HOWARD JONES
(UK, ten Top 40 hits, four Top 40 albums)

Top-of-the-range muso meets sartorial disaster zone and rightly becomes one of the most fondly remembered and respected performers of the decade, despite his guerish orange boiler suits. Jones was a late starter in the fame game - heralding from High Wycombe, he was 28 before he released his first single, having trained classically on the piano and done the teaching and lecturing and sessioning bit before the performing bug took hold in '83. Ditching the baby grand in favour of 'with it' technology, he signed to WEA and released "New Song" ("I've been waiting for so long, to come here now and sing this song, don't be fooled by what you see, don't be fooled by what you hear") which shot to No.3, mainly due to its uplifting, meticulously produced synth pop charms but also, following the TOTP debut, the intrigue surrounding this smiley character with satsuma- coloured spiky hair and luminous socks, abetted by a bald, emulsion-faced mime artist having contortions onstage alongside him.  

GLORIOUS

Jones was an instant star, and milked it for all it was worth, hitting No.3 with that first single, and going one higher with the tremendous "What Is Love?" ("the answer is they cannot love as much, nobody can") which was only blocked from a justified top placing by Paul McCartney and was accompanied by a flick of Jones walking through a park in donkey jacket and beret, kicking aside the falling autumn leaves. Two more singles from the enormous No.1 album "Human's Lib" followed - moody tale of creation "Hide And Seek" ("there was a time when there was nothing at all, nothing at all") which Jones would later perform as a shuddering bag of nerves on Freddie Mercury's piano at Live Aid, and the thumping, brass-led "Pearl In The Shell" ("and the fear goes on, shaaaaaaaaaadows!") and the summer of '84 was upon us, with Jones enjoying a glorious public image (shaking hands with the crowd at concerts, etc) while rising above the accusatory taunts from cynics (he was tagged as 'boring' because he was a non-smoking vegetarian who was nice to everyone). The next single, released as a sweetener (along with a then-rare 12" remix album) while he disappeared to do the second long player, was (in Jones' words) 'dedicated to the original spirit of the Olympic Games' and "Like To Get To Know You Well" ("so we can be one, we can be one together") took him to No.4, though the rapidity of the climb (he was at No.33 a fortnight earlier) suggested a deserved No.1 was on the cards. He would never come so close again.  

STRIDENT

In '85, Jones re-emerged minus the buffoonish mime Jed Hoile, and introduced his own support band, consisting of gospel backing singers AfroDiziak (including a curve-learning Caron Wheeler), slightly barking brass conglomerate TKO Horns, his own brother Martin on bass and a Geoff Capes doppelganger drumming frenetically at the back. Jones ditched his habit of performing behind what seemed like thirty synthesisers, preferring instead to hold on to one of those held-like-a-guitar keyboards as he cooed his way through the strident, 'woah-woah' filled comeback single "Things Can Only Get Better" ("and do you feel scared? I do, but I won't stop and falter") which peaked at No.5, quickly pursued by what would be his last Top 10 hit, the apron-stringed "Look Mama" ("don't wrap me up in cotton wool, you cannot treat me like a fool"). The next two singles were patchier, with "Life In One Day" ("don't try to live your life in one day, don't go speed your time away") regressing towards the twee and "No-One Is To Blame" ("you can take the punishment but you can't commit the sin") fatally destroyed from the sublime piano-only original (from the issue-ridden but still decent second album "Dream Into Action") by guest producer Phil Collins, who naturally but unnecessarily added lots of misplaced drums. By the end of '85, Jones was out of the picture.

SPECIAL

He had one more Top 40 entry in '86 with the forgotten "All I Want" but his homeland, beyond the hardcore, didn't want to know any more. He cared little, as his continuing success abroad, a very happy family life (he was married long before the fame thing happened) and his vegetarian restaurant project were keeping him more than afloat. He ended the decade with a more conservative hairstyle (and released the melodic "Everlasting Love" which sadly didn't quite get to the Top 40) before spending the rest of his time to this day doing sell-out acoustic tours. A special musician and writer, and one of the most affable and agreeable personalities of the decade, proving that not all top popsters have to be obnoxious or excessive to be cool and successful, although he did resume his smoking habit in the 90s. Jones also remains proud of his dubious sartorial past, with plenty of pride still intact for his Van de Graaf generator barnet, while we assume that the orange boiler suit is still hanging up somewhere, patiently awaiting the retro tour.

Biggest Hit: "What Is Love?", No.2, 1984
Defining Moment: "Don't crack up, bend your brain, see both sides, throw off those mental chains - oooh oooh oooh!"

Matt