There was a time when Radio 4 ruled, and Janet Ambrose was THE ultra cool deejay. I still remember once I actually called in when she was interviewing Anita Sarawak and instead of speaking with the celebrity, I was chatting up Janet. Anita is cool, of course, but I listened to Janet every day. I read somewhere that Radio 4 is now known as Traxx FM or something, and I don’t even know if Janet is still “deejaying”, but all those hours I spent listening to her introduced me to some of my all time favorite songs. Masterpiece by Atlantic Starr, Right Here Waiting & Now and Forever by Richard Marx, Hotel California by Eagles, Final Countdown by Europe…well, the list goes on. You get the drift.
What I used to do in those days (before the existence of MP3 or Internet Radio – heck I didn’t even know what Internet was in those days), was to record the songs as they played in the radio so that I can listen to it later – and yes, Janet did have this irritating habit (like so many other deejays) of speaking just as the song starts to play - so that gets recorded as well. The thing is, most of the songs I love…with a little help from the Internet and P2P technologies, I now have in my handy little W900, Sony Ericsson. Except for this one darned song.
Just as my hunt for the elusive DVD of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves has elevated it to the “white elephant” status in my conquest, so has this one song, which had haunted and taunted me for so long. In the beginning, I didn’t even know the title of the song, or who sang it. I just remembered a few lines of the lyrics and some bits and pieces of its tune. There was no way I could find out anything about it, as no one I actually hummed the song to, knows it or have heard it before. Then, one fine day I tried Googling for the song by actually entering the few lines of the lyrics that I remembered. To be fair, I tried this a few years ago, but it did not bore any fruits. I told myself, a couple of years between now and then, someone would have definitely created a page that referenced this particular song. What are the odds? I was right! Lo and behold! My search actually returned quite a number of results. Now I know the song which I was looking for was called “Heart of Hearts” by a group called “Johnny Hates Jazz”! All praises be for Page and Brin!
Heart of Hearts - Johnny Hates Jazz
Why do you hide in the shadows?
Are you afraid of the sun?
You've got a lifetime before you
And many wars to be won
You've got to look to the future
And never dwell in the past
And though you'll never forget me
Some things are not meant to last
So why don't you open the door?
It's a beautiful day
Nothing will stand in your way
Just take look in your heart of hearts
It's true
For everything there's reason
Sometimes it's hard to define
But maybe you can take comfort
Knowing you're one of a kind
In the darkness
There's a light that shines on you
It's not over, I'll be waiting
In another place and time
I will still be by your side
Well, I found the lyrics, but the song is still as elusive. If anyone has this song, or at least knows where to get it…please let me know!
Some info on Johnny Hates Jazz, extracted from Wikipedia
Johnny Hates Jazz was an English pop band formed in 1986 by Clark Datchler (vocals, piano), Calvin Hayes (keyboards), and the German born Mike Nocito (bass).Named after a friend who really did hate jazz, Johnny Hates Jazz released their first single, "Me and My Foolish Heart," on RAK Records that year. After searching for a major record label deal they landed one towards the end of 1986 with Virgin Records after a gig at, ironically enough, a jazz club. The group's début single for Virgin, "Shattered Dreams," became a big hit in 1987. The group's debut album "Turn Back The Clock" also proved successful, reaching #1 on the UK albums chart. Datchler left in 1988 and was replaced by the former Cure bass guitarist, Phil Thornalley. A month before the release of their second album. Tall Stories the band was involved in a serious car accident which left Hayes in a body cast for over a year. The band lost momentum and eventually split in 1995.
