Marbella (Málaga) (EFE).- The singer Tom Jomes, who at his recent 83rd birthday does not seem to be in a hurry to retire, made the public of Marbella dance at the only stop that the so-called “El Tigre de Gales” will perform in Spain this season and in which he reviewed his musical successes of the last five decades.
There is a mathematical rule that says that the order of the factors does not alter the product, this rule can also be applied to the last performances by the Welshman at Starlite Marbella, where this Monday he has performed a repertoire very similar to that of the concert he starred in this same stage two years ago now.
Of course, with a different disposition and less voice.
The show started with British punctuality.
At 10:00 p.m. the stage was lit up, Tom Jones -with dark and tight pants, and a shirt on the outside with a striking black and white print- came out with a microphone in hand and the first chords sounded, which served as an introduction and to warm up engines.
“It’s great to be here.
I’m glad to see you again”, the singer commented with a smile, and the audience that packed the venue, middle-aged and mostly English-speaking, returned an ovation by way of greeting.
After the formal welcome, the music again and with it came the turn of “What’s New Pussycat” (1965), a single that gave its name to the second of his studio albums and with which he drew applause from the public.
Tom Jones sang, spoke and joked with a devoted and very generous audience that forgave him for not reaching the highest tones as in his best days and even for the occasional out of tune.
And it is that the years do not pass in vain, not even for the greatest.
More than fifty years of musical career, 41 albums behind him, a dozen awards, including a Grammy and an MTV Award; several number ones and millions of copies sold endorse this self-made artist and that he boasts of having his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
With the mythical “Sex Bomb”, a song with which he relaunched his musical career in 1999 and which returned him to the top of the international music charts, the audience jumped out of their seats and chanted his popular chorus in unison.
He continued with “Pop star”, a song that refers to the desires and dreams of a young artist who wants to achieve fame and who wants his mother to be proud of him when she sees him perform, something that reminded him of his beginnings in music. he commented.
And before interpreting the version of “One more cup of coffee”, included in his latest album “Surrounded by Time” (April 2021), mention, as in previous shows, another of the greats of music, Bob Dylan, the who has snatched the title of “longest-lived number one” with this work.
Then, another song with a cheerful rhythm, “Green, Green Grass of Home” (1967), with which he recalled the green countryside of his native Wales on a very hot summer night on the Costa del Sol. Among the attendees, a compatriot who he openly showed his enthusiasm for the piece.
Before interpreting “Delilah” (1968) he had time to joke about age and “love from the fifties, sixties and eighties”, he commented with a laugh.
It was followed by two chart-topping songs from the Welsh tiger, “Leave your hat on” (2002) and “Kiss”, written by “the last great musical genius”, Prince, in 1986 and covered by Jones.
He sang a song from his latest album, “I’m growing old” (I’m getting older), and again some joke about age since when they offered it to him in Las Vegas (USA) he was still in his thirties, counted.
And already in the final stretch of a concert that lasted almost two hours, Tom Jones performed “It’s not Unusual” (1965) and the popular song by Chuck Berry “Johny B Goode” (1959), to end with “Great Balls of Fire” (1957), by the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis, as the finishing touch and whose rhythm made the audience dance lively.