Howard's Helpers

When Howard started out, he was a solo musician, playing all of the instruments himself and using drum machines to supply the rhythms. Later on, he got a drummer, backup singers, and even a guitarist. More recently, however, he has gone back to his roots and is working mostly on his own. Let's take a look at some of the people he's worked with:

[Trevor Morais]

Trevor Morais. Trevor was Howard's excellent drummer for several years. He's most remembered as having played on the many tours supporting Dream Into Action, One To One, and Cross That Line. He is also featured in the video "Last World Dream."

I always remember Trevor as that "crazy lookin guy" hidden behind that huge wall of acoustic drums, electronic drum pads, and cymbals. He always looked like he was having a great time, and I have no idea how he kept up that level of intensity for an entire show.

[Martin Jones]

Martin Jones. Martin, Howard's brother, has toured on numerous occasions as his guitarist. He's played bass guitar, acoustic guitar, etc. I think that it's really cool that Howard can get along with his family well enough to actually perform with them. And Martin does a damn fine job playing those guitars. I remember back on the Cross That Line tour, it was him, Trevor, and Howard. That was one of the most incredible shows I've ever seen.

I could be wrong, but I think that Martin also helps Howard out in writing some of his songs as well. I think my favorite song that he's written is "Over and Above," which is on the independent release, Working In The Back Room. That has to be one of my all-time fave songs.

[Carol Steele]

Carol Steele. Carol is Howard's latest touring partner. She's the wonderful lady behind all of those percussion instruments. On the Acoustic Tour, she toured with Howard and a Grand Piano. And on the Live Acoustic America Tour, she and Howard toured again, this time, however, Howard used an electric piano. She's so full of life and energy, and even does some backing vocals on a few songs, like "You Know I Love You... Don't You?"

She's featured at her best on Live Acoustic America, which was recorded in L.A. on The Acoustic Tour. And for her studio work, check out "Left No Evdence" on Working In The Back Room. Everyone loves Carol, and we all hope that she keeps on working with Howard for many years to come.

[Afrodiziak]

Afrodiziak. Comprised of Caron Wheeler, Claudia Fontaine and Naomi Osborne, Afrodiziak was Howard's group of backup singers during Dream Into Action and One To One. They were best known for singing on "Things Can Only Get Better," the remake of "No On Is To Blame," and "Life In One Day." I always thought that they added a very nice touch, especially to the live shows (I only saw them once, on the One To One Tour). They gave Howard's songs a nice bit of soul. They have since moved on to other things. Caron, for instance, has done a lot of work with the UK group "Soul To Soul."

[Phil Collins]

Phil Collins. Phil worked with Howard on his most famous of songs, "No One Is To Blame." The song originally appeared on Dream Into Action, but was not released as a single until it was re-recorded with Phil Collins on drums and backing vocals. It then got released as a bonus track on One To One, and on the US only release, Action Replay and got as high as number four on the US charts. While this was a great success for Howard, I feel that the song was better before it was re-done. Phil added a great element to the song, and it definitely made the song more suited to being released as a single, however.
[Inga Humpe]

Inga Humpe. Inga worked with Howard on one of my all-time favorite dance tracks, "Powerhouse." This song appeared on Cross That Line. She did backing vocals for him. The song was later remixed by DJs from the UK's Acid House scene and has a very deep house sound to it. There are rumours floating around about an entire album's worth of remixes, but they have never been released. Pictures of Inga are scarce, and the only one I could find was one taken with two Italian guys. (I tried to cut them out as best I could.)

There are many others who have worked with Howard, and to try to cover them all would be quite time-consuming. These are the major ones, with the exception of Howard's many producers and remixers, who have also contributed much to his music.

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