Howard Jones

Description

New Wave is making a stop at State Theatre New Jersey with Howard Jones, Haircut One Hundred, and Richard Blade! Hear hits from Howard Jones like "No One is to Blame," "What is Love?," "New Song," and "Things Can Only Get Better." Joining Jones is Haircut One Hundred, who burned bright in the early '80s with songs like "Fantastic Day" and "Love Plus One," and DJ Richard Blade (KROQ, Los Angeles; Video One; MV3; VideoBeat). 

Electronic music pioneer Howard Jones has been a constant presence on the international touring scene for the past four decades, playing live in a number of different configurations, including intimate solo shows and dates with his full high-tech band set-up. He first burst upon the contemporary music scene with his very English songwriting and pioneering synthesizers in 1983's “New Song.” His first two albums, Human’s Lib and Dream Into Action, were worldwide hits. Human’s Lib reached #1 in 1984 in the UK and featured the hits “New Song” and “What Is Love?” In 1985, Jones released the follow-up, Dream Into Action, which quickly became a Top 10 Platinum album in the U.S. and featured the hits “Things Can Only Get Better,” “Life In One Day,” “No One Is To Blame,” and “Like To Get To Know You Well.” 

Howard Jones has sold upwards of 10 million albums worldwide and continues to make new music and tour the world. He has performed on NBC’s top-rated morning and nighttime shows, respectively, Today and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. His ubiquitous hits can be heard in such high-profile TV series and films as Stranger Things, Breaking Bad, Watchmen, The Carrie Diaries, Superstore, and Bumblebee. His most recent album is Dialogue, which was released in September 2022. Dialogue is the third album in a trilogy of electronic releases from Jones with the multi-media project Engage and the studio album Transform. 

Of all pop’s shining, fiery comets, Haircut One Hundred burned brightly, gave off heat, changed the landscape, and then, as fast as they appeared, were gone, leaving many happy memories. 

For 18 months or so in the early 1980s, Haircut did their thing. They were led by irrepressible songsmith, lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist Nick Heyward with South London’s Stanley Clarke, Les Nemes, on the bass. Adding Graham Jones, on lead guitar, and then, Memphis-born Blair Cunningham—a man who had lived several lifetimes by the age of 24—on drums, the group charmed both press and public with their oblique-yet-everyman lyrics, brisk funk, and sunshine pop. Who can forget songs as joyous and memorable as "Fantastic Day," "Love Plus One," and "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)," and the accompanying album, the mighty, flirty, and flighty Pelican West. Pelican West was already platinum-certified in the UK only three months after release. The album spent 11 consecutive weeks in the British Top 10 and twice reached No. 2. It also charted in the U.S., Australia, and beyond. 

By 1983, it was all over, and the band stepped out separately. Aside from Nick Heyward's tremendously well-regarded solo career (nine acclaimed albums to date, including the Geoff Emerick-produced masterpiece North of a Miracle), Jones went on to co-found underground scenesters Boys Wonder; Nemes toured with 80s' icon Rick Astley; and Cunningham drummed with a veritable who’s who of pop including Paul McCartney. 

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary release of Pelican West, Haircut One Hundred reunited in May 2023 for an emotionally charged, hit-laden sold-out show at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire. A UK and U.S. tour followed, as well as a prestigious Glastonbury appearance. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, the band were recording again: a new single appeared, "The Unloving Plum," which became BBC Radio 2’s Record Of The Week. The novelty of reforming soon gave way to reality. “We thought the reunion show would be emotional, but it’s been getting more emotional as we go along,” Nick said in 2024. “It’s like a dynamo, like a bike—it’s picking up speed and energy as it goes.” And now, it’s a new chapter for the group—a brand-new album is nearly finished, and the group are keen to share this material, as fresh as a daisy. 

Richard Blade is one of the most popular and best-known DJs in America, and hosts a daily radio show on both SiriusXM 1st Wave Ch. 33 and middays on KCBS, Jack FM. Blade was born in England, educated at Oxford, and after touring Europe for two years as a DJ, moved to the U.S. In the 1980's he was the top-rated morning drive DJ on KROQ, Los Angeles, and hosted and directed numerous TV shows and series including Video One, MV3, and VideoBeat. Other notable radio stations Blade worked at included KMGN, Bakersfield (morning drive & program director), KZOZ, San Luis Obispo (morning drive and program director), KNAC, Long Beach (evenings), and KYSR, Los Angeles (evenings). In 1991, he created, with Andy Schuon and Lewis Largent, Richard Blade’s Flashback Lunch which aired daily at noon and was copied by many stations across North America. It also spawned a series of six CDs on Sony Music, Richard Blade’s Flashback Favorites. He has won numerous awards including the Golden Microphone, California’s Best DJ, Brit of the Year, and the American DJ Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2024, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

Co-presented with The Bowery Presents.