'Wow!' Sir Tom Jones belts out the fan favourites at Llangollen!

The musician kicked off the core week of Llangollen International Eisteddfod starting from Tuesday, July 2, to Sunday, July 7.

Promoter Cuffe and Taylor which has formed a new partnership with Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod brought the international and multi-award-winning icon’s Ages and Stages tour to Llangollen for what proved a memorable night filled with everyone’s favourite hits.

The legend cut a lonely figure as he entered stage right to cheers, quietly sat on a high stool and began singing the song I’m Growing old.

“Llangollen…. Wow!”, said the singer following a warm round of applause during which he was joined by his fellow bandmates.

“Diolch yn fawr or as we say in the south that’s lovely”.

Tom Jones headlines Llangollen. Photo: Desh Kapur/ Cuffe & Taylor

His opening song may have dealt with the delicate subject of his age but it wasn’t long before the 84-year-old showed he had plenty of life to live belting out two of his biggest hits back to back to the delight of his fans – a French accordion and bossa nova flavoured version of his debut It’s Not Unusual and What’s New Pussycat penned by late Llangollen favourite Burt Bacharach.

Some members of the crowd spontaneously leapt to their feet and began dancing in the aisles to the annoyance of some stewards during the star’s wonderful rendition of ‘Sex Bomb’ while Sir Tom brought the audience to the verge of tears with a moving version of alternative 60s smash Windmills of your mind and a heartwarming version of the Green Green Grass of home.

Sir Tom as could be expected in between songs regaled us with tales of his life and the many famous faces he has known and worked with over the years such as Dusty Springfield, Willie Nelson, Cat Stevens and of course Elvis.

Tom Jones headlines Llangollen. Photo: Desh Kapur/ Cuffe & Taylor

The crowd’s adulation and pride for their national hero exploded and brought the show to a brief halt by way of an impromptu standing ovation following a rousing performance of Welsh rugby fan favourite Delilah.

He treated them to another showstopper with his Full Monty theme You can leave your hat on.

This music industry veteran showed he wasn’t all about nostalgia and was still up for trying new things demonstrated during his rap/recitation on Talking reality television blues and his on point performance on the psych rock influenced Lazarus.

The singer closed the show with a tribute to Prince by way of his interpretation of his hit Kiss released in the late 80s with Art of Noise.

After cries of encore Sir Tom returned to the stage for another reflective song entitled One hell of a life, before finishing with a crowd-pleasing Chuck Berry classic Johnny Be Goode.

Sir Tom’s remarkable stamina during this 90-minute show proved an inspiration while his powerful voice did not waiver for a moment.

Whether this was down to his use of Dr Jenkins throat pills or something in his Grey Goose water we can only speculate but this concert will be remembered by visitors to Llangollen Eisteddfod for many years to come and we look forward to welcoming him back soon.