Songoftheday 6/29/13 - Don’t crack up bend your brain, see both sides throw off your mental chains...

Howard Jones - "New Song"
from the album Human's Lib (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #27 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 6

Today's Song of the Day was the first hit for singer and keyboardist Howard Jones, who grew up in Wales,England, and Canada, before resettling in England, where he began performing with mime Jed Hoile. Signed in 1983, Jones released his debut album Human's Lib, and for the first single, he kept his mime companion in tow for the video for the intricate synth melodies of "New Song". I was always fascinated by the overlapping riffs in the instrumental break of the song...

"New Song" became his first American top-40 pop hit in March of 1984, while the record was the first of a half-dozen top-10 singles in Britain. It also made the top-20 in Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.

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Here's an early TV appearance by the singer (with Hoile)...

...and again live in 1985 on tour...

..and lastly in 2008 commemorating the track for the classic NOW! That's What I Call Music series...

Up tomorrow: a deceptively-named trio needs some squeezin'.