Song · Howard Jones
“What is Love” by Howard Jones
From the album Human’s Lib (1984)
“What is Love” by Howard Jones appears on 17 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1984 and 2026. It was first released in 1984 on the album Human’s Lib. Its best result is #10 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1984. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #16 alternative song of 1984, #1,681 alternative song of all time and #146 of the '80s.
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"What Is Love?" was Howard Jones's second single, out on WEA in November 1983 ahead of his debut album, Human's Lib, and it made him a pop star at home, climbing to number 2 in Britain, the best chart placing of his career. Rupert Hine produced it and Stephen W. Tayler engineered, and the synth-pop sheen is spotless: burbling keyboards, a skipping beat and Jones asking the big question in a voice that sounds sincere rather than cool.
It started life as "Love?" on a 1982 demo tape that fans could pick up at his gigs, and the question mark was already his calling card: posters reading simply "Howard Jones?" hung behind him on stage at the Marquee Club. William Bryant helped with the words. In America it stopped at 33 on the Hot 100.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 36 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984 | 106 |
| 1984 | 10 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1984 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 83 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s | 200 |
| 1988 | 175 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) | 200 |
| 1989 | 134 | 91X | 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) | 191 |
| 1989 | 28 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1992 | 285 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1992 | 119 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) | 299 |
| 1994 | 197 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1995 | 403 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1996 | 179 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 153 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 991 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 2002 | 574 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 809 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2023 | 385 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
| 2026 | 207 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
Also listed as: What is Love?; What Is Love; What Is Love?.
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