New Song (Howard Jones song)


"New Song" is the debut single by musician Howard Jones, released in September 1983. The single reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. The single spent 20 weeks on the Top 75. On the UK seven-inch single, the song's lyrics are printed in a spiral on the A-side label, with all the credits printed on the B-side.
In the US, "New Song" peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, although it was not released there until early 1984. The track later appeared on Jones' debut album Human's Lib

Background

The single's B-side was titled "Change the Man". The twelve-inch single featured an extended version of "New Song" together with "Change the Man" and the original studio version of "Conditioning", which would be re-recorded for Human's Lib. "New Song" itself was later re-recorded for The 12" Album, in a version denoted "New Version". This featured a lot of multi-layered piano, in contrast to the austere synthesizer sound of the original seven and twelve-inch versions.
Equipment used for the song includes a Roland Juno-60 synthesizer, Moog Memorymoog synthesizer, and an E-mu Drumulator drum machine.
DJ Mike Read refused to play "New Song", suggesting it was too similar to the song "Solsbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel. When asked about the similarity in a 2011 interview, Jones denied using "Solsbury Hill" as inspiration:

Music video

The video opens at a food processing plant, where Jones works as a caretaker. As the owner arrives on the site, Jones strips off his uniform overalls and begins to sing to the other workers. One of them, a man wearing black/white face paint removes his overalls and begins to dance through the plant. As the owner begins to mop the floor, Jones, the dancer, and several employees pile into his luxury car and drive off. Jones and the dancer next visit an Underground station to perform for the patrons, then visit a window cleaner and get him to take a break from his work. Finally, the two arrive at a school and interrupt a class of unruly students, who follow them outside to play on the lawn, followed by their teacher.

Track listing

;7" vinyl
  1. "New Song" – 4:16
  2. "Change the Man" – 4:30
;7" vinyl
  1. "New Song" – 4:16
  2. "Conditioning" – 4:02
;12" vinyl
  1. "New Song" – 5:21
  2. "Change the Man" – 4:30
  3. "Conditioning" – 4:55

    Chart performance