Listen to this track by synthpop boffin and musical positivity purveyor Howard Jones. It’s “Like to Get to Know You Well”, a single released in Britain in the summer of 1984. It came out in North America later on, and appeared in its international version on the 1984 EP The 12″ Album, which was a series of remixes of songs from 1983’s Human’s Lib, Jones’ breakthrough debut. That version includes the chorus sung in German and French as well as English.

The initial “Like to Get to Know You Well” single was a transitionary release between full-length records, sharing the same lyrical spirit and instrumental approach he’d established on his debut; an unabashedly pop sound driven by synthesizers and programming, with Jones’ effusive vocal at the center of it all. His musical style developed out of his formal training in classical piano, his interest in prog rock as a teenager, and in his exploration of how technology can complement relatable lyrical themes in very singable and danceable pop songs. On this one, Jones mixes a reggae pulse with calypso steel pan sounds to supplement his core synthpop sound with an undeniable vocal hook in the chorus.

“Like to Get to Know You Well” was specifically dedicated to “the original spirit of the Olympics”, an event which roughly corresponded with the song’s release date in the UK. It’s easy to connect this song then with a focus on international affairs and relations. Being the early Eighties, there was also an important subtext to be found there, and with an even greater sense of gravity and hopefulness addressed in this song.

It’s well understood by now how politically polarized the global landscape was by the beginning of the 1980s with Cold War rhetoric of the time gaining ground more and more as the decade progressed. By 1984, the anger and fearfulness that came out of that began to show through in pop music and pop culture all around with allusions to the consequences of political tensions and global conflict in the form of nothing less than Armageddon. It was a tense time, Olympic games notwithstanding.

What was often lacking with these concerns in mind at the time was hopefulness; the idea that we could find common ground across international borders and in ways of thinking; that we could recognize the humanity even in our fiercest rivals. It was the hope that the world would come to its senses and abandon systems and ideologies that caused the fear and hatred that informed the social atmosphere of Reagan’s America and Thatcher’s Britain.

As breezy and light as “Like to Get to Know You Well” is, the song was a deeply political statement about how a basic understanding of each other might alleviate the unnecessary tensions in the world at large. It was certainly in the original spirit of the Olympic Games which, besides as an exercise in friendly rivalries, is about shared passions for achieving excellence and an appreciation for humanity’s amazing physical and mental capabilities. If we all value these things across nations, cultures, and worldviews, then what else might we have in common that we had somehow forgotten or hadn’t considered? How might our greater understanding of each other help us to gain a more meaningful, less violent vision for our world and ourselves as a species?

“Finding all are insecure
Opening the same door
Leaving out a stubborn pride
Seeing from another side”

– “Like to Get to Know You Well”, Howard Jones

Yet the sentiments in this song and on many others in Howard Jones’ catalogue were a tough sell for many in that polarized period. Critically, it was often dismissed as lightweight and throwaway, not fitting in with the vibe of political music made at that time. In some ways, this is understandable. Not many people want to hear about visions for a unified humanity when one’s own government has smashed your union, or decimated your entire industry while spouting the rhetoric of common sense reform. The validity of that is certainly all too relatable today in a landscape full of open xenophobia and all manner of other phobias besides that affect political policy. But at some point, there has to be more to our struggles than simply defending ourselves against bad faith and bad policy.

In 1984, “Like to Get to Know You Well” held an important ingredient necessary to that struggle as much as anger did: the core belief that change is possible. Fighting for human rights is a tough slog without a vision for what the world itself might look like when we win the fight against tyranny, prejudice, and domination. Set to a reggae lilt, this was a song about that ideal of unity that helped listeners with an ear to hear to think that maybe there was an ultimate goal to achieve beyond just the hard scrabble of fighting for human rights on a daily basis in an oppressive era.

Howard Jones in 1983 (photo: Simon Fowler, courtesy of howardjones.com)

“Like to Get to Know You Well” was a breath of fresh air in the enclosed space of that polarized era of the early 1980s. As much as we needed (and still need!) artists to speak out against what was happening on the world stage, in the halls of government, and at shareholder’s meetings for big business interests, we also needed music and art to remind us that the world was not inevitably bound to reach some terrible conclusion; that we were not necessarily locked into a journey toward a mushroom cloud and still aren’t.

Sometimes in troubled eras, all we need is the clear and envisioned hope that we will succeed in our efforts to steer our fate together as a species toward peace, love, and understanding. We need to believe it’s possible. Maybe when we can do that, we can finally get to know each other well enough to believe that most of us want the same thing; a better world.

As athletes and audiences gather for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, an event that kicks off (at the time of this writing) next week July 26 to August 11, perhaps it’s a good time to reflect on that very thought.

Howard Jones is an active artist today. In recent years, he’s put out a series of albums that communicate a re-imagining of the world similar to the same intentions found in this song. You can learn about those releases, other music, and news about tours and other things at howardjones.com.

Also, check out Howard Jones’ more recent performance of “Like to Get to Know You Well” on Live at Daryl’s House which really shows how durable the tune really is as translated into a new arrangement.

Enjoy!

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