Talk:Howard Jones (British musician)

Keyboard from compensation

I'd always understood that the keyboard Howard received two of was for Moog Rogue?

Is there anything to substantiate this either way?

Thanks!

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Yeah! He has two Moog Prodigy's!!

N

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My apologies, you're right, not the Rogue. Just found this in a SoundonSound article on the Yamaha VL1. It's part of an interview with Howard "The VL1 is the most exciting synth I have had the pleasure of getting my mitts on for years. It takes me back to the memories of recieiving my first synth (Moog Prodigy)"

So surely he received two Moog Prodigys, not two DX7s?

D

This part of his biography seems to have been removed (in brief: he was apparently involved in a car accident at the outset of his career, for which he claimed compensation, and used the money to buy his first synthesiser, apparently a Moog). I can't find a good source for it - lots of blog posts, the older version of Wikipedia's article, but Allmusic skips it - and so was it complete and utter bollocks, or has it just been wiped out accidentally? -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 12:26, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

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My understanding, was that Howard Jones' mom was involved in the accident, and the insurance money she received helped him buy his first synthesizer. Synthesizers back in the early 80s were VERY expensive -- tens of thousands of dollars -- and only well-moneyed studios or successful musicians could afford them. Getting his hands on a synthesizer would have been like being fed the "queens nectar" and put him way ahead of all other musicians.

I'm remembering this from memory -- as it stuck out. I probably heard it from those radio-countdown shows or music video shows, where the DJ or host, tells a little bit about the artist. It does seem odd that a couple people, including myself, remember this detail from the 80s. So either the promotional bio of him in the 80s was a stretch of the truth (a lie at the time) or today, someone doesn't want people to know about it?

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I remember reading about the vehicle accident compensation some 35 years ago. The story is on Howard Jones' website. It's unclear to me if someone's own website is considered a "reliable" source. I'd just edit the page, but it seems like it would just be deleted. Nonetheless, it's the story I remember and it's reflected on Howard's site. I think the story is important and significant. It should be on Howard's wiki page.

http://www.howardjones.com/history.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by PatrickWFB (talk • contribs) 18:49, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

BM — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ceminal (talk • contribs) 11:26, 21 January 2017 (UTC)

Howards recent work with The Sims 2

Howard rewrote and re-recorded 'Things Can Only Get Better' for the Electronic Arts/Maxis game, The Sims 2. The song was added to the new game expansion "Open for Business," and in the expansion was included on the new New Wave radio station along with a redone version of Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy." I don't like to edit the pages so anyone who want's to can feel free.

Careful about critiquing

Nice work on the article, in general. The following statements from the article critique rather than describe and probably don't belong in an encyclopedia entry unless the critique is well documented publicly elsewhere and referenced:

"Jones was known as a respectable face of pop [...]"

"However, both were accomplished musicians and wrote intelligent pop music with lyrical difference to most pop chart fare."

Also, the sentence from the top section is terribly awkward:

"His birthplace is Southampton, England, and he spent his early years in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, and attended the Royal Grammar School, and then spent a year at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester."

I recommend splitting it into at least 2 sentences.

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Complete biography

Howard Jones was one of the defining figures of mid-'80s synth-pop. Jones' music merged the technology-intensive sound of new wave with the cheery optimism of hippies and late-'60s pop. Jones racked up a string of hits in the mid- and late '80s before he retreated into being a cult figure in the '90s. A native of Southampton, England, Jones learned how to play piano at the age of seven. By the time he was a teenager, his family had relocated to Canada, which is where he joined his first band, a progressive-rock group called Warrior. Eventually, Jones moved back to England, where he played in a number of different groups. In the mid-'70s, he enrolled in the Royal Northern College of Music. After he dropped out of college, he played with a variety of local Southampton jazz and funk bands. Eventually, Jones began performing as a solo artist. At these solo shows, Jones performed only with synthesizers and drum machines. For these one-man concerts, Jones had a mime called Jed Hoile perform. After a few years of solo performing, Jones attracted the attention of John Peel, who offered the keyboardist a BBC session. Soon, Jones was opening for new wave synth-pop acts across England. By 1983, he had signed with WEA in England and Europe; in America, he signed to Elektra. Howard Jones released his first single, "New Song," in England in the fall of 1983 and it became a big hit, peaking at number three. His second single, "What Is Love," was released a few months later and it reached number two. Humans Lib, Jones' debut album, was released in the spring of 1984 and quickly rose to number one in England. Thanks to repeated exposure on MTV, the album became a moderate hit in the U.S. Later in 1984, "New Song" and "What Is Love" became American Top 40 hits, while "Pearl in the Shell" became his third British Top Ten single. In 1985, Jones phased Hoile out of his live show, formed a touring band, and released his second album, Dream into Action. The record became his most successful album, reaching number ten and going platinum in the U.S. and spawning the hit singles "Things Can Only Get Better," "Like to Get to Know You Well," "Life in One Day," and "Look Mama." In the spring of 1986, he released Action Replay, an EP of remixes that featured a new version of "No One Is to Blame" from Dream into Action. "No One Is to Blame" became Jones' biggest U.S. hit, peaking at number four. The relatively weaker chart placement of number 16 in the U.K. was indicative of his future in England -- his next single, "You Know I Love You...Don't You?," taken from his third album One to One, became his last British Top 40 hit. Jones released his fourth album, Cross That Line, in the spring of 1989. The first single from the album, "Everlasting Love," became a number one adult contemporary hit in America, reaching number 13 pop. However, the album stalled at number 65. Jones returned three years later with In the Running, a set that saw him abandoning synthesizers for piano. The album didn't make the charts. Following the release of The Best of Howard Jones in 1993, Elektra dropped him. Instead of seeking a new record contract with another major label, Jones hit the road in 1994, performing acoustic shows. At the 1994 shows, he sold Working in the Backroom -- an album he recorded at his home studio and released on his own label, Dtox Records -- at his concerts. For the next two years, Jones continually toured America and Europe. In 1996, he released Live Acoustic America on PLM Records; People followed two years later. Three live albums - 2000's Perform '00, 2001's Perform '01, and 2002's The Peaceful Tour - were released before 2005's Revolution of the Heart offered fans some new material.==Complete biography== Howard Jones was one of the defining figures of mid-'80s synth-pop. Jones' music merged the technology-intensive sound of new wave with the cheery optimism of hippies and late-'60s pop. Jones racked up a string of hits in the mid- and late '80s before he retreated into being a cult figure in the '90s. A native of Southampton, England, Jones learned how to play piano at the age of seven. By the time he was a teenager, his family had relocated to Canada, which is where he joined his first band, a progressive-rock group called Warrior. Eventually, Jones moved back to England, where he played in a number of different groups. In the mid-'70s, he enrolled in the Royal Northern College of Music. After he dropped out of college, he played with a variety of local Southampton jazz and funk bands. Eventually, Jones began performing as a solo artist. At these solo shows, Jones performed only with synthesizers and drum machines. For these one-man concerts, Jones had a mime called Jed Hoile perform. After a few years of solo performing, Jones attracted the attention of John Peel, who offered the keyboardist a BBC session. Soon, Jones was opening for new wave synth-pop acts across England. By 1983, he had signed with WEA in England and Europe; in America, he signed to Elektra. Howard Jones released his first single, "New Song," in England in the fall of 1983 and it became a big hit, peaking at number three. His second single, "What Is Love," was released a few months later and it reached number two. Humans Lib, Jones' debut album, was released in the spring of 1984 and quickly rose to number one in England. Thanks to repeated exposure on MTV, the album became a moderate hit in the U.S. Later in 1984, "New Song" and "What Is Love" became American Top 40 hits, while "Pearl in the Shell" became his third British Top Ten single. In 1985, Jones phased Hoile out of his live show, formed a touring band, and released his second album, Dream into Action. The record became his most successful album, reaching number ten and going platinum in the U.S. and spawning the hit singles "Things Can Only Get Better," "Like to Get to Know You Well," "Life in One Day," and "Look Mama." In the spring of 1986, he released Action Replay, an EP of remixes that featured a new version of "No One Is to Blame" from Dream into Action. "No One Is to Blame" became Jones' biggest U.S. hit, peaking at number four. The relatively weaker chart placement of number 16 in the U.K. was indicative of his future in England -- his next single, "You Know I Love You...Don't You?," taken from his third album One to One, became his last British Top 40 hit. Jones released his fourth album, Cross That Line, in the spring of 1989. The first single from the album, "Everlasting Love," became a number one adult contemporary hit in America, reaching number 13 pop. However, the album stalled at number 65. Jones returned three years later with In the Running, a set that saw him abandoning synthesizers for piano. The album didn't make the charts. Following the release of The Best of Howard Jones in 1993, Elektra dropped him. Instead of seeking a new record contract with another major label, Jones hit the road in 1994, performing acoustic shows. At the 1994 shows, he sold Working in the Backroom -- an album he recorded at his home studio and released on his own label, Dtox Records -- at his concerts. For the next two years, Jones continually toured America and Europe. In 1996, he released Live Acoustic America on PLM Records; People followed two years later. Three live albums - 2000's Perform '00, 2001's Perform '01, and 2002's The Peaceful Tour - were released before 2005's Revolution of the Heart offered fans some new material. Jonzo12 18:09, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Why is the above here in the discussion? --Eddylyons (talk) 01:06, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Major Label paragraph

Jones was a close temporal and stylistic contemporary of Nik Kershaw, and the two musicians were often conflated in the affections of the contemporary pop audience. However, both were accomplished musicians and wrote intelligent pop music with lyrical difference to most pop chart fare. Did the author of this article actually compose this? It sounds like something from a magazine article. I doubt that it's original work.--Eddylyons (talk) 01:05, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

English

This page should be changed to "Howard Jones (English musician)", since there is more than one Howard Jones. Gringo300 (talk) 15:54, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Completely agree since currently it says only "Howard Jones (musician)" and there is another one that is also "musician" - Howard Jones (American musician). --VictorYarema (talk) 14:03, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Renamed page. --VictorYarema (talk) 23:58, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

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NO! He isn't English -- he's British (specifically, Welsh). It is both incorrect and offensive to refer to people from other parts of the British Isles as "English" -- England is only one of four nations that constitute the UK, and "English" is not a synonym for "British" any more than "Texan" or "Californian" is a synonym for "American" (part vs. whole, plus a long and difficult history of England's asserting dominance over other nations and trying to eradicate their culture, such as punishing Welsh children when they spoke Welsh in the classroom). I don't know how to change this, so I'm asking someone else to do so -- to change the title to "Howard Jones (British musician)". Thanks. 8-7-21

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Picture

That's the picture that got chosen for Howard Jones? That doesn't look anything like the pop icon from the 80's! Even if that is him, it's not representative of what he was, and why he's on WP. I just saw the RetroFutura Tour in Las Vegas, and he doesn't look like that picture now either, whoever monitors this article, please fix, there's so many iconic pictures of him, and he looks like that now too, with maybe just a touch less hair. :) (Sounded great in Vegas though, loved it!) -- Despayre  ^{tête-à-tête} 02:52, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

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80smusic links are broken

Not sure how this is handled, but there are a number of items that reference the 80smusiclyrics.com site which no longer exists. Pull the links? Pull the content? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sensedatum (talk • contribs) 05:57, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

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Other people with name Howard Jones

At the top of this article, we read "For the Killswitch Engage musician, go to Howard Jones (American musician)". Since there are several other people with the name Howard Jones in Wikipedia, should the top of the article be headed by a note saying "For other people named Howard Jones, go to Howard Jones (disambiguation)"?Vorbee (talk) 19:59, 8 August 2018 (UTC)

Makes more sense to me. Be bold, says I. - Derek R Bullamore (talk) 20:42, 8 August 2018 (UTC)

What is Love and New Song

When this article lists songs by Howard Jones that made the Top Ten in the U.K. singles chart, it names "What is Love?" and then "New Song". Since New Song hit the Top Ten before "What is Love?", it would make more sense to name "New Song" first. Vorbee (talk) 17:17, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

Fine - then be bold and effect the necessary edit. - Derek R Bullamore (talk) 17:44, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

Also, "What Is Love" links to the wrong "What is Love" -- the 1993 SNL version -- instead of the Howard Jones version. Ebhymowitz (talk) 13:38, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

Nationality

Has Jones ever self-defined as English? With his Welsh parentage and upbringing in Wales, I think British would be more appropriate than English for this article. Humbledaisy (talk) 00:15, 20 June 2021 (UTC)