Johnny Hates Jazz
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| Johnny Hates Jazz | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Sophisti-pop, Pop rock, New Wave |
| Years active | 1985–1992 2009–present |
| Labels | RAK, Virgin |
| Website | Official Johnny Hates Jazz website |
| Members | Mike Nocito Clark Datchler |
| Past members | Calvin Hayes Phil Thornalley |
Johnny Hates Jazz is an English pop/rock band, formed in London in 1985 by Clark Datchler (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Mike Nocito (bass, guitar), and Calvin Hayes (keyboards, drums). In April 1987 they saw international success with their first hit single "Shattered Dreams". On 29 April 2013 they released their first single for nearly 22 years entitled Magnetized.
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History [edit]
Datchler's father was a member of two 1950s vocal groups, The Stargazers and The Polkadots. Nocito hails from an American family based in Europe with the US armed forces. Hayes is the son of Mickie Most, the talent scout, record producer and once owner of RAK Records.[1]
They met in the early 1980s whilst working on various projects at RAK Studios in London. Datchler had released his first solo single at the age of 17, after which he was signed to Warner Bros.. He was then signed to RAK Records as lead vocalist in the band Hot Club and as a solo artist. Nocito was a recording engineer, who had worked with Pink Floyd, The Police, The Cure and Duran Duran. He engineered and co-produced Datchler's solo recordings for RAK before the formation of JHJ. Hayes was a founder member of Hot Club and also ran the A&R Department at RAK Records. Their tongue-in-cheek name referenced Nocito’s brother-in-law Johnny, who really hated jazz.
The first Johnny Hates Jazz single, "Me and My Foolish Heart", was released on RAK in April 1986. It gained substantial airplay, was Sounds magazine's record of the week, but was not a commercial success. After this, Datchler began to write the songs for the band, the first being "Shattered Dreams". In late 1986, JHJ performed acoustically at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, and as a result were signed to Virgin Records. "Shattered Dreams" was released as a single in March 1987 and became a worldwide hit, going top 5 in the UK, Australia and many European territories. It was also a hit in Asia, reaching number 2 in Japan.
In August 1987 their follow-up, "I Don't Want to be a Hero", an anti-war anthem, consolidated their chart success. Their next single, "Turn Back the Clock", featuring Kim Wilde on backing vocals, was released in November 1987 and became their third hit. JHJ's debut album, Turn Back the Clock, was released in January 1988, topping charts worldwide. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1, achieving double platinum status. The following month they achieved their fourth hit single from the album, "Heart Of Gold". That same year, "Shattered Dreams" reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 1 on the AOR chart. The record has been played over 3.2 million times on radio and television in the US alone, for which Datchler received a BMI award in October 2010. To date, the Turn Back the Clock album has sold four million copies.[citation needed]
After leaving Johnny Hates Jazz in 1988, Datchler lived in Britain, the Netherlands and the US, and recorded two solo albums: Fishing for Souls and Tomorrow. Nocito and Hayes worked on an album called Tall Stories, which featured the record producer, Phil Thornalley, on vocals. Nocito went on to write and produce for Hepburn, Gina G, Orson and 1997's Eurovision Song Contest winner, Katrina & the Waves, "Love Shine a Light". After a serious car crash in 1992, Hayes spent a year in a body cast, effectively putting an end to the band for a time, although they reformed in 2007.[2]
In 2009, Datchler rejoined the band and together with Mike Nocito decided to create a brand new Johnny Hates Jazz[3] album for the modern era. Clark moved back to the UK and set about writing new songs for the project. The following year, he received a BMI award for "Shattered Dreams" receiving over three million broadcast performances in the US alone.[4]
Recording the new album spanned much of 2011 and 2012, and took place at Real World Studios, The Farm near Cambridge, and Angel Studios in London. Magnetized was written by Clark Datchler and produced by Mike Nocito. It was released independently via Interaction Music and distributed by Nova,[5] proceeded by the single "Magnetized".[6]
Band personnel [edit]
- Current members
- Mike Nocito (born 5 August 1960, Wiesbaden, West Germany) — bassist (1986-1992, 2009–present)
- Clark Datchler (born 27 March 1964, Surrey, England) — vocalist / keyboard player / guitarist (1986–1988; 2009–present)
- Former members
- Calvin Hayes (born 23 November 1962, London) — keyboard player / drummer (1986–1992, 2009-2010)
- Phil Thornalley (born 5 January 1960, Suffolk, England) — vocalist (1989–1992)
Discography [edit]
Albums [edit]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | US | NLD | ||
| 1988 | Turn Back the Clock
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1 | 56 | 5 |
| 1991 | Tall Stories
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— | — | — |
| 2013 | Magnetized
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— | — | — |
Compilation albums [edit]
- The Very Best of Johnny Hates Jazz - (Disky Records, 1993)
- Best of the '80s - (Disky Records, 2000)
- The Very Best of Johnny Hates Jazz - (EMI Gold, 2003)
Singles [edit]
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK[7] | US | AC | NLD[8] | |||
| 1986 | "Me and My Foolish Heart" | — | — | — | — | Turn Back the Clock |
| 1987 | "Shattered Dreams" 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 30 | |
| "I Don't Want to be a Hero" 2 | 11 | 31 | 15 | 25 | ||
| "Turn Back the Clock" | 12 | — | 5 | 5 | ||
| 1988 | "Heart of Gold" | 19 | — | — | 26 | |
| "Don't Say It's Love" | 48 | — | — | — | ||
| 1989 | "Turn the Tide" | 84 | — | — | — | stand-alone single |
| 1990 | "The Last to Know" | — | — | — | — | Tall Stories |
| 1991 | "Let Me Change Your Mind Tonight" | — | — | — | — | |
Footnotes:
- 1 "Shattered Dreams" was not released in the US until 1988.
- ² "I Don't Want to Be a Hero" was not released in the US until 1988.
References [edit]
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1997) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0159-7, p. 264
- ^ Anderson, Michael R. (2008) The Ultimate 80's Music Book, lulu.com, ISBN 978-1-4092-0904-1, p. 37
- ^ Medcalf, Kathy. "Johnny Hates Jazz website". Interaction Music. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ "BMI Music Awards". Shattered Dreams. BMI. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ "Nova Music". Nova Distribution. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ "Johnny Hates Jazz". Magnetized Official Video. YouTube. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 286. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, Hitdossier
External links [edit]
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