How the Late Rev. Jesse Jackson Inspired Howard Jones’ Return-to-Synth Single ‘Stand Up’
Categoria: Musica
The '80s hitmaker has a lot on his mind as he preps new album Global Citizen.
Por Billboard | 09/07/2026
Repairing one of his vintage analog synthesizers provided the impetus for Howard Jones’ new single, “Stand Up,” premiering exclusively below as the first taste of his next album, Global Citizen . The Roland Jupiter-8 is the same instrument Jones used on Billboard Hot 100 hits such as “New Song,” “Things Can Only Get Better” and “What is Love?” “I decided to do a whole track based on sounds from my favorite synthesizer — that’s how (‘Stand Up’) came about, really,” the British singer and composer tells Billboard via Zoom from his home in Somerset, England. “My friend up in Leeds fixed all my synths for it. He had (the Jupiter-8) for several months and I hadn’t really had a chance to mess with it. “When it came back I just realized, ‘This synth is so good.’ It really makes the software of today look pathetic, to be honest. So I was inspired by the sounds I was getting, going back to the old school of performing the pieces, actually manipulating the sound as I recorded it. It was very joyful.” Lyrically, meanwhile, “Stand Up” draws from Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1972 poem “Stand Up, Black Man,” which Jones read after the Civil Rights icon’s death in February. “I wasn’t familiar with the poem,” Jones explains, “so I looked it up online and was very inspired to write something along those lines — ‘Stand up. You are somebody. Don’t let no one put you down,’ for people to realize the greatness they have inside themselves. I’ve always written songs about self-reflection: how do you live your life as a human being in a successful way? How do you work things out? Why are we here? It’s always been about that for me. And there’s plenty of material to be inspired by now, with the way things are in the world. It’s a scary time for pretty much everyone. You’ve got incredibly powerful people who do not have any philosophical or moral compass whatsoever. The turn to the populist right in all parts of the world is really concerning, and at the same time our climate is just going haywire. “There’s plenty to write about, and I will be doing that. I feel so fortunate that I can sing those songs with more conviction than I probably had when I was younger because I’ve lived so much more life now.” Jones says that philosophy, along with the musical impact of his vintage synthesizers, will provide the foundation for Global Citizen , which is due out during 2027. “I’m sort of five tracks on the go right now,” he reports. “Who knows how long it’s gonna take me. I’m working on it every day. It may be the last album that I do (of) original work, so I want to make it very special.” The last album? “Back, I guess, 10 years ago I said to the fans that I would do four album projects over the next 10 y