Howard Jones – Life In One Day
#quotefromthe80s
The old man said to me
Said don't always take life so seriously
Play the flute
And dance and sing your song
#HowardJones #LifeInOneDay
We have said many times that the first six months of 1985, let’s say up to Live Aid, were probably the highest and purest period of all the 80s. In that period new artists appeared, while others were definitively recognized as icons of the decade. And among these there is certainly Howard Jones, one of the most evident talents of those years, combined however (as often happened) with an absolute professionalism as regards the creation of lyrics and music.
Howard Jones had closed 1984 with a song released in August, Like to get to know you well, in full pre-Olympic climate (the Los Angeles Games were about to begin). Then for a few months he retired to finish his masterpiece, the album Dream Into Action which came out in the first months of 1985. It was an incredible success. Personally I consider it one of the best albums of the decade, and since its release it was supported by exceptional songs that entered the history of those years. The first was Things can only get better, which came out in February. Two months later it was Look Mama‘s turn, and at the end of June it was time for Life in one day.
A song certainly beautiful and with an important message, but which failed to enter the top ten, after the sensational successes of the songs that preceded it.
The video also got fewer passes than others, which is a shame, because it was absolutely brilliant! At the beginning we seem to attend a Top of the Pops-style broadcast, with Howard Jones on stage ready to sing the song announced by the presenter, alongside Afrodiziak, the backing singers who also appeared in the other videos taken from this album and who followed Howard in concerts.
The footage is absolutely in TV style: we don’t actually see Howard Jones singing, but we see a television program where Howard Jones sings. But then, all kinds of noise and interference happen in the video: accelerated and slowed speeds, fog effects, bits from other TV channels, and it all seems a bit real, as if we were watching a video taken from an old poorly recorded videotape. Not even the song is continuous, and is often interrupted by clips that have nothing to do with it!
A clue, however, makes us understand that all this was absolutely deliberate, and it is the presence of Howard Jones in other roles, often disguised in an unrecognizable way. I really like the passage where Howard is the news reader, reciting the message of the song (at the exact moment the song says the same thing behind him): don’t try to live your life in one single day. Don’t go speed your time away.
At the end of the video, Howard also appears as a serious and elderly professor who reflects exactly on this message.
The video as we said is very funny, and was shot by Godley and Creme, who a few months earlier had amazed the world with the video of their Cry, entirely based on morphing effects between faces singing the song (including of course their own faces) .
In short, Howard Jones at that time was really one of the most important characters in the music scene, and in fact a few days later he also took to Live Aid, where he presented another fantastic song, Hide and Seek. He really was and still is a great protagonist of the 80s.
Howard Jones on Wikipedia
Views: 199
