CLARK Datchler of Johnny Hates Jazz admits there is a certain irony to find the band on the bill at Lytham Festival’s 80s v 90s night next month.

For in the past he has spoken out about what he has referred to as the ‘decadisation’ of music.

“I think you’re being polite calling it ironic,” he laughed.

“Actually I’m OK with it in the context of live show particularly festivals which provide a situation for people to come along to and know that they are going to hear music that they want to hear,

“What I do object to is when people start to separate things - as though Ed Sheeran’s success isn’t built on anything from musical history or even that Johnny Hates Jazz didn’t reflect music that had gone before.

“Music cannot just be taken in isolation.”

At Lytham, Johnny Hates Jazz will be sharing a stage with the likes of the Human League, Midge Ure and Betty Boo, and Clark says that fans can expect all the bands hits including I Don’t Want to Be a Hero and Shattered Dreams.

“The really cool thing is when people bring along their kids who are teenagers or older now and they have grown up listening to that music,” said Clark. “They have developed an attachment to the songs and you find that they know the words more than some of the people who were around in the 80s which is lovely to see.”

Clark admits that he’s delighted that songs such as Shattered Dreams have stood the test of time.

“When I wrote those songs I didn’t really think about what might be happening in x amount of years,” he said. “When you’re young and successful there’s a bit of an assumption that it’s always going to be like that. But the one thing that survives is the song if it’s of a certain quality and type.

“We’re really lucky that people have continued to embrace those songs. Radio has been a champion of music of the decades leading up the the advent of the internet and still plays those songs.

“Shattered Dreams has been played 3.5million times on the radio in the US alone - I never thought that was ever going to happen.”

Some songwriters can be very arrogant about their music but Clark said that has never been his style.

“I need people to reassure me that I’ve done something halfway decent,” he laughed. “With Shattered Dreams I was writing it on the piano in my parent’s front room and my late father came in. He asked ‘what’s that you’re playing?’. I said ‘it’s a new song called Shattered Dreams’. He said ‘I think you’ve written your first hit’.

Clark’s dad Fred was a successful jazz musician and a member of the Stargazers, the first group to reach no 1 in the UK singles charts.

“Quite rightly he didn’t want to give me false hope because he knew how tough the music business was,” said Clark. “He would only tell me if something was good if he thought it was really good. He told me plenty of times when things weren’t up to scratch and you know what, he was right.

“All this thing about being congratulated for being mediocre, as can happen with particular talent shows these days, is very unhealthy. He was very honest and I’m grateful for that.”

This week Johnny Hates Jazz have announced a major winter tour when they will mark the 30th anniversary of their Turn Back the Clock album by playing it in its entirety.

But before then, fans can look forward to all the hits at Lytham Festival.

Johnny Hates Jazz, Lytham Festival, Friday, August 4. Details from www.lythamfestival.com