Song:Shattered Dreams
Album:Big Hits of the 80s
Shattered Dreams was a top five hit in 1987 and was the only big hit for the British group Johnny Hates Jazz. They were a bigger deal at home but success was limited due to personnel changes. They reformed in 2009. The lead singer and main songwriter of Johnny Hates Jazz was Clark Datchler. His father Fred Datchler was a member of the very popular 50s groups The Stargazers and The Polkadots. Datchler released a single at age 17 and then signed a publishing deal with Warner Bros. and moved to Los Angeles. He moved back to England and joined Hot Club which included future Johnny Hates Jazz member Calvin Hayes and Glenn Matlock of The Sex Pistols. They split up after one single and Datchler released a few solo singles on RAK Records produced by veteran producer Mickie Most who is Hayes' father. The recording engineer on those recordings was Mike Nocito. Datchler, Hayes and Nocito formed Johnny Hates Jazz in 1986. They signed with Virgin Records and Shattered Dreams was released in March 1987. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the British Singles chart. The US video was directed by David Fincher. I think a lot of listeners thought it was a new Spandau Ballet single because of the similar sound. I Don't Want To Be A Hero was their only other US chart single. But they continued to have success in England. Datchler became unhappy and left Johnny Hates Jazz in 1988. He moved to Amsterdam to launch a solo career. He was replaced as Johnny Hates Jazz lead singer by Phil Thornalley. They recorded one more album and split up in 1991. A couple of Johnny Hates Jazz comps have been released in Europe. But I think most will only be interested in Shattered Dreams which you can get on this Capitol various artists budget CD. Datchler and Nocito reformed Johnny Hates Jazz in 2009 and released the CD Magnetized in 2013. They are currently on a European tour. Here's the video for Shattered Dreams by Johnny Hates Jazz.
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