Music lovers who expect things will only get better make their way inside New Brunswick’s State Theatre New Jersey this Wednesday, September 10, 2025 evening for a celebration of ’80s music starring Howard Jones and Haircut One Hundred.
DJ Richard Blade warms up the audience announcing, “We’re going to have a blast tonight! It’s an honor to be here in New Jersey as we throw back to the 1980s.” Blade follows up by playing video interviews of various ‘80s band members and delights concertgoers with music videos by such ‘80s artists as Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, and Depeche Mode.
Exclaiming, “I hope you’re ready for high energy!” Blade introduces Haircut One Hundred, the British pop band formed in London in 1980 which quickly rose to international fame in 1982 but disbanded in 1983.
Founding members Nick Heyward on guitar and vocals, Les Nemes on bass, and Graham Jones on guitar take the stage along with drummer Mark Whitfield, percussionist Felipe Fournier, saxophonist Nick Gomez, and trumpeter Ben Caiazza.
Heating up the house with “Baked Bean,” concertgoers stand, dance, and clap along to twangy guitars, beating percussion, and brassy horns as Nick Heyward cries,” “Dig it in to me!” on this energetic and powerful new wave rocker.
Heyward announces, “Good evening, how you doing? Are you ready to funk?” The crowd responds in the affirmative and the band segues into the funky Latin-influenced “Kingsize (You’re My Little Steam Whistle)” where Heyward croons, “Bring on the kingsize charade,” before Ben Caiazza renders a sizzling trumpet solo and Nick Gomez is featured on a jazzy tenor solo.
“We’ve come a long way to be here, so thank you!” announces Heyward as music lovers clap along to the driving beat of “Nobody’s Fool” and sing along with him on the tune’s “Be nobody’s fool” refrain.
Graham Jones plays side-by-side with Heyward as Les Nemes slaps his bass on the funky “Love’s Got Me in Triangles.”
The crowd hoots and hollers and Heywood announces, “This is a new single — it’s called ‘Dynamite,’” before the horn players support Heywood’s melodic vocal on this rhythmic dance number.
Music lovers cheer and Heywood declares, “It’s a fantastic day!” as he and the group launch into Haircut One Hundred’s 1982 UK hit, “Fantastic Day.” Concertgoers happily sing along on the song’s “Fantastic day” refrain as they dance in their seats to this upbeat new wave tune before the arrangement ends with a dynamic instrumental coda.
Graham Jones announces, “This is for all the lovers in the audience,” as the band performs its US Top 40 hit, “Love Plus One.” Concertgoers stand and dance as others clap to the high-energy beat and sing the “Ah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah” refrain of this upbeat Latin-influenced pop tune.
Heywood cries, “Let’s go!” as the band launches into its final tune, the Top 5 UK single, “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl),” an upbeat, jazzy new wave number which features sax and trumpet solos and a percussion duet by Mark Whitfield and Felipe Fournier before Heywood cries, “Your favourite shirt is on the bed/Do a somersault on your head,” eliciting animated cheers and applause.
“Thank you very much!” exclaims Heywood as Haircut One Hundred takes a well-deserved bow and exits before the standing and cheering crowd.
Following a short intermission, a fanfare plays as guitarist Robin Boult, keyboardist Phil Jones, bassist Rory Harvey, and drummer Doug Yowell take their places on stage. Laser lights stream as Howard Jones, 70, makes his entrance wearing a metallic coat and playing keytar on “Pearl in the Shell,” where he sings in his pointed vocal, “And the fear goes on shadows/And the tear flows on for nothing,” on this high-energy electronic rocker.
Concertgoers stand, dance, and join Jones in singing, “Don’t crack up/Bend your brain/See both sides/Throw off your mental chains,” on the upbeat and melodic “New Song.” Before the number is over, Jones announces, “Good people of New Jersey, would you like to throw off your mental chains tonight?” and the crowd responds with avid cheers and applause.
After introducing his bandmates, Jones sings with feeling and style on the reggae-influenced electronica number, “Like to Get to Know You Well.” Following a Robin Boult guitar solo, Jones gets the crowd clapping to the infectious rhythm under flashing lights.
Jones tells the audience that this year is the 40th anniversary of his Dream Into Action album, revealing that the original canvas stage banner from his 1985 tour was found in a California warehouse and is currently hanging behind him on stage tonight.
Jones plays the keyboard intro to “The Prisoner” before the band kicks in and he sings, “And you captured me/I need you to take control,” prior to strapping on his keytar for a solo on this rhythmic ’80s rocker.
Jones sings with feeling on the sparkling electronica dance number, “The One to Love You,” and plays a lovely melodic piano solo as a prelude to the rhythmic rock tune, “Assault and Battery,” before performing the upbeat rocker, “Eagle Will Fly Again.”
Concertgoers cheer and Jones says, “Sometimes the very thing you want is right there with you in the room, right in front of your nose, and you’ve just got to spot it.” Taking a seat at the piano, Jones begins to perform a slow version of his 1989 hit, “Everlasting Love.” Shifting into pop mode, music lovers enthusiastically sing along with Howard on the tune’s catchy “I need an everlasting love/I need a friend and a lover divine” chorus. After dancing to a Doug Yowell drum solo, Jones contributes a boogie-woogie piano solo as the band kicks in on the swinging coda.
Jones announces, “I wrote this next song after reading fans’ letters about kids’ struggles with parents.” Here, he performs “Look Mama” where he sings, “Look mama I love you/But you gotta let me live my life,” and plays keytar on this electronic rocker to avid cheers and applause.
Stating, “We have to take care of the future,” Jones skips into “Life in One Day.” The crowd sings along on the tune’s “Don’t try to live your life in one day” refrain before Jones offers up a jazzy piano solo and has the audience echo-sing melodic phrases with him on this folky rocker with an island feel.
Music lovers cheer for Jones’ 1986 US hit, “No One is to Blame,” and earnestly sing along with him on the soft rock tune’s “And you want her and she wants you” refrain prior to standing and cheering at the conclusion.
Jones talks about performing at 1985’s Live Aid benefit concert, explaining, “I wanted to do a song about trying to bring the world together.” Here, he performs “Hide and Seek” which starts with a flowing minor-key piano solo before he rises to sing, “Hope you find it in everything, everything that you see,” backed by electronic African-style drumming.
Jones raps on the funk tune, “Bounce Right Back,” and switches outfits for the upbeat electronic rocker, “You Know I Love You, Don’t You?” where he sings, “I got the rhythm/You got the beat/We feel it shake us /From our souls to our feet,” deftly backed by the rhythm section.
Music lovers cheer and Jones suggests, “Maybe love is letting people be who they want to be,” prior to launching into his 1983 Top 40 hit, “What Is Love.” Concertgoers clap along as they sing, “What is love anyway/Does anybody love anybody anyway,” on this appealing synth-pop number which features Jones and Robin Boult on voice and guitar on the extended coda.
The crowd stands and cheers as Jones and the band exit the stage. Returning, Jones says, “We fight back with kindness, we fight back with respect, because, yeah, things can only get better, right?” Launching into his Top 5 hit, “Things Can Only Get Better,” music lovers stand and move to the groove while happily echo-singing the melodic “Whoa, whoa, whoa-oh-oh, whoa-whoa, whoa-oh-oh” refrain of this infectious new wave tune.
At the end, Jones cries, “It can only get better!” before he and the band take a bow and Jones exclaims, “See you next time!” to the standing and cheering crowd.
As concertgoers make their way out of the auditorium, several comment on tonight’s performance. Exclaims Theresa from Philadelphia, “Howard Jones was amazing! I’ve seen him 11 times and the energy was really great tonight, he was in good voice, and I loved the keyboards. I really liked seeing Haircut One Hundred, too — they’re a tight band and you could tell they were happy to be on stage playing together this evening.”
Insists Aime from East Brunswick, “Howard Jones was amazing! I was in his fan club in the ‘80s and even met him a couple of times, and he was just fantastic tonight.” Her friend, Aida from Baltimore, agrees, recalling, “I first saw Howard in the Meadowlands back in the ‘80s and tonight he was 1000 times better — he’s seasoned with more stage experience and he really knows how to improvise!”
Ken from East Brunswick asserts, “Howard was fantastic! To see him live and to hear him and his musicians put their own touch on their live performance— as opposed to what you hear on the recordings — was awesome! It really brought the music to life, it was so energetic and so much fun. And even though this was the first time I’d heard Haircut One Hundred — I wasn’t a fan before — I loved them. I’ll be looking up their music and listening to them, so you can call me a fan now!”
Lastly, Amanda from Rockaway contends, “Howard Jones has the voice of an angel. I’m blown away by his musical abilities, his keyboard playing, and his energy, and I also liked Haircut One Hundred — they were fantastic!” Amanda’s sister, Amy from Yardley, PA, explains, “We’re kinda young for this music but our dad played it for us growing up, so we love it. Haircut One Hundred was awesome and Howard Jones was incredible — his vocals, his piano playing, and his synthesizer playing were just amazing,” prior to concluding, “He’s a synth-pop god!”
To learn more about Howard Jones, please go to howardjones.com. For more info on Haircut One Hundred, check out haircut100.com. For information on great upcoming concerts at STNJ — including KC and the Sunshine Band: Doin’ It World Tour 2025 on October 11 and 38 Special: 50 Year Legacy Tour on October 16, — please click on stnj.org.
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