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Johnny Hates Jazz are an English pop band formed in 1986 by Clark Datchler (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Calvin Hayes (keyboards, drums), and American Mike Nocito (guitar).

Career

In April 1987 Johnny Hates Jazz (JHJ) vaulted to international success following the release of their first hit single "Shattered Dreams".

The group consists of singer-songwriter Clark Datchler (vocals, keyboards and guitar) and production team Calvin Hayes (keyboards, drums) and Mike Nocito (guitar).

Nocito hails from an American family based in Europe with the US armed forces, while Hayes and Datchler come from music business families. Hayes is the son of the late record producer Mickie Most. Datchler's father is the late Fred Dachtler, who was a member of two chart topping bands from the 1950's, The Stargazers and The Polkadots.

The trio met in the early 1980's whilst working on various projects at RAK Studios in London. Datchler, who released his first solo single at the age of 16, had been signed to Warner Brothers and RAK Records by the time Johnny Hates Jazz was formed in late 1985. Hayes was a founder member of the band Hot Club (of which Datchler became lead singer) and also ran the A&R Department at RAK Records. Nocito was a highly-regarded recording engineer who’d worked with Pink Floyd, The Police, The Cure and Duran Duran.

Their tongue-in-cheek name referenced Nocito’s brother-in-law Johnny, who hated jazz.

The first Johnny Hates Jazz single, "Me and My Foolish Heart", was released on RAK in April 1986. It gained substantial airplay and was Sounds magazine's record of the week.

The follow up single, "Shattered Dreams", released by Virgin Records the following year, catapulted the band towards a blitz of non-stop promotion, including numerous appearances on television shows such as Top Of The Pops and Wogan. JHJ also appeared on the covers of magazines such as NME and Smash Hits.

"Shattered Dreams" went on to become a worldwide hit, going top 5 in the UK, Australia and many European territories. It was also a huge hit in Asia, reaching number 2 in Japan.

In the summer of 1987 their follow-up, "I Don’t Want To Be A Hero", a dance track with an anti-war sentiment, consolidated their chart success. Their next single, "Turn Back The Clock", featuring Kim Wilde on backing vocals, was released in November, rounding off a successful year.

JHJ's debut album, "Turn Back The Clock", was released in January 1988, topping charts worldwide. It entered the UK album chart at number 1, quickly 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 # 2 on the American Billboard chart and # 1 on the AOR chart. Songwriter Clark Datchler received a prestigious BMI award for over two million broadcast performances of the single in the US alone. The monochrome video, directed by Hollywood film director David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac), was heavily rotated on MTV.

The US follow-up, "I Don’t Want To Be A Hero", went top 40 in late 1988. The following year the third US single "Turn Back The Clock" reached # 1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart and gained over 1 million plays. To date, the "Turn Back The Clock" album has sold 4 million copies.

Since leaving Johnny Hates Jazz at the end of 1988, Clark Datchler has recorded two solo albums, "Tomorrow" and "Fishing For Souls". Mike Nocito and Calvin Hayes went on to write and produce for, amongst others, Hepburn, Gina G, Chrissie Hynde, Orson and 1997's Eurovision Song Contest winner, Katrina & the Waves' "Love Shine A Light".

In 2009, Datchler, Hayes and Nocito decided to join forces once more and re-launch Johnny Hates Jazz. They are currently rehearsing for live shows and working on a new album, being the long-awaited sequel to "Turn Back The Clock".

Band personnel

Clark Datchler (born 27 March 1964, Sutton, Surrey) — vocalist / keyboard player / guitarist (1986 - 1988; 2009 - present)
Mike Nocito (born 5 August 1960, Wiesbaden, West Germany) — guitarist.
Calvin Hayes (born 23 November 1962) — keyboard player / drummer.

Discography

Albums

Main releases

Turn Back the Clock (Virgin Records) - 1987 - #1 UK, #56 U.S.
Tall Stories (Virgin Records) - 1991

^[1]

Compilations

The Very Best of Johnny Hates Jazz - (Disky Records, 1993)
Best of the 80's - (Disky Records, 2000)
The Very Best of Johnny Hates Jazz - (EMI Gold, 2003)

Singles

Year	Song	UK Singles Chart^[1]	U.S.	AC
1986	"Me and My Foolish Heart"	-	-	-
1987	"Shattered Dreams" ¹	5	2	1
1987	"I Don't Want to Be a Hero" ²	11	31	15
1987	"Turn Back the Clock"	12	-	5
1988	"Heart of Gold"	19	-	-
1988	"Don't Say It's Love"	48	-	-
1989	"Turn the Tide"	-	-	-
1991	"Let Me Change Your Mind Tonight"	-	-	-
1992	"The Last to Know"	-	-	-

Footnotes:

¹ "Shattered Dreams" was not released in the U.S. until 1988.
² "I Don't Want to Be a Hero" was not released in the U.S. until 1988.

References

^ ^a ^b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 286. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-1] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 286. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[1]

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 Since leaving Johnny Hates Jazz at the end of 1988, [[Clark Datchler]] has recorded two solo albums, "Tomorrow" and "Fishing For Souls". [[Mike Nocito]] and [[Calvin Hayes]] went on to write and produce for, amongst others, Hepburn, Gina G, [[Chrissie Hynde]], Orson and 1997's Eurovision Song Contest winner, [[Katrina & the Waves]]' "Love Shine A Light".
-In 2009, Datchler decided to join forces once more with Hayes and Nocito and re-launch Johnny Hates Jazz. They are currently rehearsing for live shows and working on a new album, being the long-awaited sequel to "Turn Back The Clock".
+In 2009, Datchler, Hayes and Nocito decided to join forces once more and re-launch Johnny Hates Jazz. They are currently rehearsing for live shows and working on a new album, being the long-awaited sequel to "Turn Back The Clock".
 ==Band personnel==

v t e Johnny Hates Jazz
Clark Datchler Mike Nocito Calvin Hayes Phil Thornalley Danny Saxon
Studio albums	Turn Back the Clock Tall Stories Magnetized
Singles	"Me and My Foolish Heart" "Shattered Dreams" "I Don't Want to Be a Hero" "Turn Back the Clock" "Heart of Gold" "Don't Say It's Love" "Turn the Tide" "Let Me Change Your Mind Tonight"