No One Is To Blame

This song is about being attracted to people who you can't be with. In our interview with Howard Jones, it was revealed how the idea for the song came about: "Well, I think we can all relate to the main theme of the song. But I was in San Francisco, and I was doing a promotion with the local record company guy, and we were crossing the street to go to the radio station, and he said to me, 'Howard, what do you think of all the amazing women here in San Francisco?' And I said, 'Yeah, they're great, they're fantastic.' And he said, 'Well, you can look at the menu, but you don't have to eat.' And I've never actually heard anybody say that before. And so that was it, a good spark for a huge idea coming for a song."

There are two versions of this song, the first of which appears on Howard Jones' 1985 LP, Dream Into Action. Jones later teamed up with Phil Collins to re-record the track. Collins added backing vocals, drum work and produced the song. The finished product was made available on Jones' 1986 LP, One to One. In our interview with Jones, it was revealed fans prefer the first version: "It was originally on the Dream Into Action album, and it's quite stripped down. And I always thought I could probably get more out of the song. It was suggested I work with Phil, and I'd worked with Phil on the Prince's Trust concerts here in England. And I've been in a band and so I knew Phil. So it was really great working with him. But I'll tell you what, the fans all like the original version best." Jones explained to us why he thinks fans prefer the original: "I think it's because it's less slick and it's got more emotion in it. Personally, I prefer the Phil Collins version. But I understand why they like the first one. On this tour when we're playing the song, I play the original version. I don't do the second one."

This became Jones' biggest hit in America, but when he played it for the head of his record company, it got a chilly reception. "I think it's a B-side," Jones said the executive told him. Jones says this experience taught him to believe in his own work and not worry so much about how others perceived him or his work.