New wave icon Howard Jones is very proud to announce the “Things Can Only Get Better” North American tour for summer, 2026. The feel-good 80s event of the summer 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”. Please see below for tour dates; more tour dates will be announced shortly. Click here to purchase tickets.
In other imminent Howard Jones news, he will be appearing on SiriusXM’s First Wave Hollywood Happy Hour with Richard Blade on Friday, April 10th. The segment will feature both a live interview and performance in front of a studio audience. Tune in to First Wave (channel 33) on SiriusXM at 4:00PM, PST/7:00PM, EST that day to listen.
Of the upcoming tour, Howard Jones commented, “I dreamed of curating a tour with my favourite bands that could bring some positivity in our troubled times. I’m thrilled that this is actually happening this summer with the Things Can Only Get Better Tour. Joining me are my friends Wang Chung, The English Beat, Modern English, and Richard Blade. I’m so excited to be touring with these amazing talents. Our aim is to bring some joy with the banging pop anthems that we all know and love. “Things Can Only Get Better” is a message of hope for a future that we can create, when we stand up for the world we want to live in. Can’t wait to see you this summer!
Wang Chung’s Jack Hues and Nick Feldman stated, “We are very excited to be joining Howard on this tour. We have known each other since the 80s but have never toured extensively together before. We have worked with Dave Wakeling and the English Beat and Modern English more recently. They are all great guys and exciting bands - 4 British bands bringing their hits and that unique 80s energy to your hometown - don’t miss it!"
Modern English’s Robbie Grey added, “Will be great touring with old friends again. Every night will be a top night. We will play songs from our latest album 1234 and of course the classic early material and that song “I Melt With You”.
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.”
Wang Chung came out of the post-punk, New Wave scene in the UK, going on to achieve global success, selling millions of records. Throughout their 40 plus year career they have released 7 albums and 3 Greatest Hits compilations. They have had 6 US Top 40 hits including a number 1 and other international smash hits including 'Dance Hall Days' and “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” They achieved cult status with their soundtrack for legendary director William Friedkin’s movie “To Live and Die in LA,” as well as their original song contribution to John Hughes’ legendary movie, “The Breakfast Club.” More recently Wang Chung’s music has been featured in TV shows “The Walking Dead,” “Breaking Bad,” “South Park,” “This is Us,” and “Righteous Gemstones” amongst many others.
The English Beat is a band with an energetic mix of musical styles and a sound like no other. The band's unique sound has allowed it to endure for nearly four decades and appeal to fans, young and old, all over the world. The English Beat (known as The Beat in their native England) first came to prominence as founding members of the British Two-Tone Ska movement, with their classic first album “Just Can't Stop It” fitting squarely in that genre.
Band leader Dave Wakeling never felt constrained by the movement. The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm. The band's sound continued to evolve over their three studio albums, through the General Public era (a band formed by Dave with The Beat’s toaster, Ranking Roger), and it has continued its evolution with their 2016 release, “Here We Go Love”, a PledgeMusic crowd-funded album, the band's first new album since 1982's “Special Beat Service”. Consummate showman that he is, Dave Wakeling continues to keep The Beat alive and strong, touring the world as The English Beat with an amazing all-star ska backing band playing all the hits of The Beat and General Public.
Modern English, formed in Colchester, England, remain one of the defining bands of the post-punk era, with their original core lineup of Robbie Grey (vocals) and Michael Conroy (bass), intact since 1977. Widely regarded as innovators of the genre, the band is best known for their iconic hit “I Melt With You” which became a defining song of the ’80s and continues to resonate with new generations of listeners. MTV era songs like "Hands Across The Sea" and "Someone's Calling" still thrill audiences. Modern English continue to bring both their enduring catalog and renewed creative energy to audiences worldwide. Their most recent album, 2024’s 1234, remained in the Top 20 at college radio for six months.
Richard Blade is one of the most popular and best-known DJs in America, hosting a daily radio show on both SiriusXM 1st Wave Ch. 33 and middays on KCBS, Jack FM. In the 1980s, he was the top-rated morning drive DJ on KROQ, Los Angeles, and hosted and directed numerous TV shows and series including Video One, MV3 and VideoBeat. In 1991 he created Richard Blade’s Flashback Lunch which aired daily at noon and was copied by many stations across North America. It also spawned a series of six CDs on Sony Music, Richard Blade’s Flashback Favorites. He has won numerous awards, including, most recently, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Richard is the best-selling author of World In My Eyes, his autobiography, and five novels: SPQR, Birthright, Imposters, Ghosts of the Congo, and Slapton Sands, all of which made #1 on Amazon’s best-seller lists. He also has two non-fiction music books, The Lockdown Interviews and The Unlocked Interviews, which feature Howard Jones. An expanded version of World In My Eyes was released in 2024.
