keep rocking until March. Our own brief participation in the Santiago leg of his 24 Hours World Tour left us exhausted shells of our former selves. How Jones, his band and crew, maintain this wearying, fast-paced, exhilarating schedule is truly astonishing.

Jones said he performs on average 200 concerts a year and despite his wife’s constantly asking him to slow down, he insists he never will: singing and performing are his true loves.

His tour started in the UK and hit Europe and the USA before  South America. It goes next to New Zealand, Australia and Asia.

In Santiago, Jones may have been a long way from the “Green, Green Grass of Home,” but he rocked Santiago’s Movistar Arena like the true entertainer he is. He thanked God for the gift he was blessed with, before wowing audiences with the vocal strength of a great tenor and the vigor of a Rockette. Crowds erupted as Jones performed classic hits: “Delilah,” “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “What’s New Pussycat” and “Sex Bomb.”

Jones said the hit that continues to wow audiences is “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.” But on Wednesday night, it was Jones’ “She’s a Lady” that got everyone to their feet. Crowds erupted with deafening applause, dancing and screaming; it was impossible not to be swept up by the music, the performance and the atmosphere. In true form, Jones, in a leather blazer and silk shirt, drove the audience wild with his signature thrusting gestures and enigmatic stage presence. The ten musicians onstage all shone around the star in what was truly a dazzling performance.

Jones did everything: introduced his songs, talked with the audience, and at the end introduced and saluted each of the musicians. The audience went wild when he thanked them in Spanish and provocatively towelled himself off with a Chilean flag thrown onstage. He was unfazed because when you’re Tom Jones and screaming women throw things on stage, it’s not unusual.

By Laura Burgoine

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18234:along-came-jones&catid=32:features&Itemid=144

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Me and Mr. Jones, we got a thing - Buenos Aires Herald Review

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If Tom Jones’ peepers were a watery shade of blue, his butt wiggles less thrusting and provocative and his vocal chords not so perfectly powerful, he might have remained in some Welsh valley singing down the working men’s club every weekend for a few quid and a pint. But God was on his side back in 1940 and and Jones deigned to follow in his coal miner father’s footsteps, instead choosing music and to search out the limelight.

His first band, Tommy Scott and The Senators, had a bit of a name for themselves in 1963, but when he released debut album Along Came Jones two years later, recognition came thanks to It’s Not Unusual, an easy-listening track and his second single which went to number one in the UK and closed Thursday’s Luna Park show. In 1965 he also released What's New Pussycat, which also made it onto last Thursday’s set list.

With his bushy white hair — no mean feat to have a headful at 69  — and bushy white beard, Jones wasn’t physically so different to the God he thanked for giving him his voice, or indeed to actor Morgan

Freeman, according to Welsh Elvis fan Fiona.

Smart in a leather jacket, Mr Jones definitely does not look his age and kicked off the night, accompanied by his 10-piece band, with the Bono-scribed song Sugar Daddy from latest album 24 Hours (2008). Although his teeth are a bit day-glo and slightly offputting, Jones is so bloody happy and revelling in his performance that a close relationship with his dentist can be ignored.

Give A Little Love was followed up by a stupendous third track of the night Thunderball (1966), theme to the James Bond film. Wow, it was heaven to hear 007 live and barely warmed up, Jones was in full belting-them-out force.

First pelvic thrust of the night came at track four with In Style And Rhythm, also from 24 Hours, and  Jones included funk (Hard To Handle), country (Green Green Grass of Home, 1966), easy listening dance (She’s A Lady, 1971) and rocky pop (Mama Told Me Not To Come, 2000) in the 25-strong set, keeping the generations happy.

First ovation of the night came at the half-way point with his beautiful acoustic version of ballad I'll Never Fall in Love Again but it didn’t stop there. Once the country section was over, Leave Your Hat On, Sex Bomb and Kiss kept the packed auditorium on its feet, roaring full approval although fortunately the ladies in the audience remembered it was 2010 and refrained from throwing underwear as if it were 1967.

By Sorrel Moseley-Williams Herald staff

Tour Dates Added in Asia!!!

We are pleased to announce further dates that have been added to Tom’s 24 Hours tour. Tom will be performing 8 shows in 7 cities across Asia during March and the beginning of April.

Please visit our Tour Dates section for more details and ticket information.

[Not all dates are on sale and have been added, so please check back regularly for further announcements.]

Vote For Your Favourite Brit Performance - Tom Jones & Robbie Williams

To celebrate 30 years of the BRIT Awards, the long-running music awards ceremony is asking for you to vote for your favourite BRITs performance over the past three decades. Tom has been nominated for his show stopping duet with Robbie Williams in 1998. The performance is recognised as one of the best duets in BRIT Award history and now you have the chance to vote for it as your favourite BRIT performance ever.

Vote now at http://www.itv.com/entertainment/britshits30vote/default.html and you could win a pair of tickets to this year's awards bash by entering!

The winning performance will be announced on the night of the BRITs on Tuesday, 16th February.

Watch the video in our In The Media section.

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Concert review: Tom Jones heats up the Meyerson

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Tom Jones - Meyerson Symphony Centre, Dallas You know that extra little zing, that indefinable chemistry that turns an ordinary relationship into something sexy, sparkly and irresistible? Tom Jones seems to have that chemistry with every woman on the planet – certainly with the ones inside the Meyerson Symphony Center Sunday night, and a good many of the men, as well. The Welsh pop singer, his gorgeous baritone in absolutely perfect form, utterly beguiled a full house for nearly two hours, singing songs both familiar and fresh. He opened with a handful of numbers from his most recent album, 2008's 24 Hours, kicking things off with the zesty "Sugar Daddy," written by U2's Bono and the Edge.

Attired in black pants, a maroon shirt and a black leather jacket, Jones joked about his age – he'll be 70 in June – and had a good time spoofing his sex-symbol image.

The audience seemed to enjoy the new material – especially his smoldering versions of Joe Cocker's "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and Prince's "Kiss" – but saved its most ardent adulation for Jones' early hits. "She's a Lady," "It's Not Unusual" and "What's New, Pussycat?" all had audience members seat-dancing and, eventually, on their feet.

Toward the end of the show, the Meyerson seemed briefly transformed into an extremely large, elegant disco, what with the psychedelic lighting effects and booming beat of the 10-piece backup band. The band was superb – I'd happily pay to see them by themselves – but the lighting was at times baffling. One song featured purple, gold and green capsule-shaped images splashed onto the stage and walls; to me they looked exactly like bacteria in a petri dish.

By JOY TIPPING / The Dallas Morning News

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-tomjones_0202gd.State.Edition1.2258057.html

Welcome to the new Tom Jones website!

We’ve made some exciting changes to the look and navigation that will make it easier for you get to know everything there is to know about Sir Tom. Along with updated News, there is an extensive Archive containing past posts going back to 2004.You can enjoy regularly updated Photos and Videos of Tom, and get to know his journey through life and career so far in the updated Tomography.

In The Media allows you to read Interviews and Reviews as well as watch public Appearances and Performances from way back in the day up to the present.

For our professional partners and associates there is an extensive selection of resources in Business and Media Centre.

Our Members section is brand new, so if you would like to be a part of the Tom community, please Register yourself online to receive regular updates. As a member you will be first in line to be eligible for concert info and pre-sale tickets, have access to behind the scenes photos and videos—including the recent Guinness 250th Anniversary pub performance.

Register yourself in our new-look Forum to join discussions and make friends with other Tom fans. Existing user’s username and email address will remain the same; however you will need to re-activate your account and password when you first login. If you have any problems with your old password, we ask you kindly to register once more.

The Shop is still in progress, but please visit frequently as it will soon be up and running.

We hope you enjoy the site, and look forward to hearing your feedback at office@tomjones.com.

New Year, New Band and New Tour!

On the 21st January Tom is back for a 7 night stint at the MGM Grand Hollywood Theatre, Las Vegas.This will be his first American performance with his new band where he is sure to blow the fans away. Following this there will be an extra night in the States with Tom performing at The Morton Meyerson Symphony Centre, Dallas on the 31st January, before starting his South American and Australasian tour.

Tom will begin his South American tour in Aregntina on 4th February. He will then play 5 different venues over 6 nights in various parts of Chile. Continuing Tom's journey South he will be heading to New Zealand for 4 nights followed by 10 nights in Australia.

For all dates and information please check out our 'Tour Dates' section and be sure to keep checking back for more dates to be added soon."

Tom Jones To Appear On Jools Holland Annual Hootenanny

Tom JonesTom Jones, Dizzee Rascal and Lily Allen are among the guests for this year’s Jools Holland Hootenanny. The traditional new year’s programme will also play host to Boy George, Roger Daltrey, Paolo Nutini, Shingai Shoniwa, Florence Welch, Paloma Faith, British guitarist Dave Edmunds, Ruby Turner, Rico Rodriguez and pipers from the 1st Battalion of Scots Guards. As well as unique collaborations and covers, the night also promises many of the faces of 2009 offering their thoughts on the Noughties and the incoming year. This will be the 17th Hootennany. It goes out on BBC 2 from 11pm on December 31.