Howard Jones kinda flew under the radar for me in the 80s, although you heard his songs all the time. He amassed 8 Billboard Top 40 hits between '84 and '89 and one more in '92. He scored 10 Top 40 hits as well in the UK during this time period. His songs were very 'radio friendly' in that when they came on the radio, you really wouldn't change the station like you might with others. His highest charters were 'Things Can Only Get Better' (#5 in '85) and 'No One Is To Blame' (#4 in '86).
From Wikipedia: "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of Synthpop". "Jones was one of the defining figures of mid 1980s synthpop. His music merged the technology intensive sound of New Wave with the cheery optimism of hippies and late 1960s pop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Jones_(musician)
I saw him at Blossom Music Center in the summer of 1984 when he opened for the Eurhythmics. He was very impressive. He surrounded himself within a circle of electronic keyboards creating layer after layer of sound, constructing his own background band before he sang along. I still have the one-sheet promo/biography of Jones they handed out at the concert. I saw him again in 2003 or '04. This time at the Winchester in Cleveland. He was fantastic again.
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