Tom Jones - Hardcover

Roberts, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1852278463 ISBN 13: 9781852278465

Publisher: Virgin Books, 1999

Synopsis

A celebration of the life and vocal talents of Tom Jones. It tells his story from his roots in the choirs of the Welsh valleys, through his early successes including "What's New Pussycat", the mature ballads such as "Green Green Grass of Home", the lucrative Las Vegas years, and his renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s and "Kiss", Glastonbury, and beyond. Illustrated with photographs from every stage of his career, the book includes quotes from some of his contemporary stars who have been influenced and inspired by him.

About this title

Review:

Tom Jones began his illustrious career in the humble working men's clubs of South Wales billed as "Tiger Tom the Twisting Vocalist." He's come a long way since then! Over 30 years of pop stardom have taken him from the Valleys to Las Vegas and beyond. "Tiger Tom" has out-rocked and outlasted nearly all his contemporaries and is now forging an extended fan-base among the MTV generation: "It is the opinion of MTV" said a spokeswoman, "that Tom Jones is cool!"

This is an affectionate and revealing tribute to the life and work of a living legend. Full of unique, career-spanning pictures, the book has a lively, informal style, packed with all the juicy gossip on a man who is simply impossible to upstage. It examines the ongoing appeal of this Welsh titan of popular music, charting his rise to fame, exploring the knicker-throwing phenomenon and documenting his relationships with icons such as Van Morrison and Elvis Presley. In the 1960s Elvis was attending Tom's Vegas performances copping a few moves for his own comeback shows!

As The King himself gave it up in respect for Tom so too have a pantheon of present-day pop kids. Tom's latest recording adventure "Reload" features artists such as the Cardigans, Cerys Matthews of Catatonia, Natalie Imbruglia and Robbie Williams. It proves that he can still kick it and backs up Tom's own claim that he'll be around "until the green, green grass is turned into a car park."

This is an unrivalled visual feast for Tom fans everywhere. --Nicola Hollins

About the Author:

CHRIS ROBERTS is an experienced rock journalist and author who has written for a variety of international publications and websites, including Classic Rock, The Guardian, Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, Elle, Ikon, The Daily Telegraph, Empire and Emusic. He has also written books about Lou Reed, Michael Jackson, Abba, Scarlett Johansson, Heath Ledger and Talk Talk. He lives in West London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Virgin Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1852278463
• ISBN 13: 9781852278465
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160