Tom Jones scraps show
WELSH singing icon Tom Jones has cancelled his show at Resorts
World Sentosa (RWS) - again.
The 69-year-old singer's doctor has advised him against carrying
on with the show on Thursday night as he 'could risk serious
permanent damage to his vocals'.
Jones stopped his show after two songs there last Friday and has
been diagnosed with acute laryngitis. He has been recuperating in
Singapore since then. Thursday's performance was supposed to be his
make-up show.
In a statement on Thursday, RWS said Thursday's concert had been
called off due to Jones' being 'genuinely ill'.
'He stayed behind in Singapore with the full intention to
perform for his fans. He was advised by his doctor only today
against risking permanent loss of his vocals by staging the
performance. We again apologise to our guests,' said Andrea Teo,
RWS vice president of entertainment.
RWS assured patrons that full ticket refunds would be made. The
management also apologised for disappointing Singapore fans and
said it would try to reschedule the performances in the near
future. Separately, Jones' management team also released a
statement, saying that Jones' doctor had forced the star to cancel
the concert.
'Sir Tom has been resting his voice all week in Singapore, with
regular checkups with local specialists. Unfortunately, the doctors
are nevertheless unable to guarantee that Sir Tom would be able to
perform the full show tonight at 100 per cent vocal strength. In
addition, they have warned that by performing, Sir Tom could risk
serious permanent damage to his vocals.'
Meanwhile, an irate Indonesian concert-goer - one of 4,000
disappointed by Jones' walkout last Friday - has issued a letter
demanding compensation from the singer and RWS, reported
mypaper.
Mr Hotman Paris Hutapea, 50, a litigation lawyer and founder of
law firm Hotman Paris and Partners in Jakarta, said his firm is
preparing to file a civil suit against RWS, its agent in Indonesia
and the singer.
He is also seeking compensation for his and his friend's
expenses on flight, accommodation and transportation, and punitive
damages of US$2 million.
He and his friend each bought a $368 concert ticket. He paid
$540 for flights for both of them, and stayed two nights at the
Mandarin Orchard Singapore. He told mypaper he was filing a civil
suit because he wanted to teach the singer and the concert
organisers 'a lesson'.
-- ST