In November 2002, during an episode of Later… with Jools Holland, Tom Jones stepped onto the stage and delivered a performance that few expected — a restrained, introspective rendition of “International.” There were no flashy visuals, no dramatic gestures, and no attempt to dominate the room. Instead, the studio fell into a quiet, almost reverent stillness.
“International,” written by Bob Dylan and released on his 2001 album Love and Theft, is not an easy song. Its lyrics are reflective, slightly cryptic, and tinged with weariness. It observes the world rather than celebrates it. When Tom Jones chose this song for a televised performance, it immediately signaled that this was not going to be a typical Tom Jones moment.
By 2002, Tom Jones was in his early sixties — an age when many performers rely heavily on nostalgia. Yet instead of revisiting his biggest hits, he was entering a phase defined by artistic depth and restraint. His musical direction at the turn of the millennium leaned toward blues, soul, gospel, and Americana, revealing a singer more interested in meaning than spectacle.
The performance of “International” captured that evolution perfectly. Jones did not overpower the song. He allowed it to breathe. His voice, seasoned by decades of performing, carried a natural rasp and emotional weight that younger singers simply could not replicate. Each line sounded lived-in, as though the lyrics were drawn from personal experience rather than memorized.
What made the moment especially striking was the atmosphere. The audience in the studio remained unusually still. The band played with subtlety, creating a sparse backdrop that emphasized Jones’s vocal delivery. There was no sense of performance-for-performance’s-sake — only presence.
Choosing a Bob Dylan song also carried symbolic weight. Dylan is known primarily for his words; Tom Jones, historically, for his voice. In “International,” those two legacies intersected. Jones respected the song’s lyrical complexity while adding his own interpretive strength, transforming it into something uniquely his.
Critics later pointed to this era as one of the most artistically rewarding periods of Tom Jones’s career. Free from the need to chase chart success or youthful trends, he embraced material that reflected his age, his experiences, and his worldview. The result was music that felt honest and unforced.
On Later… with Jools Holland, Tom Jones appeared not as the larger-than-life entertainer of earlier decades, but as a storyteller. “International” unfolded like a quiet confession — a reflection on the modern world, human displacement, and perhaps even the loneliness that can accompany long success.
It wasn’t a shocking performance in a dramatic sense. It was unsettling in its calmness. And that is precisely why, more than two decades later, this appearance remains one of the most quietly powerful moments in Tom Jones’s television career.