In heartfelt remarks in a recent performance at The Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida, Howard Jones recalled how his mother accompanied him on tour and helped to sell merchandise. His mother and father become known figures among the tour faithful in the heyday of Howard’s pop chart success, and fans often gathered at shows early in part to see them!
Howard shared the remembrance while introducing the song “Look Mama” from his seminal album Dream into Action, which he is touring as a 40th anniversary celebration across the United States throughout September. Although “Look Mama” wasn’t about his own mother (she was crestfallen to think the lyrics might have been a pointed criticism of her parenting), Howard nonetheless dedicated the rarely performed hit single to her memory at The Mahaffey Theater.
And for us the audience, the charming recollection was one small example of how Howard made us feel like part of his extended family — he exuded a warm gratitude that night on Sept. 6 as he does at so many of his shows. Although I like to say that Howard Jones is in his rock star era with his puffy coats, shades, and great haircuts, he’s so down to earth and sentimental that he feels more an old friend than a multi-platinum UK pop musician. A great part of his appeal as a performer is his that he’s his authentic self first and foremost.
As Howard is touring Dream into Action, the album dominated The Mahaffey Theater setlist as he dedicated six out of 15 songs to the album, adding rare performances of “Look Mama” and “Bounce Right Back” to live concert staples such as “No One Is to Blame” (still breathtaking and hopeful while maudlin) and the encore song “Things Can Only Get Better” (the most inspiring dance song you’ll ever hear).
Watch Howard Jones perform “Look Mama” live for the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1985 on YouTube:
The year 1985 was a banner year for Howard Jones, who also performed at Live Aid that year. Live Aid followed closely behind the release of Dream into Action, the album that put Howard on the pop music map in the United States. It should be noted that Howard’s debut Human Lib also was very popular, particularly in England, and helped put him over the informal line of having sold at least a million records in the year prior to Live Aid as a qualifier to participate!
At Live Aid in 1985, Howard played a single song at Wembley Stadium: Human Lib’s “Hide and Seek” — a song that he has ranked as his favorite in past conversations with his audience. And so it was a pleasure to hear it live once again toward the end of the set as one of four songs presented from Human’s Lib at The Mahaffey Theater.
Howard truly shined in St. Petersburg, but he was aided and abetted by an awesome band. Joining Howard on this tour are longtime partner Robin Boult on guitar, Phil Jones on keys, Doug Yowell on drums, and Rory Harvey on bass. The band was very very good, and it added to the sincerity of the show that Howard was so clearly pleased to be touring with Robin this month, taking multiple opportunities to soak up the the performance of his frequent musical collaborator.
What a rich and lively show! Any audience would have gone home dizzily happy to see Howard’s headlining gig. But Mr. Jones made this show even better by brining along some personality and punch in his opening acts: sophistipop band Haircut One Hundred and radio DJ Richard Blade! More about Richard in a moment.
The founding English trio of Haircut One Hundred made their return to the USA in 2024 to open Howard Jones after decades away. And their infectious energy and jaunty rhythms were readymade to pair with Howard’s upbeat new wave awesomeness. At The Mahaffey Theater, Haircut One Hundred played only seven songs — too short a set — but what seven songs they had! In their time together, Haircut One Hundred only ever released two studio albums, but Pelican West, their debut, gloriously haunts Gen X listeners like me for its unforgettable pep and pop.
Haircut One Hundred drew mostly from Pelican West for their set, spotlighting their two best-known and most infectious singles: “Love Plus One” and “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl).”
Watch the official music video for “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)” by Haircut One Hundred on YouTube:
The three powerhouse founding members of Haircut One Hundred were all on point. The effervescent vocalist Nick Heyward — looking rather muscular! — was a joy to behold as he dashed and jumped across the stage. Bassist Les Nemes grooved the night away although his countenance was more stoic than his bandmates. He had true Charlie Watts vibes. And guitarist Graham Jones mugged and growled and pounded away like a man on fire. Graham was so magnetic and entertaining that I could have watched a solo show by him all night and gone home happy.
And as he did on his last headlining run, Howard Jones brought along the famed KROQ DJ Richard Blade (now a staple purveyor of ’80s tunes on Sirius XM) to open the proceedings at The Mahaffey Theater. Richard presents some tunes in his opening gig, for sure, but he goes way deeper than that as a raconteur, sharing witty and occasionally NSFW tales of his early DJ days and his interactions with the pop stars, now his old friends, of the day.
Richard is a charming, pleasant chap who seems really at home on the Howard Jones tour, and the sunny Englishman puts the audience immediately at ease with his jovial storytelling and easygoing manner. For this particular show, Richard engaged audience participating by recalling how kids in the ’80s discovered so many of their favorite songs through movies, such as of course “If You Leave” by OMD as featured in Pretty in Pink. It’s well worth showing up early for Richard Blade and settling into the night by warming up your ears while enjoying a beer. Before long, you’ll feel like he too is part of the family.
Here are some photos of Howard Jones performing live at The Mahaffey Theater on Sept. 6, 2025. All picture by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of Haircut One Hundred performing live at The Mahaffey Theater on Sept. 6, 2025.
And here are some photos of Richard Blade performing live at The Mahaffey Theater on Sept. 6!
