The Arctic Monkeys covered a classic by a Welsh diva at Glastonbury. Now Tom Jones replies on Shirley Bassey’s behalf at the Concert For Diana…
Tom Jones covers the Arctic Monkeys’ I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor (badly)
I should probably start by saying that of course I’m not watching the Concert For Diana because I want to. Although I have enjoyed more than someone with my taste in music probably should, and hey, if it’s good enough for Pharell, Lily & Kanye, it’s good enough for me.
Anyway, at Glastonbury last week the Arctic Monkeys covered Shirley Bassey’s classic James Bond theme Diamond Are Forever, because she was playing on the Sunday. I had hoped that Shirley would repay the favour in kind, but whilst she acknowledged it, she didn’t actually sing one of their songs.
Instead it has been left to fellow Welsh diva Tom Jones to return the compliment on Shirley’s behalf (and if anyone gives good cover, it’s him). At this afternoon’s Concert For Diana (kind of like a musical wake in memory of the 10th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana) he performed a cover version of the Arctic Monkey’s breakthrough single, I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.
I’m a big fan of Tom Jones and would like to be able to say that he made the song his own. But by changing the main structure of the song, it lost its appeal; only on the chorus did we really get a feel for what a big band lounge version of this song, which is already a rock classic, might sound like. Instead, even with Aerosmith gutarist Joe Perry in his band, it ended up as a bit of light country rock, better left to a Cardiff karaoke night.
Maybe Tom Jones will cover I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor again some time soon, and improve on this so-so version. In the meantime (and because no-one has yet got round to uploading the footage to YouTube), at the top bottom of this post is the amazing original version that started the Arctic Monkeys on their journey to world (well, British) domination, whilst Tom’s version is at the top.
Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor (as covered by Tom Jones)