Howard Jones Loses Electricity--Not His Spark

“It was a new start for me, and in many ways, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

British pop star Howard Jones isn’t talking about winning a fight against a life-threatening illness, triumphing over chemical dependency, finding a new love or even about landing a lucrative new recording contract.

In fact, he’s talking about losing his old one.

Within the span of a few short years, he went hit maker to one more musician without a deal.

Jones was flying high in the mid-1980s. Propelled by such hit singles as “Things Can Only Get Better,” “No One Is to Blame” and “Everlasting Love,” his synthesizer-based techno-pop was hip enough to fill arenas and sell millions of records.

But by 1992, his music--along with that of techno soul mates Thomas Dolby and the Thompson Twins--had fallen out of fashion. Having completed his contract the world’s largest distribution conglomerate (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic)--and with no offer of a renewal--Jones was depressed.

“I went through a couple weeks of sheer panic, thinking, ‘I’m finished,’ ” Jones, 41, recalled during a recent phone interview from a tour stop in Boulder, Colo. “It was a very low point for me, until I realized that I could actually do some of the things I really wanted to do, and in the way that I wanted to do them.

“I wanted to show that, deal or no deal, I was in it for the long haul,” he said. “At the time, I wanted to record. So I did, and released the record myself [‘Working in the Backroom’ for Detox Records in 1994], booked a supporting tour, and things have built back up from there.”

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Further self-examination stimulated more changes. Instead of surrounding himself with banks of synthesizers and drum machines and resorting to distracting theatrics, he opted for a nearly solo, acoustic tour format, in which he played a baby grand piano and enlisted ex-Tears for Fears percussionist Carol Steele as his only accompaniment.

A stripped-down yet more reflective Jones has emerged, one who is immersing himself in themes of soul-searching, personal struggle and redemption.

In rearranging much of his older material to suit a folksier style, Jones found himself reinvigorated by this more intimate and spontaneous concert experience.

Audiences still sing along to his catchy hits, but, as witnessed on his new concert album, “Live Acoustic America” (Plump Records), fans sound equally appreciative of his intricate piano playing (“Out of Thin Air,” “Tape to Tape Rag”) and emotionally driven lyrics (“Fallin’ Away,” “One Last Try.”)

“I enjoy playing live for people because you create something from nothing every night,” said Jones, who has played the piano since he was 7 and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.

Deciding that he can’t alter the world, he has taken the only alternative path. “I think if you want to change the world, then change yourself first. Look inside and change that. It will have repercussions beyond your wildest dreams because it all adds up to something bigger. I try to create in my songs different ways of expressing this kind of attitude.”

Although Jones is now playing unplugged, he still embraces modern technology and its potential for better communicating his art. He envisions the day when he’ll premiere new material over the Internet, putting it directly into the hands of fans.

“Record companies have become huge iron gates, and that’s not the way it should be,” Jones said. “With the Internet, there are no roadblocks. You can have a page or web site and share it with the world. It can re-democratize our society.” (Jones’ own web site is athttps://www.amug.org/~hojoinfo)

Through the electronic dialogue and other feedback he’s received via cyberspace, Jones has concluded that “the audience wants me to express ideas not just in my mind, but also [those] inside of their heads. Ultimately, I’d like to present their unique view of what’s going on, and thereby be able to share in it.”

Now’s the time to enjoy the live, acoustic side of Jones, because, as he describes it, his next album (“Angels & Lovers”) marks a return to the elaborate sounds of his earlier projects.

“It will use 24-track [recording], with layered vocals, hi-fi percussion over the drum loops and use everything from acoustic piano and 12-string guitar to electric guitars, bass and keyboards,” said Jones, who cites Radiohead and Alanis Morrisette among the acts that currently inspire him. “Yet it will somehow manage to hang together with a unique sound of its own.”

Jones is previewing two acoustic-tinged, slower songs slated for the “Angels & Lovers” album--”We Make the Weather” and “Not One of the Lonely Tonight”--on his current tour, which stops at the House of Blues in Hollywood tonight and at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana on Friday.

Having persevered through his own self-doubts, major-label disinterest and critical pans--he’s been called both “Thomas Dolby Lite” and “bubble-headed”--Jones is once again a comfortable and confident musician disinclined to moan about the past.

“I’m not prone to regrets,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason, and as long as you can apply a positive viewpoint to your mistakes, then you can learn from them.

“I think people are used to me doing different things and appear to enjoy the various ways I present my music,” he said. “And actually, I feel very lucky when I see the broad range of fans at my shows. . . . The longtime faithful are there, but I’m surprised at how many young people are coming out.”

* Howard Jones and Rebecca Timmins perform Friday at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $23.50-$25.50. (714) 957-0600.