What’s New Pussy Cat? Instinctively you say out loud what comes next, right? Well this is what this show is all about – singing along and enjoying the songs of Sir Tom Jones.
It’s a new show which is on tour around the country and beyond, and although I would not say I am a fan, I am fully aware of the impact he has made to many people over his gargantuan career which is still ongoing. Plus of course his voice is still exceptional.
However, perhaps after experiencing this show I probably am a fan – if being a fan means you pretty much know all the songs and half of the lyrics – which was a surprise to me. Maybe his longevity has infiltrated my brain over the years!
As we took our seats, we noticed the number of musician spaces there were on the stage. This was pleasing as we had discussed in the journey whether it would be a just a man with a backing track – it wasn’t – phew. The musicians came on stage, started playing and they were awesome. There were seven musicians including a brass section with the eighth member being a backing singing and between them all they made a fantastic full band sound which reached all the corners of the theatre. They were playing for a few minutes before ‘Tom Jones’ came out and this was to raise the feel good factor as they were brilliant and it also set the bar for the quality we would be expecting.
The music moved into ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and Sir Tom Jones came on to a cheer, well Andy Wood came on to a cheer. By golly, he did look like Sir Tom Jones and his voice, well, it’s evident that Andy is a very good singer but his impersonation was quite astonishing. He had the look, the swagger, the smile, even the head tilt and the mouth actions. The best bit, in between the songs Andy spoke in a Welsh accent and was speaking as though he was Tom! He was chatting with the crowd and really engaging us all – it was marvellous. It truly added to the overall experience of the show.
The first half was filled with Sir Tom Jones’ songs from the early days such as ‘Leave Your Hat On’, ‘Help Yourself’, ‘Green Green Grass of Home’, ‘Something ‘Bout You Baby I Like’, ‘She’s A Lady’ and so, so many more.
Andy’s rendition of ‘I (Who Have Nothing)’ showed off his voice ability and was incredible, as were and musicians. Hearing ‘Thunderball’ with the band at full throttle was just stunning. Andy as Sir Tom Hones was marvellous, his voice was deep and gravely and he was able not just able to hold a note, but to push it out with a lot of volume.
The overall sound was excellent too, you could hear all the instruments which was needed under such a powerful voice. The band members were all dressed smart, looked professional, which in my mind shows a level of respect for paying Toms music.
Four songs in and our Tom Jones is saying that normally he would have had knickers thrown on the stage by now, but maybe he says, I’m getting older now…. Andy is an obvious entertainer chatting with the crowd, getting to know us, dedicating a song to someone in the audience as it was her birthday – his crowd work was great.
Although his Welsh accent was wavering into an American accent at times, we were appreciated the effort at being authentic. He was a great singer and hit a lot of the tones of Tom Jones but no one is going to be able to match Sir Tom, however Andy had the charisma, the characterisation and banter which made the excited audience clapping and singing along from the first note.
The second half of the show ramped up the party atmosphere with covers covering all the decades that included ‘Venus’, ‘Great Balls of Fire’, ‘Kiss’, ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come’, ‘Mustang Sally’, again so many songs.
There was a wonderful rendition of Sex Bomb – the first half of the song was slowed right down into a ballad, another moment to appreciate Andy’s voice, then it morphed into having a ska vibe, which was awesome. Then they did the song again as normal.
There was huge applause at the end of the show and yes there was an encore of and incredible version of ‘ I’ll Never Fall in Love Again’, and finally the end song was a fully immersive, audience participation version of Delilah which was enormous fun.
It was a fantastic show with very talented people. For more show dates check out their Facebook page
With thanks to Spa Pavilion.
Here is the review on YouTube.