Clark Datchler left
Johnny Hates Jazz in 1988 at the height of his fame. After internal differences within the band had led to a painful separation, he sought to rediscover a deeper sense of purpose in his music. He moved to Amsterdam and began work on a solo album called
Raindance. The album featured some renowned LA musicians, including bass player Nathan East, drummer JR Robinson and percussionist Paulinho Da Costa. Also featured was guitarist Dave Gregory of
XTC. The album also saw Clark’s first environmental song, “Raindance” – one of many to follow. The
Raindance album was released in 1990 on Virgin Records, with an epic track called “Crown Of Thorns” being the first single. However the song, which suggested that Jesus was a courageous mortal man and not the son of God, and which criticized organized religions in the process, was shunned by radio and failed to chart. Consequently, the album was only released in Japan, where it did achieve commercial success. In 1991, Datchler went back into the studio to re-record and re-mix some tracks from
Raindance with Rupert Hine, producer of Tina Turner, The Fixx and Howard Jones. Four new songs were added to the line-up, and the new album was titled
Fishing For Souls. The first single, “The Last Emotion”, received little attention, and as the relationship between Virgin Records and Datchler deteriorated further, he left the record label. Shortly after, Virgin Records became part of EMI, and the consolidation of the world’s media began.
Fishing For Souls was eventually made available as a bootleg, and is so sought after now that it occasionally appears on E-Bay for a sale price of between $500 and $1000 (from Wikipedia).
Clark Datchler - Fishing For Souls (1992)
- State Of Play (Remix)
- Broken Spirit
- Child To Be
- Crown Of Thorns (Remix)
- The Last Emotion (Remix)
- Fishing For Souls
- Widow
- Raindance (Remix)
- It's Better This Way (Remix)
I've deleted the link as Clark is planning a re-release in the near future. More news at his website, www.clarkdatchler.com.
