Howard Jones (musician)

Howard Jones (born John Howard Jones, 23 February 1955, Southampton, Hampshire, England) is a Welsh musician. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live Aid". Allmusic journalist, Stephen Thomas Erlewine adds, "Jones was one of the defining figures of mid 1980s synthpop. His music merged the technology intensive sound of new wave with the cheery optimism of hippies and late 1960s pop. Jones racked up a string of hits in the mid and late 1980s, before he retreated into being a cult figure in the 1990s". Jones took piano lessons from the age of seven, and when he was a teen, his family had relocated to Canada, which is where he joined his first band, a progressive rock group called Warrior. In 1983 Jones hired the Marquee Club in London and invited record labels to come and see him perform. After a well-received John Peel session he obtained support slots with China Crisis and OMD before signing to WEA in the UK and Elektra in the U.S. in the summer of 1983. He made his debut performance on BBC Television's Top Of The Pops in October 1983, watching the performance on a borrowed television resting on an ironing board before a concert at the University of Kent. He subsequently had four more hits over the next twelve months and a UK Number 1 album, Human's Lib, which eventually went double platinum. Jones' subsequent albums Cross That Line (1989) and In the Running (1992) both performed poorly, the latter even failing to chart. He was joined by Midge Ure and Nena, as well as his mime artist, Jed Hoile. A recording of this concert was later released on DVD. The same year Jones provided a vocal for the song "Into the Dark" by Ferry Corsten for the latter's album, L.E.F. Jones also re-recorded "Things Can Only Get Better" in Simlish, the fictional language spoken by characters in Electronic Arts', The Sims 2. Jones was also featured on Katrina Carlson's cover of "No One Is to Blame", which entered the U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in 2007.

Recent activities

Jones embarked on an acoustic tour of Australia in 2007, beginning in Brisbane and concluding on 5 April in Perth. The Revolution Remixed & Surrounded album was followed in November by Live in Birkenhead. Jones performed another acoustic set, with other 1980s acts at the Retrofest, on 1 September 2007 at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. Jones also went into the studios with The Young Punx to record vocals for their summer 2008 release, "And The Feel Goes On".

Jones practices Nichiren Buddhism and chants Nam Myoho Renge Kyo daily. He is an active member of Sōka Gakkai International in the UK, and is musical director of one of its choirs, the Glorious Life Chorus. The chorus performs some of his songs in its repertoire, including "Building Our Own Future" and "Respected". He returned to Australia again in 2009, this time accompanied by vocalist Laura Clapp and music technologist Robbie Bronnimann. On 26 February 2009 Jones was at the UK premiere of Roland's new V-Piano in Bristol and performed "Hide and Seek". He continues to tour, and played the 'Big Hair Affair 2009' on 1 August 2009 at the Ryedale Arena, Pickering, North Yorkshire.

His latest album, Ordinary Heroes was released in November 2009, and he toured London, Cardiff and Manchester with a string section and the Morriston Orpheus Choir (in St David's Hall in Cardiff). A single, "Soon You'll Go", preceded the album's launch.

According to the local BBC website, Jones currently lives in Creech St Michael, near Taunton, Somerset.

Jones is a member of the board of directors for the Featured Artists Coalition.

Jones announced in a newsletter, that he is to re-master his first two albums with bonus material (release date of 6 November 2010). A concert is being held in the O2 London to celebrate the re-issue. A short US, followed by a UK tour, starts in the autumn 2010.

Discography

Bibliography

References

External links