Howard Jones “Human’s Lib” released 35 years ago (in the UK) a couple of days ago, on March 5th, 1984 (the US version came out in June of ‘84 and I probably got this copy right around that time). Human’s Lib was Jones’ debut album and it hit #1 on the UK album charts upon its release on the strength of the previously released hit singles from the LP. (It went to #59 on the US charts). Those included “New Song,” “What Is Love?” (I adore those tracks) and “Hide and Seek.” The final single, “Pearl in the Shell,” came out in the spring of ‘84. “New Song” made it to #3 in the UK and #27 in the US. “What Is Love?” did even better, hitting #2 in the UK and #33 in the US in the summer of ‘84 which is about the time I hit peak Howard Jones (and began to dabble with vegetarianism at the age of 13 after reading in a Smash Hits article – likely purchased mainly for Duran Duran photos – that Jones was a vegetarian). The dark and ambient (in comparison to then mostly upbeat boppy synth pop sound on the rest of the album) single “Hide and Seek” went to #12 in the UK, I’m not sure if it was released in the US. “Pearl in the Shell,” which features Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ Davey Payne on saxophone, cracked the top 10 in the UK, going to #7.

We got a chance to see Howard Jones perform a couple of summers ago as part of a retro tour that included Modern English, Paul Young, Men Without Hats and (part of) English Beat. Jones put on an amazing show, for the few songs he was up there, rocking his key-tar and working the crowd masterfully.