New Age Hits

Friday music videos again. I am not going to touch the Red Sox on this blog until I know what the hell is going on with them. Instead of pulling-away from the Yankees, they are being reeled-in. Scary.

My girl told me this morning that she had this song, Shattered Dreams, in her head. We were trying to determine who performed it. Well, it is Johnny Hates Jazz. Remember this one from 1987?

This is the US video, in which the lead singer, Clark Datchler, is unshaven and more masculine than he appears in the color UK video. So for the US, he's got black & white stubble, very much like the dude in Cutting Crew, which had a hit just months before this single. Interesting also how this single went to # 2 in the US, while it peaked at # 5 in the UK. Could it have been the result of the better video in the US? It was their biggest hit, along with Turn back the Clock (featuring Kim Wilde on vocals).

These guys are not to be confused with the slightly more funky Level 42 around the same period (1985-1987). Level 42 would be grouped into the same sub-category of white UK acts that dabbed in R&B and soul, like Living in a Box, Joe Jackson, and Rick Astley.