Joe Jackson: A Retrospective (1978-2026)

Joe Jackson A Retrospective: 1978-2026

Overview: Singer/songwriter and musician Joe Jackson was born David Ian Jackson on August 11, 1954, in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. He started learning to play the violin at age 11, but switched to piano after a couple of years. When he was 16, he started playing piano in bars. At 18, he won a scholarship to study musical composition at London’s Royal Academy of Music. He was signed to A&M Records in 1978. His debut album, Look Sharp!, produced the memorable new wave hit “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” and earned him comparisons with contemporaries such as Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. However, he veered more toward jazz with his next few albums. Jackson found his greatest success in 1982 with Night and Day. The album reached the top 10 in the U.S. and UK, supported by the top-10 hit “Steppin’ Out” and top-20 hit “Breaking Us in Two.” He had another top-20 hit in 1984 with “You Can’t Get What You Want Till You Know What You Want” from his 1984 Body and Soul album. 1989 marked Jackson’s last album (Blaze of Glory) with A&M Records. It capped his most commercial, pop-oriented years. In the ‘90s, he would venture into classical music, even signing with Sony Classical and releasing three albums with them. He returned to more rock-oriented fare with 2003’s Volume 4 after signing with Rykodisc. After one more album with them, however, Jackson switched labels yet again, this time signing with Ear Music. He once again retreated to another familiar genre – jazz. He released The Duke, a tribute to Duke Ellington, in 2012. As of 2026, Jackson has released five studio albums with the label. Links DMDB encyclopedia entry for Joe Jackson JoeJackson.com (official site) Facebook Wikipedia

Compilations VB Stepping Out: The Very Best of (covers 1979-89, released 1990) GH Greatest Hits (covers 1979-89, released 1996) TI This is It! (The A&M Years) (covers 1979-89, released 1997) SC Steppin’ Out: The Collection (covers 1979-89, released 2014) UC The Ultimate Collection (covers 1979-2000, released 2003) CT Collected (box set, covers 1979-2008, released 2010) Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to charts. Spotify Playlist Check out my Spotify playlist Joe Jackson 1978-1989 to get all the songs from Stepping Out: The Very Best of, Greatest Hits, and Steppin’ Out: The Collection in one playlist.

Look Sharp! (1979): Is She Really Going Out with Him? (Oct. ’78, 21 BB, 21 CB, 16 HR, 17 RR, 6 CL, 2 CO, 13 UK, 9 CN, 15 AU, 3 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Sunday Papers (Feb. ’79, 42 CL, 6 CO, 14 DF) GH, TI, UC, CT One More Time (5/18/79, 46 CL, 33 CO) TI, UC Fools in Love (June ’79, 21, CL, 36 CO) VB, TI, UC, CT Pretty Girls (single, 21 CL, 36 CO) Look Sharp! (19 CL, 36 CO, 21 DF) GH, TI, CT Got the Time TI, CT I’m the Man (1979): I’m the Man (9/25/79, 45 CL, 8 CO, 23 CN, 21 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Come On (live) (9/25/79, B-side of “I’m the Man”) * UC, CT It’s Different for Girls (11/30/79, 5 UK, 85 AU, 14 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Kinda Kute (3/12/80, 91 CN) UC On Your Radio TI, CT Amateur Hour TI Get That Girl CT Don’t Wanna Be Like That TI Friday (single, 22 CL, 36 CO) * not on the original album but added later as a bonus track “The Harder They Come” (single, 1980): The Harder They Come (June ’80) UC, CT Tilt (June ’80, B-side of “The Harder They Come”) TI, CT Beat Crazy (1980): Mad at You (10/3/80) UC, CT Pretty Boys (Nov. ’80) UC One to One (Nov. ’80) TI, UC, CT Beat Crazy (Jan. ’81, 47 CL, 38 CO, 21 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Biology TI, CT Someone Up There TI Jumpin’ Jive (1981): Jumpin’ Jive (June ’81, 28 CO, 43 UK, 61 AU) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Jack, You’re Dead (Aug. ’81) UC, CT What’s the Use of Getting Sober When You’re Gonna Get Drunk Again TI, CT Is You is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby CT Five Guys Named Moe CT Night and Day (1982): Real Men (6/11/82, 89 UK, 6 AU, 8 DF) TI, UC, CT Breaking Us in Two (8/13/82, 18 BB, 17 CB, 8 RR, 8 AC, 4 CO, 59 U, 40 CN, 90 AU, 11 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Steppin’ Out (Aug. ’82, 6 BB, 5 CB, 2 RR, 4 AC, 7 AR, 2 CO, 6 UK, 5 CN, 30 AU, 1 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Another World (Oct. ’82) TI, UC, CT A Slow Song (May ’83, 12 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Chinatown TI Cancer (18 CO, 16 DF) Mike’s Murder (soundtrack, 1983): Cosmopolitan (Aug. ’83, 26 DF) CT Memphis (Nov. ’83, 85 BB, 35 CO, 15 DF) GH Moonlight (single, 24 DF) 1-2-3 Go (This Town’s a Fairground) CT Laundromat Monday CT Body and Soul (1984): You Can’t Get What You Want Till You Know What You Want (3/31/84, 15 BB, 19 CB, 13 RR, 13 AC, 12 AR, 4 CO, 77 UK, 30 CN, 96 AU, 8 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Happy Ending (with Elaine Caswell) (4/20/1984, 57 BB, 14 CO, 58 UK, 47 AU, 24 DF) TI, UC, CT Be My Number Two (June ’84, 35 CO, 70 UK, 19 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Cha Cha Loco (single) UC, CT Not Here, Not Now (24 DF) TI, CT Go for It (single, 24 DF) The Verdict (single) Big World (1986): Right and Wrong (4/12/86, 11 AR, 25 CO, 90 UK, 64 AU, 20 DF) VB, GH, TI, CT Home Town (June ’86, 27 DF) VB, GH, TI, CT The Jet Set (July ’86) Tango Atlantico (single) It’s a Big World (27 DF) CT Forty Years CT Precious Time TI Wild West (single) TI Pretty in Pink (soundtrack, 1986): Left of Center (with Suzanne Vega) (5/26/86, 6 CO, 32 UK, 36 AU, 3 DF) Will Power (1987): Nocturne (May ’87) Will Power CT Tucker (soundtrack, 1988): He’s a Shape in a Drape (11/14/88, 73 CN, 95 AU) UC, CT Blaze of Glory (1989): Nineteen Forever (4/22/89, 16 AR, 4 MR, 59 CN, 80 AU, 17 DF) VB, GH, TI, UC, CT Down to London (10/2/89, 27 DF) VB, GH, TI, CT Blaze of Glory (Dec. ’89, 24 DF) The Human Touch (34 DF) TI, CT Me and You Against the World (37 DF) TI, CT

Stepping Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson

Recorded: 1979-1989 Released: September 3, 1990 Peak: -- US, 7 UK, -- CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.10 UK Genre: new wave

Tracks: (1) Is She Really Going Out with Him? (2) Fools in Love (3) I’m the Man (4) It’s Different for Girls (5) Beat Crazy (6) Jumpin’ Jive (7) Breaking Us in Two (8) Steppin’ Out (9) A Slow Song (live) (10) You Can’t Get What You Want Till You Know What You Want (11) Be My Number Two (12) Right and Wrong (13) Home Town (14) Down to London (15) Nineteen Forever About the Album: Joe Jackson’s first compilation is a pretty good overview of his A&M years from 1979 to 1989, although the 1996 Greatest Hits is a superior collection.

Greatest Hits Joe Jackson

Recorded: 1979-1989 Released: May 7, 1996 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave

Tracks: (1) Is She Really Going Out with Him? (2) Look Sharp! (3) Sunday Papers (4) I’m the Man (5) It’s Different for Girls (6) Beat Crazy (7) Jumpin’ Jive (8) Breaking Us in Two (9) Steppin’ Out (10) A Slow Song (live) (11) Memphis (12) You Can’t Get What You Want Till You Know What You Want (13) Be My Number Two (14) Right and Wrong (15) Home Town (16) Down to London (17) Nineteen Forever About the Album: This is essentially a retread of the 1990 collection Stepping Out: The Very Best of, although this is the superior collection, adding songs like “Sunday Papers” and “Memphis” that weren’t on the first collection.

This Is It! (The A&M Years) Joe Jackson

Recorded: 1979-1989 Released: March 1997 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Is She Really Going Out with Him? (2) Fools in Love (3) One More Time (4) Sunday Papers (5) Look Sharp! (6) Got the Time (live) (7) On Your Radio (8) It’s Different for Girls (9) Don’t Wanna Be Like That (10) Amateur Hour (11) I’m the Man (12) Tilt (13) Someone Up There (14) One to One (15) Beat Crazy (16) Biology (17) Jumpin’ Jive (18) What’s the Use of Getting Sober When You’re Gonna Get Drunk Again (19) Is She Really Going Out with Him? (live a cappella version) (20) Another World Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Breaking Us in Two (2) Chinatown (3) Real Men (4) Steppin’ Out (5) A Slow Song (6) You Can’t Get What You Want Till You Know What You Want (7) Not Here, Not Now (8) Be My Number Two (9) Happy Ending (with Elaine Caswell) (10) Wild West (11) Right and Wrong (12) Home Town (13) Precious Time (14) Me and You Against the World (15) Down to London (16) Nineteen Forever (17) The Human Touch About the Album: Jackson doesn’t have enough hits to warrant a double anthology, making this collection fairly unnecessary. What’s more, it skips over several of his albums (Mike’s Murder, Will Power, Tucker) from this period entirely.

Steppin’ Out: The Collection Joe Jackson

Recorded: 1979-1989 Released: September 29, 2014 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave

Tracks: (1) One More Time (2) Is She Really Going Out with Him? (3) Sunday Papers (4) Got the Time (5) It’s Different for Girls (6) I’m the Man (7) Beat Crazy (8) Mad at You (9) Jumpin’ Jive (10) Real Men (11) Steppin’ Out (12) Breaking Us in Two (13) Memphis (14) You Can’t Get What You Want Till You Know What You Want (15) Be My Number Two (16) Right and Wrong (17) Home Town (18) Down to London (19) Nineteen Forever About the Album: The fourth compilation covering Jackson’s A&M years from 1979 to 1989. The Greatest Hits set from 1996 is the best bet.

Laughter & Lust (1991): Stranger Than Fiction (4/8/91, 79 CN) UC, CT Obvious Song (5/4/91, 28 AR, 2 MR) Hit Single (May ’91, --) Oh Well (Sept. ’91, 25 AR, 20 MR) When You’re Not Around CT Night Music (1994): Ever After (single) A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC (various artists, 1995): Statue of Liberty (single, 24 DF) Heaven & Hell (1997): Angel (Lust) (single) Passacaglia/A Bud and a Slice (Sloth) Summer in the City: Live in New York City (live, 2000): Summer in the City CT The In-Crowd CT Night and Day II (2000): Stranger Than You (single) UC, CT Glamour and Pain (with Dale DeVere) (single) CT Happyland CT

The Ultimate Collection Joe Jackson

Recorded: 1979-2000 Released: September 29, 2003 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave

Tracks:, Disc 1 (1) Fools in Love (2) Is She Really Going Out with Him (3) One More Time (4) Sunday Papers (5) I’m the Man (6) Come On (live) (7) Kinda Kute (8) It’s Different for Girls (9) One to One (10) Pretty Boys (11) Mad at You (12) The Harder They Come (13) Beat Crazy (14) Jack You’re Dead (15) Jumpin’ Jive Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Another World (2) Steppin’ Out (3) Real Men (4) A Slow Song (5) Breaking Us in Two (6) Cha Cha Loco (7) Be My Number Two (8) You Can’t Get What You Want Till You Know What You Want (9) Happy Ending (with Elaine Caswell) (10) Is She Really Going Out with Him (live a cappella) (11) Jumpin’ Jive (live) (12) He’s a Shape in a Drape (13) Nineteen Forever (14) Stranger Than Fiction (15) Stranger Than You (live) About the Album: This two-disc collection would seemingly add another decade’s worth of material since it stretches to 2000 while previous sets stopped in 1989. Alas, that’s barely the case considering there are only two post-1989 songs. Also, for no clear reason, this set was paired with Jackson’s 1983 Mike’s Murder soundtrack.

Volume 4 (2003): Awkward Age (2/17/03) Chrome (7/14/03) In 20-0-3 (non-album single, 2/16/04) Rain (2008): Invisible Man (1/17/08) King Pleasure (11/17/08) CT Too Tough (single) CT

Collected Joe Jackson

Recorded: 1979-2008 Released: October 5, 2010 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Fools in Love (2) Is She Really Going Out with Him (3) Look Sharp! (4) Got the Time (5) Sunday Papers (6) It’s Different for Girls (7) I’m the Man (8) On Your Radio (9) Get That Girl (10) Tilt (11) Biology (12) Mad at You (13) Beat Crazy (14) One to One (15) The Harder They Come (16) Jack, You’re Dead (17) Jumpin’ Jive (18) Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby (19) Five Guys Named Moe (20) What’s the Use of Getting Sober When You’re Gonna Get Drunk Again Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Another World (2) Steppin’ Out (3) Real Men (4) A Slow Song (5) Breaking Us in Two (6) Cosmopolitan (7) 1-2-3 Go (This Town’s a Fairground) (8) Laundromat Monday (9) Cha Cha Loco (10) Be My Number Two (11) You Can’t Get What You Want Till You Know What You What (12) Happy Ending (with Elaine Caswell) (13) Not Here, Not Now (14) Will Power (15) He’s a Shape in a Drape (16) Nineteen Forever (17) Down to London Tracks, Disc 3: (1) The Human Touch (2) Me and You Against the World (3) When You’re Not Around (4) Stranger Than Fiction (5) Glamour and Pain (with Dale DeVere) (6) Happyland (7) Too Tough (8) King Pleasure Time (9) Come On (live) (10) Right and Wrong (live) (11) It’s a Big World (live) (12) Forty Years (live) (13) Home Town (live) (14) Is She Really Going Out with Him? (live a cappella) (15) Jumpin’ Jive (live) (16) Summer in the City (live) (17) The In-Crowd/Down to London (live) (18) Stranger Than You (live) About the Album: It took a box set in 2010 to finally recognize that Joe Jackson had a career beyond 1989. This three-disc set devotes nearly a full disc to Jackson’s post-1989 work.

Fast Forward (2015): Fast Forward (8/14/15) The Blue Time (9/4/15) Ode to Joy (9/18/15) If It Wasn’t for You (10/2/15) A Little Smile (2/19/16) Fool (2019): Fabulously Absolute (10/9/18) Strange Land (11/30/18) Friend Better (1/8/19) Night by Night (single) Peter Gunn (single) What a Racket! (2023): Health & Safety (9/27/23) What a Racket! (10/25/23) Hope and Fury (2026): Welcome to Burning-by-Sea (12/10/25) Fabulous People (2/4/26, 1 DF) After All This Time (3/18/26)

Resources/References: Wikipedia page for Joe Jackson Related DMDB Links: First posted 5/10/2026.