R.I.P. Calvin Hayes (Johnny Hates Jazz)

The 80s death train keeps on rolling. I’m afraid it’s going to get far worst. We’ve already seen many 60s and 70s music stars dying in the last decade… it’s finally catching up with my music generation: the 80s. This time, it’s the keyboard player, Calvin Hayes, for British group Johnny Hates Jazz.

Calvin Hayes was the final member to join the original Johnny Hates Jazz (lead singer/songwriter Clark Datchler and bassist Mike Nocito was looking for a keyboard player for their “jazz trio”).

The trio had a massive hit with “Shattered Dreams”. The lead single was taken from their debut studio album Turn Back the Clock (1988), and written by their lead singer Clark Datchler. The music video was notably directed by David Fincher (who would later find fame with Fight Club and Seven).

Their debut album sold over four million copies worldwide that year… but at the height of their popularity, singer Datchler left the band at the end of 1988. I suppose like many lead singers, they all wanted a solo career. Hayes and Nocito continued with the band, replacing Datchler with former The Cure bassist Phil Thornalley. The new trio released a follow-up album Tall Stories, which obviously was not as successful as their debut. After Hayes was injured in a car accident and spent the better part of two years in the hospital, the band eventually mutually broke up in 1992.

I will leave you with their lyrics for “Shattered Dreams”, which sums it up nicely:

Trivia: Johnny Hates Jazz’s name came from singer Clark Datchler’s brother-in-law, Johnny, who does not like jazz… but married a jazz lover.

Read more Musicians and singers who died.

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