Nearly four decades after Shattered Dreams made them global stars, Johnny Hates Jazz are back on the road, and this week, thanks to Pad Presents, they’ll bring their polished pop sound to Bedford Esquires.
Frontman and songwriter Clark Datchler spoke to the Bedford Clanger ahead of their show on Thursday (23 October), reflecting on the band’s extraordinary journey, their enduring bond with fans, and what comes next.
Hugely successful in the late 1980s, Johnny Hates Jazz, formed initially by Datchler, Mike Nocito and Calvin Hayes, burst onto the charts with a run of sophisticated pop hits.
Their debut single Shattered Dreams reached the top five in the UK and number two in the US, while follow-up singles such as I Don’t Want To Be A Hero and Turn Back The Clock made them international stars.
Their debut album Turn Back The Clock went straight into the charts at number one, sold over four million copies and went triple-platinum, but by the end of 1988, the band’s whirlwind success had taken its toll.
Reflecting on that time, Clark said: “We were self-managed. We had all of that success, and it was global; we just exploded all over the world. It was very intense, and there was no manager.
“We were it. That created huge pressures, not just from outside of the band, but between us.”
By late 1988, he decided to walk away. “We were doing incredibly well, but I could not handle the pressure that was between us and outside us. I walked away, and that was that. There really was no way to continue with Johnny Hates Jazz in its present form at that time.”
“We’d all changed”
After more than two decades apart, Datchler and Nocito reunited in 2010, briefly joined by Hayes, before settling once more as a duo.
“The original line-up was myself, Mike and Calvin,” explained Clark. “When we reformed in 2009, it was all three of us for a matter of months, and then Calvin left.
“It was clear that things weren’t working, and he needed to focus on different things in his life. That’s not easy when you’ve waited all those years to reform. We didn’t speak for 20 years and finally got back together, but we’d all changed.
“You start to realise slowly that it’s not going to work in the same way it did when we were younger. It ended up being myself and Mike, and we’ve made it work really well.”
He said the band’s longevity owes much to the songwriting values that shaped them. “We grew up listening to the great writers of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, melody-rich songs that had something to say.
“You didn’t really think about writing a song that would come and go in a few weeks. The idea was to write quality songs that would endure.”
That approach has clearly worked. Decades later, audiences still connect deeply with Johnny Hates Jazz’s music and lyrics. “When we do gigs now, people come up afterwards and they want to talk about the lyrics,” he said.
“They’ve resonated with an experience they’ve had or a particular period of time. Music’s about communication as far as I’m concerned, that’s its primary purpose.”
“Focused on writing and recording”
Clark says performing live again has been particularly rewarding. “There is something intrinsically nurturing for a creative when you feel that other people appreciate what you do.
On our tour last year, people shared incredibly beautiful stories about how certain songs had helped them through loss or change. That makes all of this worthwhile.”
As for what’s next, fans can look forward to new material in 2025. “A lot of this year has been focused on writing and recording,” said Clark. “You’re going to hear the fruits of that next year.
Between myself, Mike and our guitarist Nick Keeble, I think we’re going to create something that bridges what we did in the late 80s and what we’re doing now.”
Johnny Hates Jazz play Bedford Esquires (60A Bromham Road) on Thursday, 23 October (7.30pm–11pm). Tickets cost £27.50 and are available from See Tickets.
