Howard Jones’ career has always been about the big picture. The singer, songwriter and keyboardist’s songs explore universal themes including enlightenment, transcendence, and seeing past one’s struggles in order to embrace the wider horizon beyond it. He’s sold millions of albums and had 15 top-40 global singles. And while his music often overflows with addictive pop hooks, soaring vocals and creative arrangements, when you dig deeper, you’ll find those larger perspectives embedded within.
Jones remains a household name for anyone who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Global hits including “Things Can Only Get Better,” “No One is to Blame,” “What is Love?” and “New Song” are permanent parts of the pop culture tapestry of the era. Major movies and television shows including Breaking Bad, Stranger Things, Bumblebee, GLOW, Eddie the Eagle, Halt and Catch Fire, and Everybody Hates Chris have featured them in recent times. His 1984 debut album Human’s Lib and the 1985 follow-up Dream into Action continue to transcend generations, with 2018 super-deluxe reissues on Cherry Red Records selling out based on pre-orders alone.
Perhaps the biggest signifier of Jones’ cultural impact at the time was his appearance at the UK Live Aid show at Wembley Stadium in July 1985, during which he played a solo piano version of “Hide and Seek” that was broadcast to 1.9 billion viewers—40 percent of the Earth’s population.
Since those halcyon days, Jones’ musical approach has dramatically expanded and evolved. In addition to electronic pop output, he’s explored the realms of solo piano, string quartets, minimalism, and choral music.
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Jones released two career highlights: 2005’s Revolution of the Heart and 2009’s Ordinary Heroes. The former saw Jones revisiting the buoyant electronic direction of his early work. The latter showcased Jones’ songwriting at its most personally revealing, with string and choir arrangements.
He unveiled Engage in 2015. It was an expansive, interactive experience that crisscrossed myriad disciplines. It’s part boundary-breaking album, film, mobile app, book, and live performance. Musically, it brought together the worlds of pop, electronica, contemporary classical, and ambient. Engage marked the beginning of a four-part series. The second chapter, Transform, was released in May 2019. It includes three collaborations with the celebrated American electronica musician and producer BT.
“The performance formats are different, but they’re all related,” said Jones. “Music created using software, computers and keyboards is entirely connected to music played solo on piano. Some people criticize electronic music as people pushing buttons and claim there’s no emotion. But a piano is also a series of switches and playing it well is about learning how to press the switches in a very precise way. What all the formats have in common is that there’s a lot of freedom and flexibility. There are also elements of risk and improvisation. Regardless of the format, I’m always extending pieces, mixing up elements and incorporating audience interaction. The shows are about the creativity that’s brought to the instruments being played, not the instruments themselves. My goal is simply to move the audience, no matter what the format is.”
Jones’ music is significantly influenced by spirituality. He has a wide-open perspective inclusive of a multitude of worldviews. He believes different faiths and paths are complementary, including his focus as a practicing Buddhist for more than 20 years.
One constant has remained across Jones’ four-decade career: using music as a force for good.
