Whatever happened to Eighties pop star Howard Jones?
HOWARD JONES had a run of hits in the 80s, including New Song, What Is Love? and Like To Get To Know You Well, after which he became a huge star in the States.
Howard Jones performs Wouldn't it be Good LIVE
He has three children – Osheen, Mica and Jasper – with his wife, Jan. Now 60, he still performs and creates new music and lives in Creech St Michael near Taunton, Somerset.
“I was born in Southampton, to Welsh parents, in 1955, the eldest of four boys.
My dad was a college lecturer, electrical engineer and computer programmer. My mum worked in Marks & Spencer.
They were quite restless, and we moved 18 times, so I had to learn to make friends very fast and to say goodbye. That got harder as I got older. But at least it prepared me for a life on the road.
I feel very, very grateful that I’ve had a chance to do what I absolutely love, make music and tour
“I took piano lessons at seven, but I didn’t join my first band till I was in my teens – a progressive rock group called Warrior.
When I was 18, I attended the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. By 1981, I was in High Wycombe and doing solo gigs in pubs with a keyboard.
“Then I met the mime artist Jed Hoile. He used to do improvised choreography as I played behind him.
So I was a one-man electronic band with a character onstage. It was like performance art, with music and video.
“I signed my record deal in 1983 when I was 28, which is quite old for a pop star, and my first single, New Song, got to number three.
“Then came Hide And Seek, What Is Love? and Pearl In The Shell in 1984. My first album, Human’s Lib, went to number one.
I think my hair might have helped, but it wasn’t a contrivance. I always attracted more boys than girls – they loved the technology and the lyrics. I had a loyal teen following and my parents ran my fan club.
“I had a very successful 1985 with the second album, Dream Into Action, which went top 10 in the States. I played Madison Square Garden in New York and lots of amazing outdoor venues.
“I married Jan when I was 21, so she was with me that whole time and all my road crew had been there from the start. That helped me to survive without destroying myself with drink and drugs.
“I played Live Aid in the summer of 1985 and I was incredibly nervous. I got to the chorus of the song Hide And Seek and the whole audience joined in. It was an amazing, uplifting moment that I’ll never forget.
“In the late-80s and 90s I did different things. I opened a vegetarian restaurant in New York and people like Madonna and Lou Reed would turn up.
I played keyboards for Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band on their tour of America, which was fun. I wrote songs for everyone from Sugababes to Sandie Shaw.
But I’ve continued to record over the last decade and a half. My latest project is Engage. It’s a multimedia event – a DVD as well as CD. Some of it is quite classical and it’s quite ambitious.
“I’ve been a practising Buddhist for 23 years and I’ve got three kids: Osheen, 28, is a theatre director in New York, Mica, 25, runs events for a charitable organisation, and Jasper, 21, is studying fine art photography. People do tend to see me as an 80s artist and that’s fine. But I’m still creating new work.
“I feel very, very grateful that I’ve had a chance to do what I absolutely love, make music and tour. It’s been a real privilege.”
Engage – an interactive CD/DVD package – is out now. Visit howardjones.com.
