Johnny Hates Jazz consists of singer-songwriter Clark Datchler (vocals, keyboards) and producer-engineer Mike Nocito (bass guitar). The band is best known for a cycle of hits in the late 1980’s, the most successful being “Shattered Dreams”.
Their musical roots go back to childhood. Clark’s father Fred was a member of two chart topping bands from the 1950’s, the Stargazers and the Polkadots. The Stargazers had the distinction of being the first British band ever to reach number 1 on the UK singles chart. As a member of the Polkadots, Fred sang backing vocals for the likes of the Beatles (“I Am The Walrus”), Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Petula Clarke. Mike hails from an American family based in Europe with the US armed forces. His mother was a singer in close-harmony group The Cactus Kids, performing for troops in Northern Europe.
This heritage paved the way for their future careers. Having been a singer, guitarist and keyboard player in numerous bands as a teenager, Clark released his first single on London indie soul label Blue Inc Records at the age of 17, backed by members of reggae band Aswad. He went on to work with Rusty Egan of Visage, fusing electronic music with soul, and often performed on the London club scene. He was subsequently signed to Warner Brothers Music as a songwriter and moved to LA.
Mike also had a long history as a guitarist in school bands, having grown up alongside longtime friend and fellow-producer Phil Thornalley, as well as members of Katrina And The Waves. He became a highly-regarded recording engineer and worked with artists such as Pink Floyd, The Police, The Cure, Duran Duran and the Thompson Twins.
The two met in the early 1980’s while working at RAK Studios in London, when Clark became lead singer in the band Hot Club alongside another original JHJ member, Calvin Hayes. The line-up also included bass player Glenn Matlock (Sex Pistols) and guitarist James Stevens (Generation X). In 1983 Hot Club released a single on RAK Records and performed at London’s Marquee Club, after which RAK boss Mickie Most signed Clark to the label as a solo artist. It was he who suggested that Clark work with a young producer / engineer at RAK Studios, Mike Nocito.
In April 1986, the original lineup of Johnny Hates Jazz – Clark, Mike and Calvin – released their first single “Me And My Foolish Heart” on RAK Records. Although it was not a commercial success, it gained substantial airplay and was Sounds magazine’s record of the week.
Clark began to write new songs for the band, the first of which was “Shattered Dreams”. They performed a showcase at London’s legendary jazz venue, Ronnie Scott’s, and were subsequently signed to Virgin Records. “Shattered Dreams” was released in March 1987 and became a top 5 hit in the UK, throughout mainland Europe and Asia, and reached number 2 in Japan. It was followed by four other worldwide hits, being the anti-war anthem “I Don’t Want To Be A Hero”, “Turn Back The Clock” (featuring Kim Wilde on backing vocals) and “Heart Of Gold”.
Towards the end of 1987, JHJ made two music videos with a young director named David Fincher, later to become the A-list director of blockbuster films such as ‘Seven’ and ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’. The videos were for the US release of “Shattered Dreams”, as well as “Heart Of Gold”.
In 1988, “Shattered Dreams” reached number 2 on the US Billboard chart, number 1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart, and climbed to number 4 in Canada. That same year, their album “Turn Back The Clock” entered the UK charts at number 1, going double-platinum and selling 4 million copies in the process. It is arguably one of the definitive albums of the 1980’s, and is one of only two debut albums released by Virgin Records that immediately went to the top of the charts upon its release — the other being ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ by The Sex Pistols.
Despite JHJ’s great success, Clark decided to leave the band at the end of 1988. As it turned out, Johnny Hates Jazz were to be the last electronic band to emerge in the 1980’s.
Clark went on to focus on his solo recordings, completing three albums in the process: “Raindance”, “Fishing For Souls” and “Tomorrow”. After moving to Amsterdam at the end of the 80’s, he returned to the UK and based himself at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios near Bath throughout the 90’s, where he recorded with many well-known musicians from the realms of rock, R & B, world and folk music. In 2000, he moved to the US and created an elaborate solar-powered studio, where he recorded much of “Tomorrow”. Throughout this time, he studied indigenous philosophy, became environmentally active and in 2008, received the first GreenTec Music Award in Berlin.
Mike and Calvin recorded a further Johnny Hates Jazz album entitled “Tall Stories”, which featured Phil Thornalley as vocalist and songwriter. Mike then achieved behind-the-scenes success when he produced the Katrina and The Waves single “Love Shine A Light”, winner of the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest and a top 10 hit throughout Europe. He also produced and wrote for Hepburn, Gina G, and Orson, and continued to work extensively with Katrina and The Waves.
In 2009, Clark, Mike and Calvin decided to work together as Johnny Hates Jazz once more. Clark moved back to the UK and set about writing songs for a new album. The following year, he received a BMI award for “Shattered Dreams” receiving over 3 million broadcast performances in the US alone. JHJ also began to perform live in both Europe and South East Asia during this time. Shortly afterwards, Calvin left the band for personal reasons.
Clark and Mike went on to record a new album entitled “Magnetized”. It was released in 2013, with the title track becoming a huge radio hit in the UK. Unfortunately, Clark was diagnosed with a serious illness soon after, and all promotion came to a halt. He eventually made a full recovery but by that time, momentum had been lost. The band decided to focus on live work and other projects instead, and went on to perform extensively in the UK and internationally.
In 2018, the band released a 30th anniversary edition of their “Turn Back The Clock” album, on their own Dato Music label. The deluxe triple CD featured a remastered version of the original album, a newly-recorded acoustic album of the same songs, and extended mixes, b-sides and previously unreleased original demos. During this same period of time, Clark co-wrote many of the songs on the Mike + The Mechanics albums “Let Me Fly” and “Out Of The Blue” with Genesis legend Mike Rutherford and acclaimed R+B artist Andrew Roachford.
Then in 2020, they released the album “Wide Awake”. Inspired by their musical roots growing up in the 1970’s, it is a mixture of soulful melodies, uplifting lyrics, and a positive energy that is present from start to finish. The single “Spirit Of Love” was released during lockdown, and the music video featured clips of fans across the world sharing messages of hope. The following year, they toured the UK as special guests of Level 42.
In 2024, Johnny Hates Jazz completed a sell-out headline tour of the UK, encompassing performances at the Isle of Wight festival, Carfest, and culminating in a Christmas show at Indigo At The O2. The evening featured a guest appearance from their old friend Kim Wilde, singing “Turn Back The Clock” with the band for the first time since its original release. They also played in Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico the same year. In 2025, they performed at various venues such as the London Palladium, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Manchester Bridgewater Hall and London’s iconic Union Chapel.
And now with 2026 well under way, Johnny Hates Jazz have teamed up with soul icon Jaki Graham to release a new single called “Soul Believer”. Written by Clark and Average White Band legend Hamish Stuart, the song honours the soul music of the 60’s, 70s and 80s that inspired so many musicians across the decades. Clark and Jaki are also launching a podcast called “Soul Believers” in which they will celebrate and explore the enduring appeal of the genre, and perform acoustic renditions of some of its most classic songs.
It promises to be an exciting new era built on past success and future potential!
