Purveyors of super-slick pop, this UK band derived their unusual name from a friend called Johnny, who – you guessed it – literally did not like jazz.
The line-up featured Calvin Hayes (son of producer extraordinaire and RAK label supremo, Mickie Most), Mike Nocito and Clark Datchler (son of former Stargazers member Fred Datchler), and some expensive suits.
At the end of the year, the group signed with Virgin and released the (Datchler penned) follow-up Shattered Dreams. The song was a UK Top 5 hit during 1987 and fared even better in the USA where it narrowly failed to top the Billboard singles chart.
Datchler left in 1988 when their fifth single Don’t Say It’s Love failed to do the business for them again. Phil Thornalley (an ex-member of The Cure) stepped in as a replacement.
Thornalley had co-written the band’s unsuccessful RAK single in 1986, Me & My Foolish Heart, but could not front the band as he was busy producing Robbie Nevil at the time.
The momentum was gone, though, and Johnny Hates Jazz did not trouble the charts again.
The band members went on to write for and produce many of the chart-bothering acts of the 1990s and beyond.
Clark Datchler
Vocals/Keyboards
Calvin Hayes
Keyboards/Drums
Mike Nocito
Guitar/Bass
Phil Thornalley
Vocals/Guitar
