Calvin Hayes

Calvin G. Hayes was born in London in November 1962, one of three children of the record producer Mickie Most (born Michael Peter Hayes, 1938 to 2003) and his wife, Christina (called Christine in The Guardian's obituary of Most), whom Most had followed to her native South Africa in 1959 before returning to Britain. His father produced hits for the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate and Kim Wilde, and founded RAK Records and RAK Studios in London. According to The Daily Telegraph, Hayes said he learned to read by reading record labels. He learned the piano and played in local bands as a teenager. His exact date of birth is reported differently (27 November in most news reports and Wikipedia, 23 November on the Kim Wilde fan encyclopedia Wilde Life), and his family's obituary gives only November 1962.

In the early 1980s Hayes played drums in Kim Wilde's band after the success of her 1981 debut single "Kids in America". He also played in Hot Club, a band with former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, guitarist James Stevenson and singer Clark Datchler, which released a single on RAK Records in 1983. He then worked for about a year in A&R at RAK.

With Datchler and RAK Studios engineer Mike Nocito he formed Johnny Hates Jazz in 1986. Their first single, "Me and My Foolish Heart", which Hayes co-wrote, did not chart, but a showcase at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club won them a contract with Virgin Records. "Shattered Dreams" (March 1987) reached number five in the UK and, in 1988, number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Adult Contemporary chart. Further UK hits followed with "I Don't Want to Be a Hero" (number 11), "Turn Back the Clock" (number 12) and "Heart of Gold" (number 19). The debut album Turn Back the Clock, produced by the band, entered the UK Albums Chart at number one in January 1988. Hayes played keyboards, piano and drums, sang backing vocals and co-produced, and he co-wrote the album track "Different Seasons" with Datchler.

After Datchler left at the end of 1988, Hayes and Nocito recruited Phil Thornalley as singer. The new line-up released "Turn the Tide" in 1989 and the album Tall Stories, which Hayes co-produced and on which he co-wrote "Fools Gold" and "Now She's Gone". A serious car crash involving Hayes and Thornalley in 1991, around the album's release, halted the band, and Johnny Hates Jazz split in 1992. Hayes rejoined Datchler and Nocito for reunion concerts in Europe and Southeast Asia in 2009 and 2010, then left before the band recorded its 2013 album Magnetized. In later life he taught music in Spokane, Washington.

Hayes had a long friendship and a relationship with the singer Kim Wilde, whom he had known since she recorded "Kids in America". Wilde said the two became involved at a family party, as Hayes was a good friend of her brother, Ricky Wilde. Wilde told the press in 1988 that he was "the greatest thing that has ever happened to me". The couple later parted but, according to reports, remained in contact. In 1991 he survived a near fatal car accident that left him in a body cast for almost a year and required long rehabilitation. He later moved to Spokane, Washington, with his wife, Kathy. He was survived by Kathy, their son Alex, and his younger sisters Natalie and Crystal.

In 1988 interviews Hayes described Johnny Hates Jazz as a reaction to the pop of the moment. Rather than combining rap and go-go rhythms with pop, he wanted to use the new technology to make something "really melodic and musical", and he defended the band against critics by saying they wanted to make music that was "simple, melodic and commercial". He was outspoken about the music business: he told the Los Angeles Times the band had no manager or agent because "managers are nursemaids", and that the members preferred to make their own mistakes rather than pay someone 20 percent. He also insisted that the engineer was "one of the architects" of a band's sound.

Johnny Hates Jazz were among the most successful new British pop acts of 1987 and 1988, and "Shattered Dreams" became a lasting radio and streaming favourite, later covered by artists including Sergey Lazarev and, in 2025, the American rock band Starset. Datchler received a BMI award in 2010 recognising more than three million US broadcast performances of the song. Turn Back the Clock, which Hayes co-produced, was certified double platinum in the UK. On his death, Datchler and Nocito said Hayes "remained incredibly proud" that the band's songs, especially those from Turn Back the Clock, continued to resonate with so many people 40 years on.

Turn Back the Clock went gold in the UK within a week of release in January 1988, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified double platinum by the BPI in July 1989. "Shattered Dreams" reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Adult Contemporary chart in 1988.

Albums with Johnny Hates Jazz: Turn Back the Clock (Virgin, 1988) and Tall Stories (Virgin, 1991), plus the compilation The Very Best of Johnny Hates Jazz (1993). Singles from his time in the band include "Me and My Foolish Heart" (1986), "Shattered Dreams" (1987), "I Don't Want to Be a Hero" (1987), "Turn Back the Clock" (1987), "Heart of Gold" (1988), "Don't Say It's Love" (1988), "Turn the Tide" (1989), "Let Me Change Your Mind Tonight" and "The Last to Know". Music videos for "Shattered Dreams" (US version) and "Heart of Gold" were directed by David Fincher. The band performed on Top of the Pops eight times in 1987 and 1988, and appeared with Kim Wilde on the BBC's Wogan in December 1987 to perform "Turn Back the Clock".

Hayes collapsed and died suddenly at his home in Spokane, Washington, in July 2026, aged 63. Reports of the date conflict: his family's obituary, published through Heritage Funeral and Cremation and the Spokesman-Review, says he departed on 8 July 2026, while Datchler and Nocito's statement said he died on Thursday (9 July), and The Daily Telegraph and Wikipedia give 9 July. The specific medical cause was not made public. His wife, Kathy, confirmed the death, and his former bandmates posted a tribute on the band's Instagram account on 11 July. A memorial service was held at Heritage Funeral and Cremation in Spokane on 6 August 2026, followed by a celebration of life with his favourite food and wine.