It’s Not Unusual for Tom Jones to have a crowd of thousands absolutely awestruck. The Welsh wonder brought his unparalleled stage presence and once-in-a-generation voice to the Open Air Theatre on July 26, with a masterful band to match his talent, for a trip down memory lane and a night of new discovery.
The night opened with Stone Foundation, the West-Midlands soul band bringing their infectious energy to the stage. A funk filled entry to the evening, with their three-piece horn section, swinging drums, masterful guitar and driving keys; Neil Jones as the band’s distinct vocalist and infinitely energetic front man. Stone Foundation made plenty of time for playful audience interaction, calling on us to clap and sing along, paving the way for the intimacy of the evening ahead. With a huge catalogue of music to pull from and collaborations with the likes of Paul Weller, Stone Foundation gave us plenty of time to sing and move along to their tunes. Songs like The Revival of Survival and The Limit of A Man had the audience grooving from the stalls to the rafters.
With a summer tour spanning the UK & Ireland, Europe and the States, Sir Tom Jones has shown no sign that his eighty-six years will be slowing him down. But, with the rapturous applause and standing ovation as he entered the Open Air stage, it’s easy to see where his energy comes from! With the stage simply set, just the lilting keys welcoming him on, the night opened as Sir Tom brought a spellbinding rendition of I’m Growing Older. An absolute showcase of his arresting vocals, maintaining their strong, soulful power. The stripped back simplicity of this opening drawing us into tonight’s journey; a chance to witness a master of his craft continuing to carve out his musical legacy.
Sir Tom welcomed us to the evening with his melodic Welsh tones, sharing how glad he was to be back in Scarborough, a venue he has enjoyed playing for many years. He took us back to 1965 as he introduced his debut single. It’s Not Unusual held every bit of its charm more than sixty years later, with a fresh bossa nova twist on the original, the crowd came alive ready to dive into the hits that propelled him to stardom. A driving force in the reimagination of these well-loved songs was his band; Matt White (musical director and guitarist), Scott McKeon (guitarist), Paddy Milner (keys), and Dave Bronze (bassist). With such musical talent to match Sir Tom’s own, the band expanded and explored these classics showing us how there is always so much joy to be found in brilliant music!
With star-studded anecdotes cementing Sir Tom as a true legend, he introduced the title track for Woody Allen’s 1965 comedy What’s New Pussycat? Leaning into the tongue-in-cheek nature of it all, Sir Tom brought a playful energy to his musical repertoire so famously rooted in allure. With the signature ‘oh yeahs’ and ‘whoops’ still driving the crowd just a little wild, having us giggling and kicking our feet at the subtly-suggestive and down-right cheeky lyrics! This only expanded as an undeniably sexy guitar riff held centre stage, opening up for a seductively-slow rendition of Sex Bomb. An absolute masterclass in taking songs on a fifty year journey and having the crowd enthralled every time. His booming voice, filling out every inch of this silky-smooth rendition – with the masterful band reminding us of the absolute magic of live music with face-melting riffs weaving between his hypnotic tones. Sir Tom secured himself as the ‘real deal’ as the bridge came with such punchy passion, his vocals as mighty as ever.
We took a turn back to the emotive, with Across The Borderline, I Won’t Crumble If You Fall and This Is The Sea. Evident in how Sir Tom’s vocals swam effortlessly across these songs, he is using this tour to revisit all-time favourite performances, creating an energy of pure enjoyment spreading far and wide over the crowd. Sir Tom and the band took a gospel take on the Waterboys classic, embracing the organ and guitar jangle. The guitar held the stage maintaining the jaunty, western sounds, as the stage reset for Delilah. With a quick pivot, the genre shifted to a 1960s samba to reimagine this dramatic, passion-filled song. Leaning gladly into the melodrama of the song, Sir Tom’s musical storytelling was evident as he masterfully unveiled this story of love and lust and revenge! With blood red visuals for such a cinematic, larger than life performance.
Sir Tom took a moment to ask us ‘Oh yeah?’ to which we undoubtedly replied; ‘Oh Yeah!’ – his simple catchphrase sending the crowd crazy. The energy flew sky high as he and the band moved into the rip-roaring If I Only Knew, backed by electric stage visuals, with seemingly no falter in his vigour, he brought out some of his most impressive vocals of the night, including an unexpected but welcome rap section! Wailing guitar solos brought the signature seductive sound back to the night, moving seamlessly into a tribute to the late great Prince as he launched into Kiss. With the whole crowd on their feet, he sang and screamed and hollered his way through this last number, with all the charm and talent he has built this magnificent career on. With ‘I think I better dance now’ morphing into ‘I think you better play now!’ to the band, we were reminded of the lifetime of performances Tom Jones has under his belt, and how his shows may be altered but in no way dampened by his eight-six years! As Sir Tom left us with a final Kiss, we were left wanting his ‘extra time’ as he bid us a thank you and farewell.
The crowd waited eagerly, hoping for an encore, and with a bluesy keyboard solo filling the air, Tom Jones re-entered the stage to rapturous applause. ‘Can we play another one?’ he asked, met with such energetic screams of agreement, as the gentle opening keys of Green, Green Grass of Home took hold. A gentle sway moved through the crowd, as we fell again under the spell of his arresting vocals, and total embodiment of soul. Such an emotive moment, a stark and moving actualisation of the journey Tom Jones has taken, from childhood in a small Welsh village to global recognition and adoration.
He next transported the crowd to New Orleans, with the driving melody of keys, swinging drums and lamenting guitar he brought us a jazz-filled rendition of Strange Things Happening Every Day. Leaning into genres that showcase the absolute range and talent of him and his band, and are obviously an absolute hoot to perform! Interluded with a casually-cool (yet, acutely aware) Elvis anecdote, Tom Jones moved onto a cover of the agreed King of Rock n Roll, Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode. The fast paced verses and driving melody were no match for Jones’ performing prowess and, and as the band brought the pulsing opening to Great Balls Of Fire, the absolute rollicking finale was confirmed. With a chorus both Tom and the crowd could howl out into the moonlight, the Open Air became a swinging dance hall as we popped and twisted to this rock n roll magic.
With a night of unforgettable musicality and talent coming to a close, Sir Tom thanked us profusely – promising that he would see us again, with no plans to stop travelling the world anytime soon! As he told us this evening, if Willie Nelson can perform at ninety, then he is a wee whipper-snapper by comparison! There is evidently no slowing down the spitfire that is Tom Jones and, with the absolute joy he spread over the Scarborough crowd this evening, ‘why why why’ would he ever stop?
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