The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Two Nights with Asia's Tom Jones

Without a doubt, the best thing to do in Phnom Penh on any given weekend is to spend an evening at an Asia’s Tom Jones performance at the Hotel Cambodiana, the largest and most over-the-top hotel in Phnom Penh. This Tom Jones impersonator par-excellence plays nightly in a bar that looks like it came straight outta Vegas. Gold pillars, lavish mirrors, and slot machines abound!

I first went to see this literal Phnom-enon three weeks ago with my friends Duncan and Gin. Not knowing what to expect, and thinking that I would hardly enjoy it (considering I’m barely a fan of Tom Jones’ music), I entered the extravagant bar and my spirits were instantly lifted.

Asia’s Tom Jones was introduced as such—not by his real name, but as “Asia’s Tom Jones,” a man clouded in a shroud of mystery. Who is he? What motivates him? And why is he in Cambodia?

As we found out, Asia’s Tom Jones is a force to be reckoned with—he’s over 50, yet his pelvic thrusts, arm swings, gluteal rotations, and countless other dance moves are performed with the vitality of a 25-year-old Tom Jones when “It’s Not Unusual” just came out.

Asia’s Tom Jones came onstage wearing tight black pants, a slick black Jacket that he throws off when he starts sweating, and a black shirt which was progressively unbuttoned throughout the night. His hair was crafted into a perfect Tom Jones ‘fro, and he even impersonated the real Tom Jones’ Welsh accent, turning Asia’s Tom Jones’ speech into a crazy concoction of Malaysian-Indian-Welsh English.

Serenading the audience

On our first night seeing this legend, we were joined by two British Tom Jones fans who happened to be passing through Phnom Penh during a 2-year stint of traveling the world. They downed their drinks twice as quickly as the rest of us and were up dancing and singing along just as quickly. Singing without a backing band, Asia’s Tom Jones wailed through hits like Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” as well as Tom Jones’ “Delilah” and “Sex Bomb.” His voice held a power and range that I have rarely heard in a live performance. Without a band, he was essentially singing over pre-recorded synth-versions of these songs—more or less, it was the best karaoke performance I have ever heard.

Even more remarkably, without a band, Asia’s Tom Jones had to create all of the energy onstage by himself, which he executed with ease. He had people clapping and singing along throughout the performance, and towards the end, a bunch of wealthy Khmers got up and danced and we all joined in. Towards the end of the night, the Khmers raised their arms in the air as they belted out the lyrics in an accented chorus until Asia’s Tom Jones finished his encore in a ball of sweat and energy.

Everybody gettin' down to Asia's Tom Jones during "Sexbomb"

However, to our mutual disappointment, Asia’s Tom Jones neglected to sing “It’s Not Unusual.” It was a strategic move, however, as this omission just fanned the flames of our admiration and forced Duncan, Gin and I to go back two weeks later.

Duncan, Gin and I posing with Asia's Tom Jones. We are all in a state of ecstasy after his performance. In fact, his performances can be rated based on how sweaty he is at the end of the show. After this photo, when my arm let go of Asia's Tom Jones' back and shoulder, it was covered in sweat. It was truly one of his best shows ever!

The second time around, I brought the Huge in Asia crew with me. Nate, Kai, and Alan are from Oakland and have been living in Hanoi the last few months, volunteering at an orphanage, teaching English, and filming AMAZING videos that are posted on their Vlog, www.hugeinasia.com. A few weeks ago, they rented motorcycles and biked down to Ho Chi Minh City and then over to Cambodia. Desiring to have fun in Phnom Penh and generate material for their Vlog, we agreed that the best thing to do that evening was to encounter, admire, and really try to understand Asia’s Tom Jones.

We arrived with high hopes, only to have them crushed by a lackluster first set. I think Asia’s Tom Jones was disappointed by how few people were in the audience. Duncan and Gin even left after that first set. However, not to be dissuaded and knowing that Asia’s Tom Jones was saving his best stuff for later in the evening, Huge in Asia and I elected to film an interview with him during his set break. Asia’s Tom Jones agreed, and he walked to the interview down a yellow-lit corridor like a true rock star. The four of us sat down and interviewed him in the lobby of the hotel, and what we discovered was a truly moving rags-to-riches story, if riches are calculated in undying admiration across the world by Tom Jones’ fans and the opportunity to play at festivals with 30,000 people in attendance, accompanied by a 40-piece backing band (quite the contrast from his Karaoke gig at the Cambodiana).

Gin and I in the yellow-lit corridor. Even we look cool in these pictures, so you can imagine how heroic and badass Asia's Tom Jones looked walking down this same hallway.

Part of the mystery of this man was revealed during the interview, including his real name—Mark Sylvester. He is a Malaysian of Indian descent. In 1980, with no money in his pocket at age 25, he decided to impersonate the singer for whom he had the most admiration in the world—Tom Jones. It didn’t hurt that he knew the lyrics to all of Tom Jones’ songs because they were constantly played on the radio in the electronics repair shop where he was working at the time. So Mr. Sylvester entered an American Idol-esque contest and won!

He didn’t think about making a career of it, until, out of pure luck, had the opportunity to meet the real Tom Jones on the star’s Malaysian tour stop only six months later, in late 1980. From there, he knew he had to follow his dream. He has been known as Asia’s Tom Jones ever since.

The interview truly reached its peak when Asia’s Tom Jones described how he enters into another state of being during performances, channeling the energy and sexual power of Tom Jones himself.

This interview reinvigorated Asia’s Tom Jones, and he came into the second set with a vengeance and a desire to truly rock our worlds. At that point, the bar was filled with about 50 people who were ready to be rocked.

What’s more, Asia’s Tom Jones allowed us to film his second set. Alan and Kai took shot from different angles all around the bar. At times, Asia’s Tom Jones sang directly into the camera, making funny faces and sexually suggestive advances to the lens. At one point, he even unbuttoned his shirt more than usual and presented the audience with a squeeze of one beautiful bosom.

To take us even higher than we already were, Asia’s Tom Jones broke out “It’s Not Unusual” towards the end of the set. Everyone clapped and sang along, as Asia’s Tom Jones swung his hips and arms in perfect impersonation, nay, complete admiration, of the real Tom Jones. During the last song, Kai, Nate and I got up to dance, and Asia’s Tom Jones sang directly to us. We wanted the whole place to join in, and finally one European got up and showed us his moves. When the song was over, we all experienced a feeling of utter bliss as we shook Asia’s Tom Jones’ hand as he left the stage.

Truly, Asia’s Tom Jones is an event not to miss. Duncan, Gin and I are going to figure out when he his playing his last show in Phnom Penh, and we will bring everyone we know to the performance so he can give us an utterly incredible farewell.

Huge in Asia made a Video of the evening, and it is a downright moving piece of art. See the video here: Asia’s Tom Jones Video. The video may take a while to load, but trust me, it will be one of the best things you watch this year!