More than 50 years after he first sent pulses racing here, veteran crooner Tom Jones returns
WELSH superstar Sir Tom Jones will play a huge outdoor gig in Belfast this summer.
The Sexbomb singer will perform at the city’s newest festival, Live At Botanic Gardens, on May 31 — just a week before his 80th birthday.
The series of outdoor concerts will see thousands of music fans descend on the city’s picturesque gardens.
Sir Tom has had a long history of successful gigs in Northern Ireland, dating back to the start of his career in the 1960s.
The singer came here for a short tour in June 1967, when his opening show was in the ABC Cinema in Belfast, followed by the Flamingo Ballroom in Ballymena later that week.
At the time, he had just scored a big hit with The Green, Green Grass of Home — released on Christmas Eve the previous year, and prior to his Belfast show the ABC had just finished showing the James Bond movie Thunderball, for which Tom sang the title song.
A surprising feature of Tom’s appearance at the ABC was that he performed two shows on one night, the first beginning at 6.45pm and the second starting at 9pm.
The veteran star has also performed at the King’s Hall, which for years stood proud as Northern Ireland’s biggest music venue. Its stage was graced by legends including The Beatles, Bob Dylan and David Bowie.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph previously, Tom recalled how he kept his wife in the dark about a bomb scare at the venue because he did not want to frighten her.
He was due to go on stage when he was advised to remain in his hotel due to a “technical hitch”.
But the Welsh singer found out that the real reason he was being kept there was because of a bomb scare.
When his wife asked him what was happening, he told her there were technical problems.
“They told me that the King’s Hall wasn’t ready for us, but I found out that wasn’t the reason at all,” he said.
“My wife kept asking me what was going on, but it wasn’t until we got back to our hotel after the show that I told her the truth.
“The whole place had to be emptied, but everyone was allowed back in again. I didn’t want to scare her though, so I told her it was a technical problem and that’s why we had to stay at the hotel.”
The show did go on eventually and Jones said it turned out to be a brilliant night.
More recently, in 2012, Tom returned to the city to play a headline Belsonic gig at Custom House Square.
He has said that he had always loved playing Belfast, even at the height of the Troubles.
“You can’t hold an audience responsible for what a few people were doing. I’ve always had a great welcome in Belfast.”
Tom has been friends with music legend Van Morrison since the 1960s, when his band toured on the same bill as the Northern Ireland singer when he was with Them.
The pair even worked on a duet, titled Sometimes We Cry, for Van’s 1997 album, The Healing Game.
The song was later included on Tom’s Reload album, released in 1999 and which reached number one in the UK charts.
It features the backing vocals of Belfast singer Brian Kennedy and English rhythm and blues jazz singer Georgie Fame.
Tom and Van have performed the duet all over the world, including at the iconic Hollywood Bowl venue in Los Angeles.
Tickets for Tom Jones Live at Botanic Gardens go on sale Thursday, January 30 at 9am from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide.