This song, lamenting a romance that ended in betrayal, was the first track from the group's debut album, and its first single release in both the UK (1987) and US (1988). It became a Top 5 hit in both countries; in the US the song also accomplished the rare feat of having two separate peaks in its chart run: it climbed to #2, then slipped to #3, then rose back to #2 for two weeks.
There was no Johnny in Johnny Hates Jazz; this English pop group was named for a jazz-hating mutual friend of the three original members, Calvin Hayes, Mike Nocito and frontman Clark Datchler (who wrote this song). Ironically enough, the group got its big break while performing at a jazz club, where they were discovered and eventually signed by Virgin Records.
Turn Back The Clock spawned JHJ's only two major US hits (the other was "I Don't Want To Be A Hero", #31). The album itself didn't sell well in the States, though it topped the UK album chart and produced a few more UK hit singles. The group's fortunes turned sour after their initial success. Datchler went solo in 1988, citing personal differences with Hayes and Nocito. They found a replacement and released one more album (Tall Stories) in 1991, but proved unable to carry on when Hayes was badly injured in a car wreck that same year. In 2007, Hayes and Nocito reunited JHJ (with yet another lead singer) as part of a multi-act 1980s nostalgia tour of the UK.
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