Tom Jones is awesome on first night of Plymouth Summer Sessions

Plymouth Summer Sessions started in spectacular style with a brilliant performance from the great Tom Jones. He may be 84 years old, but he’s got the voice and vibes of a man a quarter of that age proving he’s not superannuated - he’s just super.

Jones made thousands of music fans forget the rain that blanketed the Hoe with a note-perfect set that included highlights from his 60-odd year career and newer, introspective material. Starting with I’m Growing Old - just him under a spotlight, only keys accompanying - it was an atmospheric start. Then he brought out the rest of the band for his tremendous version of Dylan’s Not Dark Yet, and we were off.

Greatest hits followed: a conga-driven It’s Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat? with some delightfully out-of-tune backing vocals from the audience, The Windmills of Your Mind, Sex Bomb, Green Green Grass of Home, You Can Leave Your Hat On, Kiss, and, of course, Delilah, with the crowd cackling along. Ah-hahaha.

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The Welshman’s repertoire and range was amazing. He managed to cover pop, soul, country, Americana, disco, funk and rock ‘n’ roll, his band tight as the wingnuts on the lighting rig.

In between the tunes, Jones told tales from his long and fruitful career. He seemed to be speaking straight to every single person standing on the Hoe, it was like the gig had become a musical autobiography.

Songs such as Lazarus Man, One Hell of a Life, and Tower of Song all fed the introspective, retrospective Jones as he looked back on decades of gigging and recording, name-dropping for all he was worth, and why not? When your anecdotes mention Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Dusty Springfield, Leonard Cohen, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson, and the dearly departed Prince, it’s a tale well worth hearing.

He saved the best for last. “Elvis said to me…” he said, to a chorus of “oooohs”, and went on to explain how The King took him to watch “the real king of rock ‘n’ roll” Chuck Berry in Vegas in 1966. Then he ended with an energetic Johnny B Goode and sent everyone home happy. The rain had even stopped.

The support acts were good too. Gabrielle clearly had a lot of fans in the crowd, and kept them happy with the hits Rise and Dreams. Sophie Ellis-Bextor was a revelation, with a full-on disco stomp that was so energetic she must have filled up on Red Bull and Haribo before going on stage. What a way to get the audience in the mood and forget the weather.

That job was probably done by Stone Foundation too, but, like many people, I didn’t get to see them. I was in the queue to get in before they took to the stage, and was still waiting when they finished. They sounded good though from over a 12ft fence.

Plymouth Summer Sessions continues with Bryan Adams headlining on June 14, Madness on June 15, and Sting on June 16.

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