A brand new song from synth pop legend Howard Jones, “Stand Up,” has its exclusive worldwide premiere today via Billboard. The track is taken from Jones’ forthcoming album GLOBAL CITIZEN (due out in 2027) and is created on his newly-refurbished original Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard (the flagship synth of the early 80s). Of “Stand Up,” Howard Jones commented, “’Stand Up’ was born out of revisiting my original Jupiter-8 synthesiser which has just been repaired. I rediscovered how much I love its analogue sound. It’s my favourite synth and features on ‘What is Love?’, ‘New Song’, and ‘Things Can Only Get Better’. The key message of ‘Stand Up’ is that everyone is important and we must not let others shut our voices down…stand up and be counted.” Jones will perform the song for the first time in front of audiences on his “Things Can Only Get Better” package tour kicking off next week.
The “Things Can Only Get Better” North American tour is the feel-good 80s event of the summer. It features a bill curated and headlined by Jones himself with support from fellow British 80s greats Wang Chung, The English Beat, and Modern English and will be hosted by SiriusXM’s Richard Blade. All four artists will perform full sets. Fans can expect to hear the biggest hits from the decade including “Things Can Only Get Better,” “What Is Love, “No One Is To Blame,” “Dance Hall Days,” “Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” “Save It For Later,” “I Confess” and “I Melt With You”. The tour kicks off in Napa, CA at Blue Note Napa Sessions on Sunday, July 19th. Please see below for the complete itinerary. Click here to purchase tickets.
Electronic music pioneer Howard Jones has been a constant presence on the international touring scene for the past four decades, playing live in several different configurations including intimate solo shows and dates with his full high-tech band set-up. He first burst upon the contemporary music scene in 1983, with his very English songwriting and pioneering synthesizers with “New Song”. His first two albums HUMAN’S LIB and DREAM INTO ACTION were worldwide hits. HUMAN’S LIB reached #1 in 1984 in the UK and featured the hits “New Song,” and “What Is Love?” In 1985, Jones released the follow-up, DREAM INTO ACTION, which quickly became a Top Ten Platinum album in the United States and featured the smashes: “Things Can Only Get Better,” “Life In One Day,” “No One Is To Blame,” and “Like To Get To Know You Well.”
Howard Jones has sold upwards of 10 million albums worldwide and continues to make new music and tour the world. Jones has performed on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! As well as NBC’s top-rated morning and nighttime shows respectively, Today and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. His ubiquitous hits can be heard in such high-profile television series and films such as “Stranger Things,” “Breaking Bad,” “Watchmen,” “The Carrie Diaries”, “Superstore” and “Bumblebee.”
THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER North American tour dates 2026:
JULY
19 Napa, CA Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions
20 Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery
21 Paso Robles, CA Paso Robles Event Center
23 Los Angeles, CA The Greek Theatre
24 San Diego, CA Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
26 Las Vegas, NV Resorts World Theatre
29 West Valley City, UT Maverik Center
30 Greenwood Village, CO Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
AUGUST
1 Council Bluffs, IA Harrah’s Stir Cove
4 Austin, TX ACL Live At The Moody Theatre
5 Grand Prairie, TX Texas Trust CU Theatre
7 Indianapolis, IN Everwise Amphitheater At White River State Park
8 Rochester Hills, MI Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
9 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheatre
11 Kettering, OH Fraze Pavilion
12 Lewiston, NY Artpark Amphitheater
14 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Resort Spa & Casino
15 Washington, DC The Anthem
16 Cleveland, OH Jacobs Pavilion
19 Boston, MA Citizens House Of Blues
20 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health At Jones Beach Theater
21 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
23 Toronto, ON The Bowl At Sobeys Stadium
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