Danny Roman the Tom Jones tribute, entertainer, impressionist and wedding singer

9/09/10

Sea Sick

I did my first stint of cruising for the best part of 10 years last month on Ocean Vllage for the people who don't like to do cruises!  As far as work goes its a great gig, I mean, come on! I'm away on a liner for 5 days and I work 1 night! 

Seriously, you do a 45 minute Tom Jones spot and then repeat it 1 hour later for a whole set of new passengers, its great!  Then on the other 4 days you are eating and drinking yourself into oblivion.  OV passengers are my type of audience because you can get the bag of knickers out and hand them round and do a few gags and generally be yourself, whereas I have now been promoted to work for P&O on their brand new ship called the Azura in August and I have been told 'No knickers! No gags! No being yourself! its just straight tribute, which will be hard for me as I am naturally always trying to get people involved whether it s by making them laugh or participation in my show..... anyway, I will do as I am told and be the boyo from the valleys for the full 45 minutes, yawn!

I di my first real stand up routine last week in a golf club in Harrogate for 110 men!  It was pretty daunting to start with and I did incorporate a couple of songs but this is a side of the business that I want to go down.  I wrote down every gag I know and put them together and in an order so I knew I had a method and a script if you like that I could always follow, but once I was into it and don't forget some of these guys had been drinking sice 4 pm and it was now 10:30, I had liscence to deviate and use general observations which was great.  I did throw in the odd expletive, in context with what I was saying and it worked a treat.  I was only booked for a 45  min spot and ended up doing over a hour. I'm not saying here that i'm going to become a comedian but I would like to incorporate more into my cabaret act to the point where I could go out as either a comic or a singer.

 

29/5/10

The Green Room

On Saturday I had the pleasure of working a brand new venue called The Green Room, located half way down Duke St in the city centre, it is a traditional cabaret lounge.  They had Joe Longthorne opening the venue on Thursday and i believe it was rammed but on Saturday it was me and a great comedy show band called Black Onyx plus comedianTony Barton, 2 young local singers and also compered by part owner Ricky Tomlinson all for just £10 a ticket.  The room is great for performing because they have the tables and chairs right up to the stage area making it feel like you are amongst the audience and also a fantastic in house PA system, it's not often you only have to take your suit bag to a gig nowadays and with it being waiter service you don't have people jumping up and down in front of you.

The Green Room puts cabaret shows on a Thursday and Saturday, the Thursday shows are the biggies with well established TV acts appearing and on Saturdays it is the top end of the cabaret scene.  I would advise anyone who remembers the Wooky and Alinsons to check it out.

18/5/10

Back to basics!

On Sunday I was invited by one of my good mates Paul McCoy to come and do a Tom Jones spot in a pub he and 2 friends have taken over in Skelmersdale called the Village Inn.  Now I haven't done a pub gig for the best part of 20 years and so I really was out of my comfort zone.  The pub is really homely, not gigantic but it has a great warm feeling to it and the lads have kitted it out with a superb sounding Adlib PA system and lights so it really is geared up and it reminds me a hell of a lot of the Rathbone pub where it all started for me 25 years ago.  I wasn't feeling too good as I'de had a hard weekend and it was an early afternoon gig, I went on at 6pm and so I didn't know what to expect from my voice.  I was supposed to do 2 half hours and the thought of not sounding as good as I can be put extra stress on the gig.

I have to say that I can't remember enjoying a gig as much as I did that afternoon, no worries on the voice at all and the audience, mainly women at the front and their husbands at the back were up for it as well.  I think because I'e not done any pub gigs that my show would die on its arse but i couldn't be further away from the truth, I think if you give them what they want then they will respond, by the way, I was on for a straight hour and a half!

If your in the local area, check the Village Inn out its in Chapel House, every Sunday starting at 5 PM and has some great acts on, this week its Mike Powell as Michael Buble and I have to tell you he is the best Buble trib around.

 

15/5/10

To be seen but not heard!

I can't believe its almost 5 months since i've written anything on my blog page, its not that i haven't worked for that long, although i have been away quite a lot this year, i think its just that everything i tend to write about tends to be moaning about something or other.  This year I really felt the recession as my bookings from all of the top hotel chains are down, basically the hotels are not commiting themselves to booking tribute acts in case they can't fill the rooms and then have to pay cancellation fees to all and sundry.  I have made a conserted effort this year to push for cruise work, i swore i would never do it again but thats the way the job has gone, the thought of being couped up in a cabin for 14 days while only working 2 nights fills me with dread.  Anyway, it seems everyone is doing the same thing, wanting to get on these ships, you have to bend over and take it with no lubrication to get on them! I have finally just got on Ocean Village in June with the tribute and it suits me as its only 4 days away and working one night only.  The ironic thing is, i've slogged my guts out to get on it and they are disbanding the cruise line in November!

I had the pleasure of working with old friends Mickey Finn and Jenny Adams at the opening of a new venue called the Venue (Goddard Hall) in Bootle on Friday night and it was a great night, with loads of old friend turning up to give us support.  When places are closing down all the while its nice to see a new place open and give it a go and i wish them all the best of luck in the coming year.  The are looking to put one show on a month and if it goes well then increase it, their next show is on June 4th and its a ladies night with strippers and a drag for £5, really good value, and having done many ladies nights when i was younger they are always great fun, and an eye opener!

I worked with Jenny about 6 years ago when she was in her late teens and new to the cabaret scene, in fact it was the same show with Mickey on it as well at the Adelphi, anyway even then she showed amazing stage prescence, so confident and a great voice to back it up, she is definitely one to keep the men in the audience happy!  She was telling me that she maybe looking to get in to the tribute scene as Shirley Bassey which would be great for her and me as i'm sure a Tom and Shirley night would sell well to most venues as a classic double act as they are so different, appeal to a wide range of audience and they are both seen as 2 of the best vocalists that Wales has produced.  I have worked with other Bassey's in South Wales and they are alays great lively nights.

Mickey Finn for me is getting better the older he gets, his act is still very locally based but he has added some great new material as well, and you can count on Mickey to do well wherever he is working.  I was surprised last night though when he was being heckled by a certain woman in the audience who had obviously had to much to drink, although every time they went the bar they would only come back with lemonade and tonic water! speaks for itself doesn't it?  Mickey never swears in his act, is never offensive to anybody but when people are drunk and will not stop talking at the top of their voices, it is extremely off putting for any comedian and also every one else in the audience who want to enjoy one of our best acts.  If she was out with her husband he would of told her to shut up right from the off but the fact that she was with people as drunk as her she woud not let it rest and it got embarrassing as some of Mickeys put down lines were classics and any sober person would of wanted to squirm out of the room but not her.  I've got a feeling the next day she will realise how pathetic she was and as for Mickey, having done this job for over 40 years he probably can't even remember what she looked like.  I love audieces to be animated, join in and shout out the odd funny but in this case I think it was better seen and not heard.

29/12/09

Sick to the back teeth!

Of all the months to get ill?  Since the Butlins gig on the 28th i have been unwell, firstly i was lucky enough to get Laryngitis, losing my voice, i can't tell you how stressful that is for a singer, after that my wife thought it would be a good idea to give me her cough, then i got the flu... no not a cold, i hate it when people say they've got flu and its just a cold, don't they realise that people actually die from flu? Anyway i was bed ridden for a week and only got up to go to work and when i finally got rid of that i have now picked up a head cold.  I have'nt cancelled any gigs though but it has been touch and go for a few of them. Here's hoping next year is much better!


30/11/09

Butlins Minehead

I have just by chance done the most amazing gig ever!  I got a call last week asking if i could go to the Tom trib with a backing band at the Butlins Centre in Minehead Somerset.  Now, if your like me and you think Butlins is like a concentration camp then you couldn't be further from the truth because it is absolutely stunning. The apartments are fully refurbedto a very high standard and the facilities on the site are second to none!  So, the gig...The centre stage room holds over 2 000 people and the stage is massive.  The muso's got my dots 30 mins before the gig and something that always makes me feel at ease is when they just scan them without any fuss and ge on with it, they were absolutely brlliant and we were going through a 30 K rig as well so as in true TJ style we kicked ass.  What made this gig so specal was that it was a school reunion weekend so there were lots of younger people which worried me a bit until I found out most of the were from South Wales!  So here's me thinking I will come out and they will all be sitting down enjoying the show! No chance, there were 2000 revellers standing around the stage area singing and dancing to me and this amazing band, and they were loving it!  It's the closest thing I can say to performing at a concert, the atmosphere was electric and they had an amazing bill.  First on was womack & Womack, then me, them a fantastic singer called Angie Brown (google her) and then finishing off was 911.  Me and my roadie though went into the night club next door where earlier on they had a Kylie trib, then a group from the 80's called Brother Beyond and then an Oasis tri that we wanted to see called Oasish!  hey were excellent.  The only down side was getting there, we went at mid day on Friday and got there at 6 that night, getting home only took 4 hours!

To sum up, Butlins make Pontins look like a B&B, they have moved with the times and realise what people want, like top quality accomodation and facilities, they also pay for good entertanment and not leave it to the in house team!

 


20/10/09

 

Variety Isn't Dead

 

 

On Sunday I was at the Gladstone theatre Port Sunlight with Stan Boardman and Paul McCoy for Stans laughter and variety show.  There was over 300 people there which was great and I have to say as it has been over 2 years since I have done a theatre I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

I also think the audience had a good time as well as I sold out of CD's!  It has always puzzled me why there is no variety on TV, 20 years ago, there was Saturday night big top, Sunday night at the London Palladium, Old time music hall as well as the comps which were Op Knocks and New faces.  I can remember seeing acts on these shows one week and then at Fairfield Police club the next, major TV Stars in working class venues!  I think the problem for variety was that in the 80's TV producers got younger and younger, they had gone through University being force fed alternative comedy and they felt that this was the way to go with TV.  What they didn't seem to understand was that the average age group of the TV audience was over 50 years of age and probably found altenative comedy totally un funny!  What I'm getting at here is that every theatre variety show I have been on is always well attended, meaning people still want it, they enjoy seeing different acts as well as top of the bill performers, unfortunately the pro acts are now becoming a dying breed and most 'new' acts have no theatre craft and can look really uncomfortable on stage.  All in all thank god that theatre hasn't gone down the same road as TV, it would be a shame if variety was something that grandparents talked about rather than whole generations enoying.


 

3/10/09

 

 

Ladies Nights!

 

 

When I started singing in 1989 and being a young virile 26 year old, I was thrust into doing ladies nights by my management agency.  The format for the show was always the same, there would be me, one or two male strippers and a comediene, normally Chrissy Rock as she was managed by the same company or Pauline Daniels who was and still is one of the best female stand ups around.  I would always go on first because as you can imagine once the stripper gets his 'python' out then what chance would I have!  I had some really memorable nights and I've always said that when women get together without male company they can be like wild animals, metaphoricaly speaking.  I never once thought that I would be deemed too old for these shows but about 10 years ago I was never to be asked to do another one.  That now seems to have changed!  As you know by now, I have re invented myself as a Tom Jones tribute and I am getting a lot of enquiries for ladies nights again (he is 70 you know girls?) I did one last night at St Pauls primary school in West Derby, the place was packed with girls who were all out for a good night and the Tom trib went down great especially when I gave out knickers for them to throw at me (how sad is that)  They had a great bar set up and the room looked great.  I have to say that by the end of the night I was absolutely knackered, I've definitely got to go back to the gym!  My point is, that you should never say never, the fact that I am not as young as I used to be and I have more lines on my face than I did then doesnt mean that you can't offer a service for all occassions even if you do look like the oldest swinger in town!

 

12/9/09

 

 

Ticket Nights

 

 

Every one will tell you that the hardest thing to do at the moment is putting ticket nights on at any venue whether it is a corporate hotel or charity night at your local club.  This is because the venue has to book the artiste first, probably contracted, and then is under pressure to sell the evening because if no one buys the tickets the venue still has to pay the act!  Last night I was booked to appear at St Bennetts church club for a charity night with the profits going to St Johs Hospice.  To be honest I have been full of flu all week and had to make a decision on the Friday morning whether to cancel or try and get through it.  What made it harder was that it was a Tom Jones trib as well, it's hard enough being myself!  Any way, any agent will tell you that I have to be really bad to cancel so even though I was no where near 100% I decided that morning that I would be doing it.  I have to say that every one involved in selling the night (£5 a ticket) and organising it did a great job as it was a sell out!  Im happy to say that i got through it as well without giving it away that I was struggling, this is probably down to the fact that the audience was brilliant, all up for a good night and I glad to say that they got one!

 

24/08/09

 

 

Showcases

 

Sorry i haven't blogged for a while but i've been so stressed out over work or lack of it that i couldn't bring myself to write!   I will be doing a couple of showcases this year, both with the intention of grabbing a couple of cruises with the tribute.  I always thought that i would be ideal for cruise work as i can do 2 different shows in the one week ( it's always a problem for cruise directors who may have a singer on for a week and have to use him twice as he is performing to the same audience and there is a fear that if they didnt like him the first time then they will hate him the second!) but i've just realised that there are so many acts out of work at the moment that the cruise companies can pick who they want and like any commodity the price can be screwed down to a minimum when they know we are all fighting for the same job.

 

 

 

 

09/04/09

 

 

Don't mention the 'C' word

 

 

Every time the phone rings lately i've got a feeling that it's an agent or client telling me that i've got another cancellation! The 'C' word is growing faster than any other in entertainment, for myself, i am finding that its the bigger corporate institutions that are being affected most.  I've already had 2 C's from top hotel chains who say that the people are just not booking or staying over.  I understand their predicament but i've also got my own problems to think about like having to pay my £1000000 mortgage and so on.  I am then expected to just accept the fact that i have no gig and so no money to pay the bills.  That leads me to my next gripe!  We all sign contracts stating that if the booking is cancelled within a certain time then i will be due a cancellation fee, and this can be anything from 50% to 100% of the fee.  The last cancellation that i had was for a well known hotel chain, the agent concerned rung me 7 days before the gig saying that the hotel have cancelled, i knew i would not be able to fill the date as it ws so close so i asked about the cancellation policy, and this is what really gets me...  He said that because they give him so much business he does'nt feel that its right to ask for any fee!  You can imagine what i came out with, he then said that if he gets me a pub gig would that suffice?  I was fuming by this time, whats the point of having contracts when the agent (not all agents i might add) is clearly working for their customer not their act!  As i've only had 1 gig in 2 years off them ive demanded 100% of the fee.  I do realise that c's are going to happen more regularly in this credit crunch, and as i write this blog i've just taken a call from tonights gig in Blundell Street who have had to cancel me because they have gone into administration and didn't renew their liscence so they can't have music or serve alcohol until it comes through which could take between 2 & 4 weeks. See what i mean...

 

17/2/09

 

 

Tom 'Snowy' Jones

 

Well thats irony for you!  I'm dying my hair and goaty beard for years to look like Tom Jones and he then goes au natural! The irony is, that my natural colour is like Toms, now pure white, but i havent got enough of it to cover my bonse so if i let the dye grow out i look bald!  Bloody Hell......

Saying that, i'm waiting to see what all the other tribs are doing first, i wonder if they will dye their's grey, ha ha they'll all look like twats! I would follow suit only i think that when you mention Tom Jones to people they think of his look of a dark mop of hair etc.  Anyway i'm off to Portugal in 2 hours so for now i'm the old look.

 

 

27/1/09

 

 

 

 

 

It's Bloody Quiet isn't it?

 

 

It's the end of Jan and i have to say that it is soooooo quiet regarding work.  I know we are now in deep recession and every one is feeling the pinch but we have been there before and got through it.  I have been in touch with the cruise companies who are holding back on booking artists until they see if they can fill their boats first with passengers!  I've also heard that instead of having 3 flown in acts as well as the on board theatre company they are now only going with 2!  I am getting a lot of enquiries for the end of the year and the weddings are coming in so lets all sit tight!

 

I got a nice call from a well established Tom Jones tribute who has seen my video on youtube and he was really impressed with the likeness to TJ's voice.  It's un heard of normally for another trib to say that especialy as its a really bitchy scene, he in fact offered me a gig that he couldn't do which was nice of him!

 

15/12/08

 

What credit crunch

 

Well, the christmas shows are well under way and people are still spending money like 'the credit crunch' is a new sweet on a restaurant menu.  Every hotel i work in the prices are just phenominal, the average being around £40 a head before they buy a drink!  That said i had a great night at Aintree Race Course last Saturday, there was 400 seated (but not for long) and the room was massive.  I always think that they are the hardest rooms to do because it is so difficult to communicate to people who are drunk and 40 yards away from you.  Nevertheless as soon as i kicked off (Sex Bomb) the dance floor was jammed and even the 2 ballads (Green Grass & Never Fall In Love)  were really well recieved.  Nearly came unstuck when i did Leave your Hat on as about half a dozen fellas started stripping there clothes off and one was escorted off the dance floor by security because it was deemed to be indecent! Quite bizzarre really as you had loads of young girls getting their tits out and nothing was being said about that, thankfully!  The best thing for me was the comments i got off the younger audience, 20 to 30's thay were all buzzing off the TJ tribute and let me know it!  The one downer though which nearly made me vomit on stage was when some dog end threw a pair of soiled knickers on to the stage, i mean come on!  That was sooooooo disgusting, i was so shocked i stopped the music and showed everyone but of course they all thought it was hilarious, i reckon it was a set up!

Bad news always comes in 3's

22/10/08

After hearing the news about Bobby Bright passing away, i was told 2 days ago about another old friend, Gary Thomaswho i worked with in the tribute scene for the Billy and Wally nights, he of course was Tony Christie and a real nice fella.  Then this morning i get a call to say that Alex Young had passed away!  I can't believe it, 3 of the nicest guys you are ever likely to meet, they say bad news comes in 3's.

Sad News of Bobby Bright (Camp David)

 

10/10/08  

 

I've just been told that one of my oldest friends in this business has unfortunately died today.  Bobby Bright one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Some people may know him by his stage name of Camp David.  I would like to pass on my condolences to his family, he will be greatly missed.  I first met Bobby 20 years ago when he was working in the office at Eagle Entertainments in Bootle with Chris Caulfield and John Mitchell. Bobby was from Kirkby, and when you saw the tattoos and the tooth missing he looked dead hard but i can assure you he could'nt of been any gentler, and he was so funny, it was just in his manner and disposition.  I know every one of the old school will be feeling as bad as i am right now and i know that we will all really miss him!

 

 

6/10/08

Bin a long time

 

 

 

Well, i haven't written anything for a while, you know? Keeping my head down and getting on with it....... Had a good summer work wise, lots of new places, i seem to be traveling a lot more to gigs though, and i don't mean to Spain but in this country.  In the same week i have been to London, Brighton and Newcastle, and i wonder why people say i look so tired....     it's because i am!

I've found this year that i have worked more for agents than in previous years, where i would pick up lots of private gigs with weddings etc, now this may be down to the credit crunch or it could be that the Tom Jones trib has taken over most of my work and agents really are the only medium to get the big jobs.  I have no problem with this of course as anyone who gets me work as i see it is working for me!  I have one last week in Ibiza coming up and i have a feeling that as its at the end of the season, there won't be many people there and i know that the weather has turned... never mind... i'm sure i'll get through it!


29/6/08

Toms Back yard

Its something doing a tribute to Tom Jones up and down the country to all kinds of audiences but i have to say i have just done a show in Porthcawl South Wales not far from where Tom was from has got to be the most daunting, and of course the audience are all from that area, you know.... picture the scene.... every one tells you how they know him, everyone has a story of Tom, everyone knew him before he was famous...dadadadada... and the list goes on.  So, to say that the pressure is on is an understatement.  I have to say that i have just passed a mile stone as i got a standing ovation from that audience... i know it sounds like i'm patting myself on the back here but hey!  let me tell you the way this tribute thing goes.... first of all you have to get passed the 'do i really sound like him' phase, then you get passed the 'do i look like him phase' and i have to say that this was the hardest for me as i can't wear a wig but i have grown the goaty and the false tan (look at my new Tom promotion photos) and once you've got past these two phases then it comes down to the nitty gritty ie being Tom in his own back yard.  What i really enjoyed was the fact that i felt really comfortable between the songs.  Normally i speak in my own voice between the songs but at this gig i started in Toms speaking voice, then worked my own in and then for the whole gig i mixed them both and it worked a treat.  I think that now all of the Tom trib demons have been laid to rest and if they need a trib in Pontypridd i will have my name on the list first.



26/6/08
National Anthems
Is it just me or does everyone think that we have the worst national anthem in the world?  I mean, it doesn't matter how good the singer is, musically, you cannot go anywhere with it and everyone now feels they have to give the last word the full monty and it still sounds shit, you know, god save our QUEEN.
There's no passion to the song either, it doesn't make me feel proud to be British when i sing it and i think it's because it's like no other anthem.  Take the 3 best anthems that i can think of, the Italian, the French and the American.  Everyone of those songs are about being proud of who you are and where you are from, what's ours about?  A 90 year old monarch, one of the richest women in the world, that we are happy to serve her until the day we die!  Are you having a laugh?
There's nothing about us as British individuals or a country for us to be proud of.  I honestly think we need a new one, a song that will bring us all together as a proud race, one that reminds us of the many people who have died fighting for us to be where we are today..... see it's getting better already!

31/5/08
Britains Got Talent
I'm fed up with people telling me that i should go on BGT, and i'll tell you why! Its because the format does no favours for acts who earn a living doing 2 X 45's.  What i mean is that i can take anyone on and i mean anyone over a 45 minute period but i cannot condense it into 1minute 45 seconds which is the time they give you to perform on the show.  Its about being high impact over a short period of time, thats why all of the pro acts i've seen have not progressed into the final.  If you look at all of the acts that were in the final, not one of them could keep you entertained for 45 minutes and that includes the 4 dolly birds who were stunning and again high impact under 2 minutes.  It was a bit embarrassing at times to see these pro act begging the panel to let them through or trying to justify what they did and why they did it because they never had a hope in hells chance of getting through and the singer from Scotland that did slip through was a joke, no star quality and out of tune. 
The amount of children in the show was a bit worrying 4 from 10 all under 14 years old and i say this because of the way the lad who came 3rd reacted when he was blown out.  My favourites to win came 2nd Signature were great, they could of easily won it but weren't they gracious in defeat.  I thought the winner was excellent, i don't know if he did his own choreography but it was so original, fast and the use of water was brilliant, a worthy winner and i wish him all the luck in the world.  He opitimises what acts should be on the Royal Variety unlike Paul Potts who for me won it with a 'i'm ugly, in a dead end job please change my life cause its great for TV.  Now you may think that i am being a bit harsh but its true, look.. how many songs have you seen him sing on TV 1 maybe 2 its always the same thing Nessun Dorma, bore the pants off everyone, no one has a clue what your singing and are only waiting for the last note!  Get a grip!  He struggled to hit it on the final and only won because of his struggle with life, so sad.  He will never be as good as Russel Watson who has the complete package and if you want to listen to Nessun Dorma done properly twice a night go and watch my good friend Billy Myers who has done it every night for the past 20 years.  So unless BGT changes its format where we all get a proper chance to show what we can do and not be upstaged by some Karaoke singer who has as much chance as anyone over 2 minutes then you will never see me on the box.

11/5/08
The Rain In Spain
Well it´s that time of year again and i´m back in Spain working for Thomson Gold.
Back home it´s touching 80 degrees but here in Spain the rain has been terential, i mean it to the point where you can´t go out in case you get washed away!
I´ve just done 3 days in Menorca and it pissed down every minute, the sun only came out the day that i left for Majorca and when i got there it was pissing down again and hasn't stopped since.  The shows have made up for it though as people have been in all day and are waiting to be entertained, which is good for all concerned.

24/2/08
Shameless!
I had the pleasure of working at a fantastic venue on Friday night, it was the Village hotel in Warrington.  The cabaret room was great and the staff were fantastic, so i was all set for a really good gig.  Unfortunately, you cannot pick your audience!
Everyone in the room who had paid the £25 entrance fee were normal people out for a good night.... all except 2 that is!  These two morons, boyfriend & girlfriend, and god did they suit each other, where high as a kite before the night began on illegal substances and proceeded to abuse anyone who got in there way, that is when they could stand up!  They were straight off the set of Shameless, it was sooooooooooo
embarrassingly cringeworthy!  Which leads me to ask about security, not for my protection but for the sake of everyone's night as these two should have been thrown out of the room so that he people who paid their good money to see entertainment could actually get what they paid for!

16/02/08
The dissapearing gigs
I have to say that this year has been the slowest in terms of filling my diary, it is a common trend across the board of the entertainment industry and i think there are a few factors that are making it worse.  If you look down any high streeet in any city, town or village the old DIY shops and traditional outlets are being closed down by the fact that B&Q, Tesco's and the like are much cheaper and so they can't survive. 
The problem for us is that these shops are being turned into either a pizza/take away shop or a Bargain Booze, i mean it you can get 12 cans of beer for £5 now, thats incredible, put this together with the smoking ban and people are now saying, they would rather stay in with a DVD, pizza and cheap beer and smoke themselves to death!

12/1/08
The One and Only..... disaster!
I really don't get it?  when this show was advertised it was meant to find the best of the best tribute acts around!  And yet going by Saturdays live show i actually think it will do more harm to our industry than good.  You can't tell me that those 12 acts are the best in this country in their field, i've never seen so many nervous, hapless, lethargic performances in all my life, not one of them actually believe in themselves.

Elton John: Obviously got in cause he can play the piano, is vocally week and looks like a clown.
Frank Sinatra: should stick to drivimg his van, i cant believe he got through instead of david Knopov.  He looked like he was going to pass out, you could see the fear in his eyes.
Rod Stewart: was having a laugh! he was nothing like the real thing again a wooden performance
Robbie Williams: I wondered who would be the first to start crying! Why have they included a tribute that the Yanks hate?
Maddona: A bit difficult for her as she had to learn the dance routines but sounded like her in places
Cher: I think Cher is an awful singer anyway but she did look like her a bit
Britney Spears: why oh why is she in it? Britney has only had a couple of hits so i can't see her lasting and i did'nt think the tribute looked or sounded like her at all!
Kylie: Of all the songs to pick, they pick the worst!  I thought the girl had a better voice than Kylie who for me squeeks them out through her nose but again i dont know where they are going to go with her
Diana Ross: Looked and sounded like her in parts but did not have the vocal control to be considered as a quality tribute
Dusty Springfield: was vocally weak
Lionel Ritchie: I actually liked!!

and that brings me to the Tom Jones.  Without being rude, he is so overweight as Tom Jones, so instead of making him into the now Tom who is portly they dress him up as the 30 year old Tom who is athletic, good looking and extremely mobile, the guy looks out of his depth.  We first see him at a club the TV show are playing Its not Unusual by Tom, then it cuts to him who is singing the same song only 2 keys lower!  How can he be regarded as the best Tom Jones when he can't even sing in the same key?  Then, to cap it all, he committed a cardinal sin.... he came on stage singing Pussy Cat, very badly i might add, but he also does'nt realise that Tom is left handed and always holds the mike in his left hand, of course he has it in his right hand again how can you be the best of the best when fundamentally you are nothing like the real thing?

Can anyone tell me why those two vocal coaches are the be all and end all of this show? it's pathetic and to cap it all the sing off was excruciating when the acts decide who stays in, as if poor Rod had not been crucified enough his so called mates booy him off, since when has a van driver or police woman had the musical credentials to say who is better than who?  It's like a throw back to the Reigate club

7/1/08
The one and only blessing in disguise
I am really dissapointed in the new one and only tribute show on BBC1, it looks like its just been thrown together, thats not sour grapes by the way, i know i didnt get on the show, but i dont think it is trying to ahieve its goal, how can you put people through to a sing off who have only ever sung on a karaoke?  i mean come on, lets get serious here they are bound to be nervous, have no mannerisms of the trib they are taking off and really dont sound like the person either.  This was emphasised when most of the pro acts got through to the live show!  Why didnt they put 3 pro acts up against each other.  It got slated in the press and all of the acts where hung drawn and quartered especially Millie Monroe who took off Tina Turner and as there are another 8 live shows to go i think it may be a blessing in disguise that i didnt get through, we will have to wait and see!

6/1/08
New venue rises from the ashes
With so many venues closing down, it's great to see an old venue rising up from the ashes.  Esperantos in South Road Crosby has been taken over and the new owners are serious that they want to make it a success, so much so that they plan a £100,000 re fit.  It will be managed by my good friend Martin Young who is a great singer in his own right and as well as managing the place he will also compere most of the shows with his crooners spot.  Their vision is to get rid of the old tag that the venue used to have and replace it with a venue that will attract people who enjoy great food and good entertainment in a relaxed comfortable atmosphere.  The venue opens at the end of Feb and I will be performing on Sat 29th March as Tom Jones and i would ask anyone who knows the venue to try it out as i think you will be pleasantly surprised!!


28/12/07
Christmas 2007 was no Cracker!
Having surrendered myself to the corporate market throughout December, performing usually in hotels up and down the country, i find that the audiences have totally forgotten why we are there in the first place!  The criteria has changed radically as it's not about how talented you are at entertaining the masses keeping them transfixed for over an hour but it seems to me that its about how loud you are and can you keep them on the dance floor for over an hour!  Sometimes i feel that my 18 years of hard work has all been for nothing as you can programme a donkey to do a dance spot!  I have also noticed how a lot of venues have struggled to sell the evenings even in the easiest month in the year, as i had 2 cancellations a week before each show, not very happy about that either!
I must say though that i picked a small club in Litherland (Constitutional) on Boxing night and it re-instated that there are real audiences out there who do appreciate good entertainment and it was a pleasure to be there.



07/12/07
Britains Got Talent Shoot!
Well i have to say that i have just experienced a really embarrasing moment in my career.  I have travelled 4 hours to Cardiff by train to film the opening sequence to the Welsh leg of Britains Got Talent, and here's me thinking i would be in a theatre but no! i was outside Cardiff Castle in the pouring rain leaning against a bus stop with cars, vans, lorries and shoppers all walking past me thinking i'm a crank in my TJ get up, there is a camera crew across the main road secretly filming me singing the Green Green Grass of Home and Delilah..... Oh how low can it get?  I was freezing cold and soaking wet and the whole filming experience only took half an hour and then i was back on the train home!  The show will be aired in May so don't blink cause you might just miss me.

10/11/07
Britains Got Talent! and Tom Jones
Who said that lightening doesnt strike twice?  I'm just feeling good about my audition for the Ultimate tribute show and then yesterday i get a call from a researcher for the ITV show Britains Got Talent!  Now before you think i'm going to be a contestant, i'm not!  People who know me know how i feel about competitions like that, it's never been my goal to enter a comp like that or like X Factor where any wannabe karaoke singer can blow you out in 3 minutes and especially at my age (44) i know, i've had a hard life, but i like to be judged over a 45 minute spot.  Anyway.... I've been invited to open the Cardiff end of the show as Tom Jones with a Shirley Bassey trib called Surely Bassey, great name...Ya know, sing a song, meet and greet the contestants, that sort of thing which is great because it puts you up a level as you have been invited to do a public appeance, and when you think that the show last year was watched by over 15 million people it will be great exposure for me. 
God! Do you think lightening strikes 3 times?

6/11/07
The Ultimate tribute TV show!
Well, i've just been for an audition in Manchester for a new show that comes out in the new year called 'The Ultimate Tribute'  Basically they are auditioning 18 different tribs from Tom Jones to Rod Stewart, Robbie Williams etc and for the girls, Cher, Madonna to Britney Spears.  It will be hosted by Graham Norton.  They will trim the cast list down to 5 boys tribs and 5 girls tribs by the time it gets on air and then the show goes totally live with the viewing public voting to keep their favourites in. 
If i got it i would have to move to London for 2 months and the winner gets a contract in Las Vegas in the famous Ledgends show.  I will keep you posted!!
I've always been concerned that i dont look like TJ and until now its never bothered me but i have to say that for this audition i grew a goatie and i have to say it enhances the look of the great man himself, so i think it might be staying on for a while atleast until after the christmas rush where i am out most nights as Tom and if i progress in the TV show only i will have to get some new publicity done with the new look. There was another TJ trib who did look amazing, he had the wig the goatie the tan, i was well impressed, his name was Adam Wood and he has spent a lot of time perfecting his look and his vocals were good too!

12/10/07
Could be the best tribute i've ever seen!
last night i went to Blundel street in Liverpool to see a George Michael tribute called Rob Lamberti.  Now i am not the biggest fan of the ex Wham star and to be honest that was not the reason i went, but I've heard such a lot about Rob and thought i would go and check him out.  Rob won Stars in their eyes many years ago and he is one of the longest serving tributes around so i expected him to be good, but i have to say that he exceeded all expectations as he was absolutely brilliant!  If you can imagine someone who is a mirror image of the real thing on stage and sounds just like the record, and i am not exaggerating here by the way, to the point where i do believe that he is the best tribute i have ever seen!  He had the crowd mesmerised for over an hour and twenty minutes all the girls were up on the dance floor as he sang hit after hit and he segued the whole set only stopping for a well earned drink a few times.  When he finished he came back out without the wig or designer stubble and just mingled with everyone else, no one really recognised him as being George Michael it was brilliant!!  I had a few words with him before i left, i think it's always nice for your peers to recognise the hard work you have put in to your show and he was extremely humble and an all round nice guy which topped it for me because the one thing i cannot stand is tributes who actually believe they are the act that they are copying! That is really sad... Thank god your one of us Robby lad.

5/10/07
Showcase Show Off
Last night i did a showcase at the Willows Manchester for an agency called Unit One, if you don't know what a showcase is, it's where you do a 15 minute performance in front of bookers and agents in the hope of getting more gigs.  In any other industry it would be called touting for work.  Anyway i have done lots of them before but never solely as the Tom Jones tribute!  Which was a bit scary for me as there were lots of other tribs on the bill including a George Michael, Meatloaf, Oasis & The Police.  I have to say it was unusually well organised, we even got sandwiches and coffee, now thats a first!  Normally the acts are the least important people of the whole day so i can't complain.  I normally trip over at least 4 or 5 ego's on these nights with up and coming acts spouting on about how fantastic they are and remembering when they topped this bill and that bill but unfortunately there wasn't many of them either, which is sad cause i can buzz off them for weeks.  I have to say though there was one and they were another well known tribute band only this time they had 'another original  front line member! who i won't name for obvious reasons so we will just call him Lazarus because he must of been like all the others raised from the dead again.  They did over 17 songs in their sound check, seriously, it took over an hour, let me put it into context, I and others sang 2 lines, that was it! it was so diva and the classic came when a mobile rang and this prima donna shouted "Hey thats probably the hotel!"  I thought get a life you crank, your here like the rest of us because you can't get enough work!  That said they were very good although i was back stage when they missed there cue's to enter the stage and were all running round like headless chickens, it made me chuckle.  It was good to see my old friend comedian Gary Skynner who really was funny and is doing really well!

So.... i was in turmoil because until you have performed for the industry you don't know how the people in power are going to react to you.  I felt that i did myself justice, but i'm not one of those tribs who thinks they really are the character they are portraying, that is so sad, but unfortunately when you do these shows they expect you to fully play the part!  So i had no breaks between the songs, mumbled a few lines from the valleys, nailed all the high notes and swung my hips like a Bev Callard keep fit DVD and hoped that it got me through. I bumped into Neil and Nicky from Garston Entertainments, probably one of the most successful agencies in the North West, and if you want an honest opinion without being patronised then he will give it to you!  Thankfully they thought it was spot on which i have to say is a relief for me.  Now all i have to do is cross my fingers that Mark Ritchie from the Stage Mag thought the same thing and i get a good review because it's read by everyone in the business and can make or break you.  I will let you all know how i get on, till then 'Rock on Tommy'

1/10/07
Nightmare In Majorca
Well, i´m in Majorca again and the past two visits have been great, this time though i´ve had an absolute nightmare!  I nearly missed the flight out because i wasn´t informed that the airline had moved the departure forward by an hour and a half, so i had 10 minutes to catch it and of course i get on the plane but my case doesn´t!  Have you ever had that feeling of being the last at the carousel praying your bag comes through the hatch?  That was Friday morning, it turned up on Sunday evening!  So i´ve had no clothes, stage wear, it´s been a nightmare, it´s the first time i´ve ever felt like giving it all up because in a foreign country no one wants to help and to make it worse my hire car was towed away from outside the hotel i´m staying at and i had to pay 200 Euros to get it back!  Every six months in Cala Bona they change the parking restrictions so you either can park on the left or right hand side of the road depending what month it is!  How bizarre is that, so you can imagine how that put the top hat on it, and to make it worse i´ve got a stinking cold and feel like shit!  Right, that´s my moan out of the way, i better get by the pool and see if i can sweat this cold out, it´s a hard life innit?

16/9/07
To be or not to be? a tribute
If you look at my Gig Guide you will see that the Tom Jones tribute seems to be taking over most of my performances, and considering that i swore i would never do a tribute i have to say that i really do enjoy copying Tom!  It's always great fun as there really is no pressure on me unlike when i do my cabaret show to an audience who really don't know what i am going to do because most people who come to see the tribute show are Tom Jones fans anyway.  I always had this argument that it had taken me the best part of 10 years to earn the respect of the industry as being a major player in entertainment but i have to say that if people are prepared to pay me to copy someone then i will.  I have always said that i want to last as long as i can in the business and longevity really depends on how flexible and adaptable you can be to your audience and most importantly you must be prepared for change as if you don't you will be left behind with all of the others.  I speak to a lot of entertainers who all boast about how long they have been in the business and yet they are no further on than when they started, so when they tell me that they have been in the business 20 years i reply No! they have been in the business 1 year and done it 20 times!!



27/7/07
I have just finished my first week in Majorca where i am appearing as Tom Jones at all of the 4 star Thomson Gold hotels.  I have to say that the audiences are absolutely brilliant!  I suppose it doesn't seem like work when you wake up to 90 degrees of sunshine having your breakfast on the beach.  The hotels i work at are for adults only with an average age of about 50 and so there's not the pressure of having to deal with kid's at the front of the stage who have been sent there by their parents to give them an hours peace while they get drunk and their kids are harassing the singer!  I have 2 more weeks to do there one in August and one in September and so i'm hoping to have an all year round tan though the way i burn i will end up like a crisp!!