By David DeRocco                            dave@gobeweekly.com  https://twitter.com/?lang=en 

As one of the world’s most enduring 80s hitmakers, HOWARD JONES was a masterful purveyor of the synth-pop that ruled the charts. Born in the U.K. and spending several of his formative years as a teen living in Ottawa, JONES emerged as a solo artist right at the dawning of the age of video. He had ten top 40 hit singles in the UK between 1983 and 1986, six of which reached the top ten, including "Like to Get to Know You Well" , "What Is Love?", "New Song", "Things Can Only Get Better,” and his 1986 Top 5 hit, “No One Is To Blame.”

Today, Jones is still releasing new music, and on a tour that brings him to the OLG Stage in Niagara Falls August 30^th along with ABC and Haircut 100. Jones took time to talk to GoBeWeekly.com about his love for Keith Emerson, his memories of Canada, and the importance of making new music.

GoBe: Many fans might not know you moved to Canada as a teen. How long did you spend, where were you, what’s your memories of Canada then.

HOWARD: I spent 3 years in total in Canada from age of 9 till I left at 14. We also went back home in the middle of that. I was living in Ottawa. I had the most amazing time, and I’ve had this massive affection for Canada ever since. I really didn’t want to go home. I cried all the way home on the boat. I started playing in bands. I had a girlfriend. But we had to leave.

GoBe: I’m glad you had happy memories considering you were in the political capital of the country.

HOWARD: I was young and wasn’t really aware of those things. I knew it was the capital. It was a very beautiful city. We were near the Ottawa River, we could travel across to Quebec. Even once when the river was frozen a friend took us out for night fishing on the river.

GoBe: Human’s Lib was released in 1984, so many of you’re earlier influences were formed in the 70s. Given your first band was a prog rock band called Warrior, were those great 70s prog rock bands your biggest influences?

HOWARD: Yes, I was really a big fan of Keith Emerson in particular because he was a keyboard player and he was also classically trained like myself. He was the lead character in the band and he was the keyboard player. When I saw ELP in 1970 at their second gig ever, he played the Moog Synthesizer, the big modular Moog on stage, it was a moment I thought I’d never forget. I thought, this is what I’d like to do.

GoBe: What was that first band experience in Warrior like? How deep did you go into the prog rock realm at the time?

HOWARD: When we started out we were still at school. All the pieces were long and complicated and tempo changes and complicated bar lengths. The band really struggled to keep up with my compositions. They persevered and I can’t believe they went with me on that. There were no vocals initially. We got a singer and I would write the tunes for the singer, with a lot of classical influences. That was just a phase I was in at the time.

GoBe: You were nearly 30 when that debut album came out. What wisdom had you learned by that point to prepare for success than you might not have had if success had happened when you were 20.

HOWARD: I think you’ve got it there. Because I’d had a bit of life experience in my 20s, I’d done a lot. I had my partner Jan, my wife. That was such a solid relationship and still is. If I had been 20 I don’t know how it would have gone. I think it’s just so much for young people to handle, that amount of attention and success. You see young people struggling with their mental health with it. I was lucky to have been a little bit older. I had some mental strength to deal with it. One of the hardest things to deal with is the criticism, because you don’t expect that, because you’ve been playing your gigs to fans who follow you everywhere and like everything you do. Then suddenly, you get horrible reviews from people you don’t know. There’s a bit of mental strength required to not be thrown by that and to not become someone other than yourself. I had that sensibility when I was signed at 28. I’d already been rejected by many people. ‘A one man electronic band, are you mental, that will never work!.’

GoBe: It must be weird to achieve such enormous success only to be torn down by these naysayers. We sure like to tear down our heroes as humans don’t we?

HOWARD: We’re experts at that here in the U.K. I don’t think Canada’s anything close to being like that. Our culture has always been like that. In a way it’s good because it gives you a backbone. I attribute the fact that I’m still here doing it and loving it, things just getting bigger and better, is really a result of those early days being tough to cope with.

GoBe: You must have developed some serious strength. You released four albums over a decade, rather unheard output these days. Was that you just being productive, or more contractual obligation and opportunism.

HOWARD: It’s really important for me to be able to keep writing new material. There’s no pressure on me to do anything. It’s just what I like doing. The fans really do want to hear new work from you, and I want to do new work. It keeps me fresh and keeps the shows full of new material. There’s the legacy stuff everyone wants to hear. I’m very happy to play it. But I think I will always be doing new music. That’s an important part of being an artist.

GoBe: You had 10 top 40 hits in the span of 30 years, six hitting top 10. As a songwriter, is there a song in your catalogue that you thought should have been a hit that perhaps wasn’t.

HOWARD: I probably think that about most of my songs (laughs). There is a song called “The Prisoner” on which I got to work with Chris Hughes (producer), Ian Stanley (Tears for Fears) and Ross Collum (engineer/producer). I think it’s the most incredible record. Because it’s quite rocky, and full of guitar and synths, I just think that it didn’t fit in with what people think of you. If you step out of your genre you become invisible. I just think that piece of work is so great. I would have liked that to do better at radio but it’s still there and people can discover it.

GoBe: You were part of that vanguard of artists embracing video in the 80s. You had some big production videos. Looking back are you amazed at the budgets labels gave you to work with on videos?

HOWARD: Absolutely. Towards the end of the 80s we did a song called “Life Me Up” and the budget was $200,000. Of course, you don’t think anything about it at the time, but of course that comes out of your royalties! What happened was MTV said we’re not doing anything else from the 80s, we’re moving on toward the 90s. And they didn’t play it. Even though I think it was one of my best songs, it was turning point. You realize that there’s a moment where you have a spotlight on you, and I was lucky to have it pretty much the whole decade, and then things move on. You have to adapt. You have to work out how you’re going to move on and take the fans with you. Fortunately at that time, social media was just developing, so we had the tools to keep that going. It was scary at the time, but it was the best thing to happen to me. It just set the course for the next part of my career.

GoBe; So what is inspiring your new music now. Where do you look for inspiration.

HOWARD: I listen to a lot of classical music at the moment, because there’s such a variety of classical music. There’s so much to learn. There are also so many artists that are amazing. I love Eric Whitaker, a classical composer. I really love Jacob Collier. He’s like this genius once in a generation talent. And I love the new Billie Eilish album, it’s incredible. Wow, what a talent, her and her brother. They come up with extraordinary work. These young players, they’re so good. They can go on YouTube and study all the greatest players of all time. I have a lot of faith in music moving forward. The standard is high. I feel very optimistic about the future of music. As long as we give young people a chance. We need to clear the decks for them to be able to come through.

GoBe: That said those young artists do like their 80s influences. When you think of the 80s is there a fashion trend you would bring back?

HOWARD: No, I don’t think so. I’m really into fashion and I think you should always be moving forward. You can draw influences, but things should be of now not looking back too much. I think there’s a bit of a trap. Acknowledge you influences, but what are you doing today. That’s the important thing.

GoBe: So what are your greatest joys when touring these days. Do you get to play tourist and actually get to slow your roll a little bit?

HOWARD: It’s a unique experience you have when you’re with your band and your crew. I don’t travel separately from my guys. I travel with them on the bus. We live together like this extended family that comes together for 3 or 4 months of the year. When you live with people in that close proximity you get to know them well. It’s a unique experience. At the end of the day, you get on stage and make people happy. It’s not just travelling around for no reason. You’re travelling around to give a great show. I love being on stage, but I love being with my band and crew. It’s a rich life full of experiences.

GoBe: Have you been to Niagara Falls before?

HOWARD: As a matter of fact I have. One of the few road trips we did as a kid was go to Niagara Falls. I have photographs of me, my mom and dad, my auntie and my brothers at Niagara Falls. It was mind blowing at that age. I must have been about 11. I’ve been back many times to play Niagara Falls. Of course, Canada, it’s like coming back home.

GoBe: Final question. My youngest daughter has just started dating a Guatemalan Buddhist. You’ve been a practicing Buddhist for most of your life. Any tips on how I can be accommodating to his Buddhism? A greeting, a meal, an anecdote to impress him?

HOWARD: Wow, what a question. I’m sure you’ll be a gracious host. When I meet young people I always want to get to know what they think, what’s their view, how would like the world to change for the better. My thing would be, really try to get to know the person. There’s really so much to learn from young people.

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