"Things Can Only Get Better" was released as the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from Howard Jones' 1985 album ''

Dream into Action ''Dream into Action'' is the second studio album by British pop musician Howard Jones. It was released in March 1985 and reached No. 2 in the UK Album Charts. The album also reached the top ten in the U.S. The album achieved a gold certification ...

''. In the U.S., the song reached number 5 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart and hit number 6 on the UK singles chart.

Background

A typically upbeat Jones composition, it was one of two songs from the album to feature all-female singing group

Afrodiziak Afrodiziak was a British singing group composed of Caron Wheeler, Claudia Fontaine, and later Naomi Thompson, that was active in the 1980s. As a duo, Wheeler and Fontaine were best known for performing backing vocals on the Jam's final sing ...

on backing vocals. John Leland from ''Spin'' magazine wrote that "It mines the best of the Anglo soul movement: a clean slap-bass line, precise horns and synths, and some well-paced and inviting singing". The main

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

was another album track from the UK version of the album, "Why Look for the Key", although with a slightly longer

fade Fade or Fading may refer to: Science and technology * Fading, a loss of signal strength at a radio receiver * Color fade, the alteration of color by light * Fade (audio engineering), a gradual change in sound volume * Brake fade, in vehicle braki ...

that made it about twenty seconds longer than the version on the UK version of ''Dream into Action''. "You Jazzy Nork!" is a reworked instrumental version of "Why Look for the Key" performed by the Alphonse Conway Orchestra. The cover of the 12" single featured a photograph of Jones, in profile, sitting on a high

bar stool Bar stools are a type of tall stool, often with a foot rest to support the feet. The height and narrowness of bar stools make them suitable for use at bars and high tables in pubs or bars. Before Prohibition in the United States, bar sto ...

. This image was used in

silhouette A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...

for the 7" artwork, the single being issued in several alternative sleeves with different colour backgrounds.

Music video

The video depicts Jones singing the song as his road crew sets up equipment for a concert, followed by a transition to the show as he performs for a lively crowd. A martial artist styled after

Daniel LaRusso Daniel LaRusso is a fictional character and the main protagonist of ''The Karate Kid (franchise), The Karate Kid'' media franchise portrayed by Ralph Macchio. He was created by American screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. Daniel is introduced as the ...

, the protagonist of the 1984 film ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen. It is the first film in ''The Karate Kid'' franchise. The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, an ...

'', and the

Tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English '' ...

character made famous by

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

wander around backstage during the setup and later appear in the crowd. At the end of the video, the Tramp walks off hand in hand with a young girl who had earlier watched the crew at work.

Track listings

;7" Elektra – 7-69651 (US) # Things Can Only Get Better – 3:59 # Why Look for the Key – 3:40 ;12" Elektra – 0-66915 (US) # Things Can Only Get Better (LP Version) - 3:59 # What Is Love? (New Extended Version) - 6:34 # Things Can Only Get Better (Extended Version) - 7:26 # New Song (New Version) - 4:48 Both a 7" and 12"

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

were released with the same tracks as the standard formats.

Remixes

In 2005, Swedish DJ

Eric Prydz Eric Sheridan Prydz (, ; born 19 July 1976), also known by his many aliases including Pryda () and Cirez D (), is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He rose to prominence with his 2004 hit single " Call on Me", and saw continued chart success wi ...

released a remixed version and renamed it "And Do You Feel Scared?". It is featured in the video game ''

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

'' as one of the many EA Trax that appear in the game. In 2013, French house music artist

Cedric Gervais Cédric DePasquale (, born 7 June 1979), better known by his stage name Cedric Gervais (), is a French DJ, record producer and actor residing in Miami Beach, Florida. In 2013, he produced a remix of Lana Del Rey's " Summertime Sadness", for whic ...

released a song featuring the vocal track from Howard Jones' original song. It too was titled "Things Can Only Get Better".

Chart history

"Things Can Only Get Better" reached number six in the UK Singles Chart and number five in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on the ''

chart. The song also crossed over to the R&B charts in America, peaking at number 54.

In popular culture

This song was featured in

episode 5 Episode Five, Episode 5 or Episode V may refer to: Film * ''The Empire Strikes Back'' also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'', a 1980 film Television episodes * Episode 5 (All of Us Are Dead), "Episode 5" (''All of Us Ar ...

of the ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'' TV series, in a short sequence set in 1985. This song was also featured in the soundtrack to the 2018 movie

Bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

. This song was also used in series 2, episode 5 of the television series '' Halt and Catch Fire''. This song also has a Simlish version in The Sims 2 New Wave radio category. A portion of the song is used in the 2024 horror film ''Tarot''.

References

External links

The Official Howard Jones Website Discography
{{Authority control 1985 songs 1985 singles Elektra Records singles Howard Jones (English musician) songs Song recordings produced by Rupert Hine Songs written by Howard Jones (English musician) Warner Music Group singles