Johnny Hates Jazz are a British pop band, currently consisting of Clark Datchler (songwriter, vocalist, keyboards) and Mike Nocito (guitarist, bassist, producer, engineer). In April 1987, they achieved international success with their single “Shattered Dreams”.
Both Datchler and Nocito were born into musical families. Datchler’s father, Fred, was a member of two chart-topping bands from the 1950s. The Stargazers had the distinction of being the first British band to reach No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. As part of the Polkadots, Fred Datchler sang backing vocals for Frank Sinatra and Petula Clark. Nocito hails from an American family based in Europe with the U.S. armed forces. His mother was a singer in a close-harmony group called the Cactus Kids, which performed for troops throughout northern Europe.[citation needed]
Having been a singer, guitarist, and keyboard player in numerous bands as a teenager, Datchler at the age of 17 released his first single on the London independent record label Bluebird Records, backed by members of reggae band Aswad. He went on to work with Rusty Egan of Visage, fusing electronic music with soul, and performed often on the London club scene. He was subsequently signed to Warner Brothers Music as a songwriter, and moved to Los Angeles.
Nocito was a guitarist in school bands, having grown up alongside friend and fellow record producer Phil Thornalley, as well as members of Katrina and the Waves. He became a recording engineer and worked with Pink Floyd, the Police, the Cure, Duran Duran, and the Thompson Twins.[citation needed]
The two met in 1982 at RAK Studios in London. Datchler had just become lead singer in the band Hot Club, alongside the third and final original JHJ member Calvin Hayes. The line-up also included bass player Glen Matlock and guitarist James Stevenson. In 1983, Hot Club released a single on RAK Records and performed at London’s Marquee Club, a performance that impressed RAK head (and Hayes’ father), Mickie Most. He decided to sign Datchler to the label as a solo artist. It was Most who suggested that Datchler work with Nocito, who was an engineer at RAK Studios at the time. Over the next four years, the two worked together on Datchler’s solo recordings. Most also guided Datchler, producing several of his recordings in the mid-1980s.
