A personal Christmas and New Years message - Howard Jones

I rarely buy flexi discs, because the quality of such discs is nothing to write home about. But there are exceptions, such as this special Christmas and New Years message from Howard Jones to his Japanese fans. This little red flexi was released exactly 40 years ago as a present for fans in Japan - a country visited by Howard during his first live tour earlier in the year. 

You could wonder if Japanese fans actually understand his English words, but there was a solution for that: the entire text is translated into Japanese on the back of this sleeve, printed in black and white.

My collection: 7" single no. 7152
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 November 2024
Tracks: 'A personal Christmas and New Years message'

Will you still be there? - Howard Jones

Howard Jones' record company Elektra made the right call in the USA when they released this song as a single. 'Will you still be there?' is one of the best tracks on his 1987 album 'One to one', and the acoustic version of the song (included on the B-side here) adds some intimacy that some may find lacking in the electronically-driven original version.

Over here in Europe, three singles were taken from the album, with the record company favouring the intimate - and also intensely beautiful - 'Little bit of snow' being favoured over this track. I didn't know about the existence of this single, but I added it to my 'wantlist' on Discogs a few months ago. I'm glad I got to buy it finally from an American dealer who obviously took great care of his items - this single looks and sounds as if it was released last week instead of in 1987!

My collection: 7" single no. 6131
Found: Discogs.com, received June 26, 2019
Cost: $2
Tracks: 'Will you still be there?' / 'Will you still be there? (acoustic)'

New song - Howard Jones

The recent release of a super deluxe edition of Howard Jones' debut album 'Human's Lib' included a rare track. It made me aware of a Portuguese single of 'New song', Howard's debut release, that apparently contained a different version of the song. Did I mention that I am a collector? Somehow I felt motivated to get a copy of this single, and sure enough, a Portuguese dealer offered a copy online.

I ordered this single along with a few others from this dealer, and I wasn't disappointed: the 7" single from Portugal did indeed contain a version of 'New song' that I'd never heard before. How this ended up on the single is still unclear, but it's nice to have a copy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6015
Found: Discogs.com, received March 13, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'New song' / 'Change the man'

All I want - Howard Jones

This single is an interesting one: a limited edition featuring a second disc, containing an interview with Howard Jones conducted by Paul Gambaccini. The other single of All I want that I have featured a booklet gatefold sleeve, so that was already a limited edition, and this one seems to be another one.

As far as I can tell, there's even another version of this single, featuring both discs and a gatefold sleeve. That one was released for promotional purposes only. The release of Howard Jones' 1986 singles was a feast of limited editions.

My collection: 7" single no. 1036a
Found: Discogs.com, received September 2017
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'All I want' / 'Roll right up' // 'Howard Jones interviewed by Paul Gambaccini (part 1)' / 'Howard Jones interviewed by Paul Gambaccini (part 2)'

Tomorrow is now - Howard Jones

After Howard Jones'contract with Warner Bros. ended, I lost track of him for a couple of years. I was quite surprised when I found out that he'd steadily released albums like 'Working in the back room' and 'People' while I wasn't paying attention. Thanks to the internet, I quickly reconnected at the end of the Nineties. I bought the albums and some CD-singles, and all was good in the world again.

Last week I found out that one of his late Nineties tracks was also released as a 7" single in the USA. 'Tomorrow is now' features 'Let the people have their say' on the B-side, and both were released as CD-singles at the time. It's great to finally have this 7" single as well, even if it's just a jukebox release.

My collection: 7" single no. 5842
Found: Discogs.com, received May 24, 2017
Cost: £3
Tracks: 'Tomorrow is now' / 'Let the people have their say'

Listen to the song

Live at the Marquee - Howard Jones

I was pretty surprised when I found this single. I thought it was a very obscure item, released possibly before Howard Jones' debut single 'New song'. Two live tracks recorded at the Marquee, of which one - the A-side, 'What can I say', written by Howard Jones and William Bryant - I didn't know at all.

As it turns out, this was the 7" single that was included in a limited edition package of the 12" single of Howard Jones' second single, 'What is love'. Since I'm not likely to find that 12" single, I'm glad to have bought this single on its own.

My collection: 7" single no. 4755
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, April 5, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'What can I say (live)' / 'Bounce right back (live)'

I.G.Y. (What a beautiful world) - Howard Jones

In 1993, Howard Jones fulfilled his contract with Warner Bros. with a compilation album spanning his ten year career. It included all of his hit singles, plus one new track: a cover of Donald Fagen's 'I.G.Y.'.

This new track was released as a single in the UK only, but it failed to reach the UK singles chart. The album did reach the albums chart, but peaked at number 36 during a two week chart run.

My collection: 7" single no. 2011
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 18, 1993
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'I.G.Y. (What a beautiful world)' / 'One last try'

Two souls - Howard Jones

'Two souls' was released in 1992 as the second single from Howard Jones' fifth album 'In the running'. By this time, it was becoming increasingly hard to find his singles in the Netherlands. I guess the record company gave up on distributing his singles, because they flopped anyway. And this one, unfortunately, was no exception.

In fact, 'Two souls' only charted in Germany, peaking at number 53. It's strange, because Howard Jones is one of very few artists who has consistently put out great music ever since his career started in 1983.

My collection: 7" single no. 1663
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, June 13, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Two souls' / 'Takin' the time'

Lift me up - Howard Jones

The fifth studio album by Howard Jones, 'In the running', was his least successful one in commercial terms. The album failed to chart in all territories, and the singles didn't do much to raise its profile either.

'Lift me up', released as the first single from the album, was the only single to reach the UK singles chart, peaking at number 52. This was also his last chart single in the UK: all subsequent single releases between 1992 and now have been ignored by the general public. I wonder why, because his music has only got better and better.

My collection: 7" single no. 1733
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1992
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Lift me up' / 'I.G.Y. (live)'

Other people are us - Howard Jones

There's a preacher in every popstar, and to prove this, Howard Jones recorded 'Don't be part of it' in 1991. 'As long as there are the slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields' he sings, proposing us to stop eating meat just because of this. Well, I don't know...

Fortunately, the A-side of this rare Italian promotional disc is less moralistic. 'Other people are us' is a song in the best Howard Jones tradition, with a great melody and pure, simple vocals.

My collection: 7" single no. 1913
Found: Record fair, May 22, 1993
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks: 'Other people are us' / 'Don't be part of it'

The prisoner - Howard Jones

The music video for Howard Jones' 'The prisoner' was notably innovative at the time, mixing multiple photo and video editing tricks at a time when computer-based graphics effects were not widely in use.

Although this, the second single from Howard's 1989 album 'Cross that line', didn't reach the UK singles chart, it did peak at number 30 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1000
Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1989
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'The prisoner' / 'Rubber morals'

Everlasting love - Howard Jones

Sometimes even Wikipedia is intriguing. In the description for 'Everlasting love' by Howard Jones it says: 'The video had mummies.' I'm sure this is true, but having never seen the video, it was a bit puzzling. These days, fortunately, you can hop over to YouTube and see it for yourself. (Proving the point that this blog is still a journey of discovery for me too.)

The song was co-produced by ex-Tears for Fears band member Ian Stanley. It was released as the first single from Howard Jones' 1989 album 'Cross that line'. It reached number 12 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, while stalling at number 62 on the UK Singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1019
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Everlasting love' / 'The brutality of fact'

Little bit of snow - Howard Jones

Although Howard Jones's current album 'Ordinary heroes' is full of ballads, none of them can come close to this epic ballad, 'Little bit of snow'. It's a very intimate work, but this is what makes it so special. A track on his third album 'One to one', it was an unlikely single release.

Hence, the UK single release was the only one: the song was not released as a single in other territories. The success wasn't overwhelming either: during a one week chart run, it reached number 70 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2529
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, November 1, 1995
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Little bit of snow' / 'Let it flow'

You know I love you... don't you? - Howard Jones

This limited edition double single is a bit of a weird one, as the second disc only has one side. And so this whole double single edition is made for just one track extra. To make things even stranger: another orchestral track, a version of 'Hungry for the flesh' was recorded at the same time as 'Hide and seek', but both tracks would only be released on the 12" single of the next single, 'A little bit of snow'.

'You know I love you... don't you?' was released as the second single from Howard Jones's third album 'One to one' in November 1986. It was his first single not to reach the UK top 40, stalling at number 43. In the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, however, the single reached number 17.

My collection: 7" single no. 490
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'You know I love you... don't you?' / 'Dig this well deep' // 'Hide and seek (Orchestral version)'

All I want - Howard Jones

On his third album 'One to one', Howard Jones made a more or less deliberate move towards a more 'American' sound. The result was an album that lacked the glossy production of 'Dream into action' (his second album) and the beauty of 'Human's lib' (his debut album).

The first single, 'All I want' was still a rather catchy song. It was released in a limited edition 'booklet' sleeve, featuring various photographs of Howard Jones by Simon Fowler. The single reached number 35 in the UK singles chart and number 76 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1036
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'All I want' / 'Roll right up'

No one is to blame - Howard Jones

'No one is to blame' was a track on Howard Jones' second studio album 'Dream into action'. It was originally recorded as a ballad, but for the single release, the track was re-recorded with Phil Collins producing and adding backing vocals and drums into the mix.

The single became a hit, peaking at number 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 16 in the UK singles chart.

I bought the German pressing of this single at the time of its release, and found an American pressing with a totally different sleeve in 2000.

My collection: 7" single no. 3240
Found: London, October 19, 2000
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'No one is to blame' / 'The chase'

Life in one day - Howard Jones

'Life in one day' was released as the third single from Howard Jones' 1985 album 'Dream into action'. The lyric warned against wishing one's life away. The single reached number 14 in the UK Singles chart, and number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the Dutch Top 40, it reached number 27.

I have two different versions of this single: one with a poster sleeve, and one special double single, which features a second disc with two live tracks, recorded at the Manchester Apollo on March 15, 1985.

My collection: 7" single no. 354
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Life in one day' / 'Boom bap respite' // 'Always asking questions (live)' / 'New song (live)'

Look mama - Howard Jones

Howard Jones wrote the song 'Look mama' from the standpoint of a child pleading with its over-protective mother to be allowed greater independence and room to develop its own personality. The introduction to the song features some spoken dialogue sampled from the 1974 movie 'Alice doesn't live here anymore'.

The track was released as the second single from his second album 'Dream into action' in April 1985. It reached number 10 in the UK singles chart, and it remains Howard Jones' last top 10 hit in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 1824
Found: Record Palace, Amsterdam, January 13, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Look mama' / 'Learning how to love'

Like to get to know you well - Howard Jones

After the success of his debut album, Howard Jones quickly followed it up with a remix album, 'The 12" album'. The album featured several remixes from his hit singles, plus one new track, 'Like to get to know you well', which was released as a single.

The single reached number 4 in the UK singles chart, number 16 in the Australian singles chart and number 56 in Germany.

My collection: 7" single no. 505
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Like to get to know you well' / 'Bounce right back'

Pearl in the shell - Howard Jones

'Pearl in the shell' was the fourth and final single from Howard Jones' debut album 'Human's lib'. The track features a saxophone solo by Davey Payne of Ian Dury's band The Blockheads. Released in May 1984, the single reached number 7 in the UK singles chart.

This single, although made in Germany, comes in a poster sleeve. A similar poster sleeve was released as a limited edition in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 347
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Pearl in the shell' / 'Law of the jungle'