Howard Jones & ABC
College Street Music Hall
Feb. 26, 2025
On Wednesday night a vibrant crowd at College Street Music Hall rejoiced in their remembrance of the 1980s with two of its most successful and celebrated British New Wave synth pop acts: Howard Jones and ABC.
Both acts made their mark as equally for the memorable visuals in their videos played on near perpetual repeat on MTV throughout its first decade as well as for the string of radio hits each had that continue to get regular airplay on Sirius XM’s First Wave radio station devoted to purveyors of post punk and synth-soaked tunes.
Speaking of that station, its lead DJ/host, Richard Blade, happened to be the host and opening act for Wednesday’s evening’s festivities, offering a wealth of the decade’s music history, fun facts, and even a few sound bites of its biggest hits. Blade, who has made his mark not just as a DJ but as a writer and television producer, welcomed the crowd, praised the city of New Haven for its beauty, and then said rather than a standard DJ set he would offer us “something special” — a “little history” of the ’80s.
Blade noted that even he did not think the music would stand the test of time -– “I was wrong,” he joyfully admitted. He proceeded to take a trip back to the beginnings of synth in 1972 with Kraftwerk and made his way through to the 1980s and the birth of MTV, honoring such visionaries as Gary Numan, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Human League, and Depeche Mode. With each mention of an act, he played a clip of one of their most popular songs, which got the crowd quite revved up for the evening ahead as they cheered and sang along.
As Blade introduced ABC, he noted that their 1982 release “The Lexicon of Love” was only the second album by a British debut act to garner four Top 20 hits, the first being The Beatles, though any fan of ’80s pop music can attest to their radio dominance. This reporter is one of them; I can wholeheartedly admit here that as lead vocalist Martin Fry sang the first lines of their soul-soaked hit “When Smokey Sings” as the opening number, I got chills. His voice was still that voice. Decked out in his skinny black tie and sparkly blazer, he was still the epitome of sophistication and style as the band tore through the song as if it was fresh off the wax while the joyous crowd sang and danced along.
“Good evening to you all, you children of the ’80s,” he said before continuing on through a stacked set that included not just the hits from their seminal aforementioned debut but also later ones from 1985’s “How To Be A Zillionaire” like the Minnesota sound-influenced “Vanity Kills” and the sharp and sassy “Millionaire.” The latter song was as appropriate for today as it was back then, beginning and ending with the line, “I’ve seen the future. I can’t afford it.”
Audience members sang and danced throughout, especially when the biggest hits were played: “Poison Arrow,” “Be Near Me:, and the final song of the two song encore, “The Look of Love,” which put the band on the map on MTV with its stylish video and memorable lyrics. That song builds and builds both musically and vocally, ending with a musical flourish and lyrics that stick with you, such as “sisters and brothers should help each other.” Forty years later, the music and the message still beg to be heard and heralded.
Even my husband, my date for the night and also an ’80s teen, could not believe how much I could recall from that time. I kept chiming in with answers when between acts Blade went through a review of top requested bands from his radio station, once again peppered with clips of their popular songs. (Spoiler alert: Depeche Mode was number one.)
“I’m looking at this set list, and there’s hit after hit after hit,” said Blade before handing the stage over to Jones and his band, and he was not kidding. I don’t think there was one song of that set that I did not know. I am also fairly certain that many in the audience stood and sang each one of them.
Jones had a blast himself, coming out on stage playing his keytar and switching out from that to his synth and piano throughout the set, getting the crowd to call and response with him, and working his way from end to end to make sure he engaged us all.
I also did not recall Howard Jones rocking that hard. He mentioned later on in the set that he likes to “rework” tunes when he can. Those reworkings boded well for the live performance, as the pulsing rhythm section (which included Kajagoogoo bassist Nick Beggs) in conjunction with the powerful guitar work as well as the multiple levels of keys and synths seemed to take every song up a few more notches, though he did add in stripped-down versions of a couple songs, including a cover of Kajagoogoo’s Too Shy with Beggs offering up its iconic bass line and the crowd helping out on vocals.
I have to say his words also really hit different for me. While I was familiar with Jones lyrical prowess, as with a few of the ABC songs it felt like so many of them were as potent and necessary for today’s world as they were back in the ’80s. Songs like “Life in One Day,” “No One is To Blame,” and “Hide and Seek” reminded one to stop, step back, and take a breath.
Nowhere was the impact of Jones’ lyrics more evident than in his encore. He left two of the biggest for last — “What is Love” and “Things Can Only Get Better.” The fans ate it up, stood, sang, cheered, danced. It was all reenergizing, at least for this reporter and lifelong fan. He even spoke the lines of that final song before they began to play it and added a heartfelt message:
“Do you feel scared? I do, but I won’t stop and falter, “he said repeating his famous and highly relatable lyrics. He then added “I double down being kind. I double down being respectful of everyone I meet. If we keep doing that, things can only get better.”
