Howard Jones: The Cream Q&A

When Howard Jones kicks off the 40th anniversary tour for his most popular album Dream Into Action in Nashville, he won’t do the album front to back. There are so many other songs that the British pop musician needs to play as well. Set list rarities like “Bounce Right Back” and “Look Mama” will make an appearance, as well as other hits such as “Like to Get to Know You Well.” At the piano, he’ll slip in a few more quick snippets and play some more recent music — he never stopped composing. 

“Obviously there's certain songs if I don't play, people will be upset, and that's the last thing that I want to do,” Jones tells the Scene when we get on a call in advance of his Ryman show on Sept. 2. 

He knows it’s impossible to please everyone, but he’s going to try. It’s that reverence for fans and the earnest lyricism they can connect with that keeps auditoriums filled even 40 years later. 

You’ve toured consistently over your career and played these songs thousands of times. Are there songs that never get old? 

It's so wonderful for me to play those songs — some of them I wrote 40-some years ago. I still love the songs. How can you not be thrilled when you play a song and everyone knows it and they're singing it back to you? It’s the most wonderful feeling ever. I don't get tired of that feeling. 

My aim and goal is not to be tired of the song myself so that I can give it everything each time. Like I’m singing it for the first time in a tiny pub near High Wycombe where I started off. That's my aim — not to come across like it's a chore to play this song. No, it's not a chore. It's a wonderful thing, because it's part of people's lives, and they really want to hear it. I think it is really good fortune for me that I still believe in the lyrics of the songs I'm singing.

Sometimes I prescribe myself a listen of “Life in One Day” and it soothes me. Is there a motto you go by? 

“Things can only get better” … I sing that one to myself. It's a very positive, upbeat song. It’s a hopeful song about the future. Even when we're getting it wrong and if we threw it all away and we make the biggest mistake ever — well, we can just pick ourselves up the next day and turn it around. That’s what I try and live by. 

You’re a solo artist but you’ve maintained your piano skills and even worked as a one-man band of sorts for a while. What would be your advice for young artists for staying in the field as long as you have? 

I think the first thing is to find out if it really is your passion. Is there a plan B? If there is, you need to just have plan A. You have to really dedicate yourself to it and find out if you’re comfortable with it. And then if you decide you definitely are, just 100 percent give everything to every chance you get to do what you do. This is not just when you're starting out, but all through your career. 

There will be ups and downs. Every single artist has been through that, so be prepared for that. Make sure that that connection with your fans is always respected and revered, because we can't do what we do without our fans, and it's a partnership.

Success is not measured by how many records you sell or how many streams you have, it’s the emotional connection you make with 10 people, a hundred people, thousands, millions — whoever is in front of you. Are you making that emotional connection with your work? That is success. 

As one of the pioneers of using synthesizers, you undoubtedly influenced other artists. What was that like for you? 

I was fortunate to be able to use all the new, cool instruments that were coming out — the synthesizers and the drum machines and the sequencers. For me, it was, “Oh, wow, people have probably never heard this before.”

Like everything new, there's some people who don't like what you're doing, and they think you're putting people out of work or something like that, which is absolutely crazy. I think if you are doing something new and innovative, you will always get a backlash. That's another thing I'd say to young people. If you're doing something original, expect a lot of backlash to that, but keep going.

People really thought you were putting musicians out of a job by using a synthesizer?

The musicians union wanted to ban me because they thought I was putting people out of work. I ended up employing hundreds of people to work with me. Think of sampling. When sampling came out, everyone was, like, freaking out about that. But look what people did with sampling. They created some incredible music that people will always remember. 

We’ll have this with AI as well. There will be people who use it in a good way, and then the people who rip us off. It’s always like that, with new technology, isn’t it? With me, it was the drum machines and the sequencers and the synths. It's always going to be that creative spirit that's the important thing behind it, and that's what we must never lose: that human creative spirit.

You’ve worked consistently during the past 40 years. What keeps you going, especially on tour? 

I don't want this to sound wrong, but it's not because I need the money or anything like that. It is because this is what I can contribute to the world that I live in. I want to bring a bit of joy and respite. People are suffering a lot at the moment, and music can help to uplift people’s spirits and help to get through the difficult bits in life. That's what I see my role as. I can do that, so I should be out there doing it as much as I can. It’d be a shame if I just sat at home, being able to do this stuff, and not share it, you know?