| Heart of Gold | |
| Cover: | Johnny Hates Jazz Heart of Gold 1988 single cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Johnny Hates Jazz |
| Album: | Turn Back the Clock |
| Released: | 15 February 1988[1] |
| Length: | 3:20 |
| Label: | Virgin |
| Producer: |
|
| Prev Title: | Turn Back the Clock |
| Prev Year: | 1987 |
| Next Title: | Don't Say It's Love |
| Next Year: | 1988 |
"Heart of Gold" is a song by English band Johnny Hates Jazz, released by Virgin in 1988 as the fourth single from their debut studio album Turn Back the Clock (1987). The song was written by Clark Datchler and produced by Calvin Hayes and Mike Nocito. It reached number 19 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for seven weeks.
Lead vocalist and writer Clark Datchler was inspired to write "Heart of Gold" after talking to a prostitute he met in Los Angeles. He told Sunday World in 1988,
Musically, the song was partly inspired by Rick James' "Mr. Policeman", a song from his 1981 album Street Songs. Recalling "Heart of Gold" in 2021, Datchler told Will Harris, "It was a semi-reggae track, big horn section. It turned out to be a good track." He added that it was a "really good recording" and one which provides a "good illustration of my [musical] influences as a kid".[2]
The song's music video was directed by David Fincher.[3]
Upon its release, Max Bell of Number One gave "Heart of Gold" a three out of five star rating and commented, "Ostensibly a song about a lady of the night, it drifts into the subconscious before you can say 'hang on, I don't usually fall for innocuous songs like this'. Still, it's stylish, if eminently forgettable."[4] Eleanor Levy of Record Mirror described it as a "slightly more up-tempo number [that] never quite manages to break out of its cosy, lolloping trot". She added, "Yet the Johnnies do write exceedingly good tunes and their slickness is expertly, even lovingly, crafted."[5]
John Lee of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner praised the song as "punchy and crisp" and felt that the "tale of a prostitute set to a bouncy back track is bound to give the[m] another hit".[6] Music & Media noted it "luckily [has] a bit more bite and spice" than the "drooling" "Turn Back the Clock". They added, "A sometimes very Level 42-like drive is coupled with some effective brass and a joyful chorus."[7]
7–inch single (UK, Europe and Australasia)[8] [9] [10] [11]
7–inch limited edition, numbered box set (UK)[12]
12–inch single (UK, Europe and Australasia)[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
CD and cassette limited edition single (UK)[18] [19]
Credits are adapted from the Turn Back the Clock vinyl LP liner notes and the UK 12-single vinyl single.[20] [13]
Johnny Hates Jazz
Additional musicians
Production
Other
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Music Report)[21] | 87 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[22] | 64 |
. David Kent (historian) . Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . illustrated . Australian Chart Book . St Ives, N.S.W. . 1993 . 0-646-11917-6 . 159.