Plymouth Summer Sessions: Thursday's line-up and songs Tom Jones might play

Music festival Plymouth Summer Sessions kicks off tonight in less than summery conditions but is still expected to draw a huge crowd to the Hoe. The first night of the TK Maxx-sponsored event will be played out in rain and strong winds but audiences will be keen to enjoy a stellar line-up topped by the great Tom Jones.

The 84-year-old will top a bill also containing Stone Foundation, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Gabrielle. So here are some facts about each of the acts and what fans might expect from their setlists tonight:

Tom Jones

The Welsh singer has enjoyed one of the longest and most successful careers of anyone currently working in popular music. His career began with a string of top ten hits in the 1960s and he has continued to wow audiences and gather a new generation of fans through his appearances on the Voice UK talent search.

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Jones’ range has included pop, R&B, country, dance and gospel. In 2008 the New York Times called him a “musical shapeshifter” and he’s now sold more than 100million records with 40 UK hit singles and 19 in the States.

At his June 9 gig at St Anne’s Park, in Dublin, Jones opened with I’m Growing Old and followed it with his excellent cover of Bob Dylan’s Not Dark Yet. The 18-song set also included his signature hits It’s Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat?, Sex Bomb, Green Green Grass of Home, Delilah, Randy Newman’s You Can Leave your Hat On, and his Prince cover: Kiss.

He also performed The Windmills of Your Mind, his version of Ry Cooder’s Across the Borderline, a take on Todd Snider’s Talking Reality Television Blues, I Won’t Crumble if you Fall, Leonard Cohen’s Tower of Song, Lazarus Man, If I Only Knew, One Hell of a Life and closed with Strange Thing Happening Every Day. He has also recently performed Cat Stevens’ Popstar, Willie Nelson’s Opportunity to Cry and another Dylan song One More Cup of Coffee.

Gabrielle

Born Louisa Gabriella Bob 54 years ago in London, Gabrielle topped the UK charts with her debut single Dreams in 1993 and followed it with a spring of R&B and pop hits. After disappearing off the pop radar in the later 1990s she made a triumphant return in 2000 with another number one: Rise. The album with the same name was also a chart topper.

Gabrielle has a distinctive look, usually keeping one eye covered. This is because she has a condition called ptosis, where the eyelid may droop.

At her gig in Kingston upon Thames, London, last month, the singer performed an 11-song set opening with Thank You and including the hits Give Me a Little More Time, Rise and, to close, Dreams. She also performed When a Woman, Sunshine, A Place in Your Heart, Miss You, Sorry, Good Enough and Out of Reach.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

The daughter of Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis was born in London 45 years ago and started her musical career in the 1990s as a singer with indie band Theaudience. But it was her 2000 collaboration with Italian DJ Spiller that produced the number one hit Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) and catapulted Ellis-Bextor into the pop and disco sphere.

Her 2001 debut album, Read My Lips spawned three hit singles: Take Me Home, Murder on the Dancefloor and the double A-side Get Over You/Move This Mountain. She continued to have hit albums and singles and her career was given a major jolt when the movie Saltburn featured Murder on the Dancefloor, catapulting it into the singles chart in 2023.

The mum-of-five, married to The Feeling’s Richard Jones, performed just last week in Toronto, Canada. Her 16-song set opened with recent hit Crying at the Discoteque and contained the early hits Take Me Home, Get Over You and, of course Murder on the Dancefloor.

She also performed Music Gets the Best of Me, Mixed up World, Hypnotized, Young Blood, Hearing in Colour, Me and My Imagination, Not Giving up on Love, Heartbreak and Bittersweet. Anong surprising covers was Madonna’s Like a Prayer and one from her old band Theaudience: A Pessimist is Never Disappointed, which closed the set. Ther was also a mid-set medley of Lady (Hear Me Tonight), her breakthrough Groovejet (If this Ain’t Love), Can’t Fight the Feeling and Abba’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).

Stone Foundation

The eight-piece, Midlands-based soul band celebrated 25 years together in 2023. They have had four top 40 albums and are mates with modfather Paul Weller, who has sung on a number of their songs.

Stone Foundation have also worked with other famous UK musicians including the Style Council’s Mick Talbot, Dr Robert from the Blow Monkeys, and Graham Parker. They have also collaborated with American soul singers Durand Jones, Melba Moore, Bettye LaVette, William Bell and Nolan Porter.

When they played in Paisley, Scotland, in April, they performed a 21-song set, starting with Beverley and ending with Next Time Around. The band has also opened with Now That You Want Me Back, with Street Rituals regularly appearing early in sets.

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