Howard Jones: At The BBC, 5CD Clamshell Box

• 5CD box set encapsulating the very best of Howard Jones’ BBC Session and live concert performance broadcasts

• Featuring nine previously unreleased session tracks including ‘What Can I Say?’ which is remastered from the original master tape for the very first time

• All the live performance tracks (bar eight from the Oxford Road Show) are previously unreleased, including three songs from this live performance that were not broadcast at the time and are previously unheard and unreleased: ‘Like To Get To Know You Well’, ‘No One Is To Blame’ and ‘Don't Always Look At The Rain’/‘Things Can Only Get Better’.

• Plus a 16-page CD booklet including a sleeve note by Anil Prasad in conversation with Howard reflecting on his ‘80s BBC Session and live recordings.

Decades before YouTube and streaming, the biggest influence on British pop music fans was exposure to artists via the BBC. In the ‘80s, BBC Radio remained a primal force in establishing the relevance and momentum of musicians, including for Howard Jones, himself.

In the period between 1983-87, the BBC broadcast four different sessions by Howard; two of these for the Kid Jensen Show and two for the Janice Long Show. This 5CD box set contains all 19 of these session tracks including the complete ‘White Tape’ demo recordings that Howard gave to the BBC to broadcast as his second session in May of 1983.

The box set also includes three In Concert live performances and the previously unheard complete Oxford Road Show performance that was simulcast on BBC Radio 1 and BBC2 on 15th March 1985.

As Howard himself said in conversation with sleeve note writer Anil Prasad; “This set is a really valuable, historical document. You hear me before the first album was released, after I’ve had success, my evolution from a solo performer to a band-focused performer, and all of it happened across only four years from 1983-1987. There’s so much variety in the sessions, even among songs that appear multiple times. It’s a series of snapshots from a very important time in my career. It’s fascinating for me to listen to and reflect on so many years later. I hope the same holds true for the fans as well.”

Track Listing:

DISC ONE:
The Kid Jensen Show on BBC Radio 1. First broadcast on 13th March 1983
1 New Song
2 Don't Put These Curses On Me
3 Natural
4 Human's Lib
The Kid Jensen Show on BBC Radio 1. First broadcast on 27th May 1983
5 Human's Lib
6 Love ?
7 Risk
8 Always Asking Questions
9 What Can I Say?
The Janice Long Show on BBC Radio 1. First broadcast on 27th January 1985
10 Things Can Only Get Better*
11 Look Mama*
12 Dream Into Action*
13 No One Is To Blame

DISC TWO:
The Janice Long Show on BBC Radio 1. First broadcast on 30th March 1987
1 The Balance Of Love*
2 Conditioning*
3 Little Bit Of Snow*
4 Don't Want To Fight Anymore*
5 Give Me Strength*
6 IGY (What A Beautiful World)*
In Concert on BBC Radio 1 Live at the Paris Theatre, London on 5.10.1983. First broadcast on 15th October 1983
7 New Song*
8 Conditioning*
9 Dreams Of A Better Place*
10 What Is Love?*
11 Equality*
12 Don't Always Look At Rain*
* Previously Unreleased

DISC THREE:
In Concert on BBC Radio 1 Live at Friars, Aylesbury on 7.4.1984. First broadcast 12th May 1984
1 Hunt The Self*
2 Pearl In The Shell*
3 Always Asking Questions*
4 Don't Always Look At The Rain*
5 Change The Man*
6 Like To Get To Know You Well*
7 Equality*
8 Hide And Seek*
9 Dreams Of A Better Place*
10 New Song*
11 What Is Love?*

DISC FOUR:
In Concert on BBC Radio 1 Live at The Royal Albert Hall on 17.12.1984. First broadcast 6th April 1985
1 Like To Get To Get To Know You Well*
2 Look Mama*
3 Hunger For The Flesh*
4 Natural*
5 Hide And Seek*
6 Always Asking Questions*
7 No One is To Blame*
8 Equality*
9 What Is Love?*
10 New Song*
11 Hunt The Self*

DISC FIVE:
The Oxford Road Show on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 2.
Broadcast Live from The Manchester Apollo Theatre on 15th March 1985
1 Things Can Only Get Better*
2 Automaton
3 Pearl In The Shell 4 Hide And Seek*
5 Like To Get To Know You Well*
6 Look Mama
7 Dream Into Action
8 Hunger For The Flesh
9 Hunt The Self
10 What Is Love?*
11 No One Is To Blame*
12 Always Asking Questions
13 New Song
14 Don't Always Look At The Rain/Things Can Only Get Better*
* Previously Unreleased