Johnny Hates Jazz are an English pop band formed in 1986 by Clark Datchler (vocals, piano), Calvin Hayes (keyboards), and the German born Mike Nocito (bass).

Career

Named after a friend who really did hate jazz, Johnny Hates Jazz released their first single, "Me and My Foolish Heart," on RAK Records in 1986. After searching for a major record label deal they landed one towards the end of 1986 with Virgin Records after a gig at, ironically enough, a jazz club.

The group's debut single for Virgin, "Shattered Dreams", became a hit in 1987, reaching #5 in the UK Singles Chart and #2 in the U.S. charts. The group's debut album, Turn Back the Clock, also proved successful, reaching #1 on the UK Albums Chart. They had three more Top 20 singles in the UK from this album: "I Don't Want to Be a Hero" (UK #11, US #31), "Turn Back the Clock" (UK #12), and "Heart of Gold" (UK #19), which was their last hit single.

In the U.S., "Hero" was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and went Top 20 on the AC and Dance Club Play charts, while "Clock" rose to number five on the Adult Contemporary chart.

The lead singer and main songwriter, Clark Datchler, left in 1988 and was replaced by the former Cure bass guitarist, Phil Thornalley. A month before the release of their second album, Tall Stories in 1992, the band was involved in a serious car accident which left keyboardist Calvin Hayes in a body cast for over a year. The band lost momentum and eventually split.

In September 2007, Calvin Hayes announced that he and Mike Nocito, with a new vocalist, Danny Saxon, would be reforming Johnny Hates Jazz. They joined the Here and Now Tour at Butlins, Minehead between 16-19 November 2008 for four nights. The success of those appearances led to further dates with the tour throughout 2009.

In October 2009 Clark Datchler rejoined the band to make a new album. A tour is also planned for 2010.

Band personnel

• Clark Datchler (born 27 March 1964, Sutton, Surrey) — vocalist / keyboardist (1986 - 1988; 2009 - present)
• Danny Saxon — vocalist (2007-2009)
• Mike Nocito (born 5 August 1963, Wiesbaden, West Germany) — bassist.
• Calvin Hayes (born 23 November 1962) — keyboardist.
• Phil Thornalley (born Philip Carden Thornalley, 5 January 1960, Worlington, Suffolk) — guitarist and vocalist (1988 onwards).

Discography

Albums

Main releases

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

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	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

1. Here-and-now.info

External links

• Clark Datchler - The Official site
• Johnny Hates Jazz Official site
• Calvin Hayes MySpace
• Phil Thornalley site
• Johnny Hates Jazz Fan site
• Official Clark Datchler Fan site
• Johnny Hates Jazz biography at Allmusic website
• Johnny Hates Jazz fansite
• Johnny Hates Jazz Russian fansite