The Night Tom Jones Rocked Woking’s Atalanta Ballroom

Published on: 13 Apr, 2025
Updated on: 16 Apr, 2025

By Woking history researcher Mark Coxhead, with David Rose

Saturday, February 26, 1965 was a night to remember in the swinging Sixties of Woking, when Tom Jones and his band played at the Atalanta Ballroom in Commercial Road.

Tom Jones. Picture: Wikimedia Commons.

It was the same night that it was revealed that his song, It’s Not Unusual, had reached number one in the pop music charts.

The following week’s Woking News & Mail reported on the gig, writing that at one point during Tom’s performance excited fans had pulled him from the stage and it took three men to help him back up!

Also revealed to his fans at the Atalanta that night was that the singing sensation from the valleys of South Wales was married!

The reporter who wrote the story had gone backstage before the gig and wrote that as Tom waited to go on stage he warmed his feet in front of a coal fire! And added that Tom’s energetic act on stage reminded him of the American singer and pianist Little Richard.

The Atalanta Ballroom, Commercial Road, Woking

Tom’s encore was his hit It’s Not Unusual, and afterwards, as his fans chanted “We want Tom”, he made his exit by the back door of the Atalanta.

It seems the reporter followed Tom and his band the Squires, plus their friends, to the Red House pub in Woking.

When the pub’s manager, Allen Crabbe, heard that It’s Not Unusual was top of the charts, he called out: “Drinks on the house!”

Original single and paper sleeve of It’s Not Unusual by Tom Jones.

The newspaper report added that while at the Red House, Tom and his companions signed autographs on anything they could find including menu cards and shirts.

Sir Tom Jones was born on June 7, 1940 and rose to fame in the 1960s. He has sold over 100 million records globally and received numerous awards, including a Grammy and two Brit Awards.

Besides singing, he has also acted in films and served as a coach on TV’s The Voice UK, contributing to a resurgence in his popularity.

Sir Tom Jones at The Queen’s Birthday Party in 2018. Picture; Wikimedia Commons.

In 2006, he was knighted for his contributions to music.

The other link to Woking of Tom Jones and his song It’s Not Unusual, was that it was co-written by the Woking-born acclaimed songwriter Les Reed (1935-2019) with Tom’s manager Gordon Mills.

Wikipedia notes: Les Reed was an English songwriter, arranger, musician and light-orchestra leader. His major songwriting partners were Gordon Mills, Barry Mason, and Geoff Stephens. Reed co-wrote around 60 charting songs, and is best known for It’s Not Unusual, Delilah, The Last Waltz and Marching On Together. His songs gained a number of gold discs and Ivor Novello Awards. Allmusic.com noted that: “In the mid-1960s, it was unusual for a British singles chart not to list a Les Reed song”. He won the British Academy Gold Badge of Merit in 1982.

The Atalanta Ballroom

Originally serving as the Sunday school and manse of Woking’s Wesleyan Chapel, the building became a YMCA centre around the time of the First World War.

Known as “The Atta”, the Atalanta Ballroom eventually transformed into one of Woking’s most iconic music venues under the ownership of the late Bob Potter.

Woking’s Atalanta Ballroom.

The ballroom was renowned for its sprung floor, where many of the latest dance crazes, such as the Jitterbug, were performed.

Initially, it hosted up to six resident bands, but this changed to a variety of visiting groups over time.

Perhaps the most notable performance was by the Rolling Stones on June 19, 1963.

On some Saturdays the entertainment continued until 5am. The venue attracted a diverse crowd, including local residents and military personnel stationed at Woking’s Inkerman Barracks.

Plans for a new town centre in the early 1960s included a replacement for the Atalanta, likely situated on the first floor of an office block.

However, this new location resembled more of a nuclear bunker than a historic dance hall, and the proposed rent of £4,500 was deemed too excessive for Bob Potter.

Despite a public outcry and a large petition against the demolition, the council proceeded, and the building was demolished in January 1972 to make way for the Wolsey Place shopping centre.