Howard Jones will return to the United States in April, joining Rod Stewart for select arena shows while also performing his own headline concerts, as his newly released Live At The Marquee revisits the moment Howard Jones first ignited the 1980s synth-pop era.
by Paul Cashmere
New wave pioneer Howard Jones is heading back to the United States in April for a run of select dates that pair him with rock heavyweight Rod Stewart, alongside a series of headline performances threaded between the arena shows.
The tour continues a relentless live schedule that has kept Jones in front of audiences for more than four decades. In 2025 alone he clocked more than 60 shows across the United States and Europe, marking the 40th anniversary of his breakthrough album Dream Into Action. A further announcement regarding his summer 2026 plans is expected shortly.
Coinciding with the tour is the release of Live At The Marquee, a newly issued concert recording captured at London’s Marquee Club in 1983. The performance, previously unreleased, was discovered during tape transfers undertaken for expanded editions of Human’s Lib in 2018. Jones personally remixed the audio, and the package features rare and previously unseen photographs in the liner notes. It is available on CD and double transparent yellow vinyl, with a format-specific postcard while stocks last.
The Marquee recording documents Jones at the exact point he shifted from cult London performer to global chart force. Born John Howard Jones in Southampton in 1955 and raised partly in Cardiff, he had classical piano training before abandoning formal studies at the Royal Northern College of Music to pursue songwriting. By 1983 he was hiring venues such as the Marquee to showcase his self-contained electronic set-up, complete with mime artist Jed Hoile adding visual theatre to the performances.
His debut single New Song arrived in September 1983 and quickly established his crisp, melodic synthesiser style.
Follow-up What Is Love? confirmed his chart credentials, and in 1984 Human’s Lib reached No. 1 in the UK. The album, featuring New Song and What Is Love?, helped position Jones at the forefront of what became known as the Second British Invasion of the United States.
Dream Into Action in 1985 cemented that momentum. The album delivered Things Can Only Get Better, Life In One Day, No One Is To Blame and Like To Get To Know You Well. In the United States, No One Is To Blame climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard chart after being re-recorded with Phil Collins, while Dream Into Action achieved platinum status and remained on the US chart for almost a year.
Jones’ presence at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in July 1985 placed him on one of the most watched stages in music history, performing Hide And Seek solo at the piano. Across the 1980s he accumulated 15 Top 40 singles worldwide and became, as many critics later observed, one of the defining figures of mid-decade synth-pop.
Subsequent albums including One To One and Cross That Line maintained his international touring profile, particularly in the United States where he continued to fill large venues. In the 1990s he expanded into production and independent releases via his own Dtox label, while also writing for other artists.
The 2000s and 2010s saw further reinvention, from acoustic tours to electronic projects including Engage, Transform and Dialogue, the latter released in 2022 as part of a trilogy exploring contemporary electronic textures. In 2025 he issued Piano Composed in two distinct editions, Ivory and Spirio, presenting contrasting interpretations of the same compositions shaped during lockdown.
Jones has sold in excess of eight million albums worldwide and remains a regular presence on international stages, whether in intimate solo formats or with his full band. His catalogue has also found renewed audiences through placements in film and television, ensuring that songs such as Things Can Only Get Better and What Is Love? continue to resonate well beyond their original chart runs.
The April United States dates will see Jones supporting Rod Stewart at selected arena and amphitheatre shows, with headline club performances highlighting the breadth of his catalogue.
Howard Jones United States Tour Dates, April
15 April, Knoxville TN, Thompson-Boling Arena At Food City Center, supporting Rod Stewart
16 April, Memphis TN, Minglewood Hall
17 April, Huntsville AL, Orion Amphitheater, supporting Rod Stewart
19 April, The Woodlands TX, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, supporting Rod Stewart
20 April, New Orleans LA, House Of Blues
22 April, Rogers AR, Walmart AMP, supporting Rod Stewart
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