I saw Sir Tom Jones at Bootle's newest music venue and he was truly sublime

A ‘sexbomb’ exploded on Friday night as Sir Tom Jones brought his superstar status and his endless greatest hits catalogue to Bootle town centre. After a career spanning 60 years and sold out performances across the world, the Welsh ‘Tiger’ arrived in Bootle on sensational form and left the stage to rapturous applause.

According to some records, Tom Jones first performed in Liverpool at the Empire Theatre in 1967 while the oldest photographic evidence captured his show at the same venue in 1987. Regardless of the date, few could have imagined Tom would still be shaking his hips and belting out hits at 84-years-old.

Perhaps even more surreal is the location of this performance which was in Bootle’s new venue on Washington Parade. Salt & Tar is the new 3000 capacity multi-use event space launched earlier this year by chart-topping local band, Red Rum Club. It has been backed by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and delivered by Sefton Council as part of its new regeneration programme for Bootle town centre.

It was a huge booking for Salt & Tar and we can confirm Sir Tom Jones came, sang and conquered Bootle; whipping up the audience with a stacked setlist of his greatest hits. The octogenarian sex bomb was truly sublime, his voice was as powerful and emotive as it ever was and now with a ripened timbre.

Sir Tom came onto the stage at Salt & Tar to hysterical cheers and applause with audience members barely able to believe what they were seeing. I know how they felt.

As if to pull the wool over our eyes and misdirect us, Tom’s first song was I’m Growing Old which was sombrely delivered and respectfully received. But then the beat kicked in for Not Dark Yet and Tom broke out into a big smile and shouted “LIVERPOOL!” and then he was off strutting his stuff across the stage.

After this Sir Tom made some time to pay homage to Liverpool’s musical history and his friendships with comedian Jimmy Tarbuck and singer Cilla Black. What followed was a steady stream of solid gold hits including It’s Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat, Sexbomb and Green Green Grass of Home which were all accompanied by the audience singing along to every word. “It’s ok”, Tom reassured the audience, “I invite you to sing along to every song”.

There were also some fascinating introductions to the songs as the legendary crooner told stories about his career and how he came to create his back catalogue. These stories ranged from his love of Bob Dylan, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Burt Bacharach and Willy Nelson. There was also a nod to his involvement with the Full Monty film as he prepared to sing You Can Leave Your Hat On.

The show was a 90 minute masterclass in popular music spanning the decades and the generations. Indeed, the audience was made up of people of all ages and is a testament to Sir Tom’s talent, his work ethic and his enduring legacy. As he wrapped up the set with a four-song encore, he sang out into the Bootle sky an emotional rendition of One Hell of a Life – he certainly has.

For Bootle, Sefton Council and everyone involved with this event at Salt & Tar, this weekend’s events have been a huge success. This venue is one of the high-profile first phases of the regeneration of Bootle town centre and it has people really excited for what’s coming next.