Tom Jones woos the Marquee crowd, at 82

AN adoring crowd were throwing themselves (and their underwear) on stage for ‘sex bomb’ Tom Jones in Cork on Saturday night, as the 82-year-old Welsh star had the Marquee tent rocking.

There was no opening act, but with a career spanning 60 years, music royalty Tom needed no introduction. Jones’s band kicked off the first gig of his summer tour at Live at the Marquee, complete with double bass, accordion and bongos, and a green shirt, which he said he wore especially for the Irish show.

“It’s great to be back in Ireland,” Jones said. 

“I’ve been coming here since 1965, and I’m going to be coming here for a lot longer, if I get my way, anyway,” he told the already roaring crowd. 

The age mix under the blue-and-yellow big top spanned those who told Tom he could “join the club” as he mentioned he had recently become a great grandfather, to younger voices screaming, “We love you Tom, you’re a sex bomb!”.

The setlist featured several tracks from Jones’s latest album, Surrounded by Time (2021): ‘I’m Growing Old’, ‘The Windmills Of Your Mind’, ‘Talking Reality Television Blues’, ‘I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall’, ‘Lazarus Man’, and ‘No Hole in My Head’.

Having recently celebrated his 82nd birthday, Jones has taken Bob Dylan’s title of oldest man with a UK chart-topping album. The crooner treated the crowd to covers of ‘Pop Star’, ‘One More Cup of Coffee’, ‘Tower of Song’, ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On’, and ‘Kiss’ — as well as fan favourites ‘It’s Not Unusual’, ‘What’s New Pussy Cat?’, and ‘Green Green Grass of Home’.

Jones has lost none of his stage presence, and his showband voice still rings out record perfect, apart from the odd cough, but you’d forgive the octogenarian that. By the time Tom was belting out ‘Delilah’, the crowd were on their feet, swaying and waltzing, one fan even waving a pair of underwear and tossing them on stage.

“Cork, we love you, and God bless you,” said Jones, as he started into one of his final songs, ‘One Hell of a Life’. “That is a fact,” he told the cheering crowd. “And I’m still having one hell of a life.”