Me and My Foolish Heart

Johnny Hates Jazz was formed in 1986 after Rak A&R man Calvin Hayes and engineer Mike Nocito began working on their own track which became "Me and My Foolish Heart". The song originated with a track written and recorded by the producer and songwriter Iain MacDonald. Hayes, as Rak's A&R man, acquired a demo tape of the track, took a liking to it and then brought it to Nocito's attention. Nocito loved the intro but did not like the rest of the track. Believing it had hit potential with further work, Hayes contacted MacDonald, and he gave Hayes and Nocito permission to redevelop his intro into their own song. Hayes and Nocito developed and recorded the backing track at RAK Studios. The pair decided to approach Clark Datchler, who they had both previously worked with on separate occasions, and asked him to sing on the track. Datchler was a former member of the band Hot Club alongside Hayes, and he later worked with Nocito on some of his own recordings after signing to Rak as a solo artist. Datchler recalled, "It was a weird one for me, because I usually only ever sing on and record my own songs. But 'Me and My Foolish Heart' had something about it that had a relationship to some things that I was working on, and I had been working with Mike, so I sang on the track, and Johnny Hates Jazz was born." ==Release==

"Me and My Foolish Heart" was released as a single by Rak Records. The single failed to reach the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart, but it generated enough airplay on BBC Radio 1 and attention in the music press to encourage Datchler to start writing material for the band, and for them to seek a record deal with a major label. After a showcase gig at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho, the band signed to Virgin Records at the end of 1986 and scored an international hit with their next single "Shattered Dreams" in 1987. ==Critical reception==

Upon its release, Jerry Smith of Music Week described "Me and My Foolish Heart" as a "polished pop tune" which "drives along, helped by a dynamic production and a strong vocal that is well underpinned by dramatic piano". He added that it "could well be an unexpected hit if given the necessary exposure". Music & Media picked the song as one of their "records of the week" in their issue of 26 April 1986 and commented, "It is a highly polished and soaring melody in the Fiction Factory/OMD-trail that is sure to pick up good airplay." Richard Cook of Sounds called it an "excellent record" and remarked that the band "follow through the modesty of the song's title [with] music where everything is billowing melody, cascades of keyboard and guitar string and murmurs of remorse from a singer". He added, "A tawdry romance touched with magic for a single instant." Dave Morgan of the Reading Evening Post described the song as "chugging synth stuff that never rises much above the standard required to appear on Wogan". John Lee of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner considered it to be "a bit wishy-washy, relying for its impact on a few echoey notes on the piano". He added, "Interesting enough I suppose, but not really the stuff to turn the hit parade on its predictable head." ==Track listing==

7–inch single (UK and Benelux) • "Me and My Foolish Heart" – 3:35 • "Living in the Past" – 3:36 12–inch single (UK and Benelux) • "Me and My Foolish Heart" (12" mix) – 5:49 • "Living in the Past" – 3:36 • "Me and My Foolish Heart" (7" mix) – 3:35 ==Personnel==

Credits are adapted from the Turn Back the Clock vinyl LP liner notes and the UK 12-single vinyl single. Johnny Hates Jazz • Clark Datchler • Mike Nocito • Calvin Hayes Production • Calvin Hayes – producer • Mike Nocito – producer Other • Shoot That Tiger! – sleeve design ==Charts==