Artist · chart history · #210 in alternative artist polls
Howard Jones
Solo artist Southampton United Kingdom English singer, songwriter
Howard Jones is an artist from Southampton. Howard Jones has 69 chart appearances on 37 radio countdowns from 12 stations on RockLists, spanning 1984–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Things Can Only Get Better”, which appears on 22 lists with a best position of #42. The station that charted Howard Jones most often is KROQ (Los Angeles, CA), with 25 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1984.
Howard Jones came out of Southampton armed with a piano, a rack of synthesizers and an almost unshakable optimism, and in 1984 his debut album, Human's Lib, went all the way to number one in Britain. "New Song" set the tone, bouncy and sprightly, and "What Is Love?" asked its big question over a bed of shimmering keyboards and a melody that sticks like glue. "Hide and Seek" and "Pearl in the Shell" filled out a record with a big, open heart.
Dream Into Action in 1985 kept the bounce coming with "Things Can Only Get Better" and "Life in One Day", while "No One Is to Blame" was a gentle, aching ballad that climbed to number 4 in America. That same year he played Live Aid at Wembley. He was up for a Brit Award as Britain's breakthrough act, and he became one of the faces of the Second British Invasion.
One to One in 1986 brought "You Know I Love You, Don't You?", and Cross That Line in 1989 reached for something weightier with "Everlasting Love" and "The Prisoner". Synth-pop has had plenty of brooders; Jones made hope sound catchy.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Howard Jones on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Things Can Only Get Better | 22 | #42 | – | 1985 | |
| 2 | What is Love | 17 | #10 | – | 1984 | |
| 3 | New Song | 12 | #28 | – | 1984 | |
| 4 | No One Is To Blame | 3 | #179 | – | – | |
| 5 | Everlasting Love | 2 | #35 | – | 1989 | |
| 6 | I'd Like to Get to Know You Well | 2 | #15 | – | 1984 | |
| 7 | You Know I Love You, Don't You? | 3 | #58 | – | 1986 | |
| 8 | Life in One Day | 2 | #55 | – | 1985 | |
| 9 | Pearl in the Shell | 2 | #327 | – | – | |
| 10 | The Prisoner | 1 | #72 | – | 1989 | |
| 11 | Hide And Seek | 1 | #798 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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