'Stand Up': Brand-new song from synth pop legend & Artpark headliner Howard Jones

Worldwide premiere via Billboard

√ ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ North American package tour curated & headlined by Jones kicks off next week; bill includes fellow British ’80s greats Wang Chung, The English Beat, Modern English & hosted by Richard Blade

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,” Jones said, “ ‘Stand Up’ was born out of revisiting my original Jupiter-8 synthesizer, which has just been repaired. I rediscovered how much I love its analog sound. It’s my favorite 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 show visits Artpark in Lewiston on Aug. 12. “Stand Up” will be available for purchase beginning tomorrow here. Single cover art can be accessed here.

The “Things Can Only Get Better” North American tour is the feel-good 1980s 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 – it 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, California, at Blue Note Napa Sessions on Sunday, July 19. Click here to purchase tickets.

Electronic music pioneer 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 No. 1 in 1984 in the U.K. 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 10 Platinum album in the U.S. 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.”

Jones has sold upward of 10 million albums worldwide and continues to make new music and tour the world. He has performed on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in addition to 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 as “Stranger Things,” “Breaking Bad,” “Watchmen,” “The Carrie Diaries” “Superstore” and “Bumblebee.”