James Clarke Five ○ Lennie Dale (Fly Fly Fly)

  From CANADA 

UK power pop artist James Clarke Five presents the single 'Lennie Dale (Fly Fly Fly)', released via UK label Favourite Recordings. Mixing classic baroque pop with strong melodies and distinctive chord changes, his melodic sound brings overtones of glam rock and psychedelic pop.

Now based in London, James Clarke Five is the solo project of James Hughes, perhaps best known as keyboardist and vocalist for Liverpool 80's new wave bands The Cherry Boys and Exhibit B. Contemporaries of Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, The Cherry Boys played with The LA’s, Cast, The Icicle Works and Lightning Seeds.

'Lennie Dale (Fly Fly Fly)' is inspired by the life of Lennie Dale, a New Yorker and adopted Brazilian. A dancer, singer and choreographer, who became involved in the Bossa Nova movement, he recorded several albums in the bossa jazz style, and later founded and starred in the 1970s theatre group Dzi Croquettes, known for their flamboyant and androgynous style.

This single attempts to encapsulate his spirit of defiance and resistance in the face of censorship from the military dictatorship in Brazil in the 1970s. Recorded in his home studio in London, James produced and mastered this single, performing all instruments and vocals.

“Many artists tend to write about their own journey, their own experiences. And that’s fine - but there’s a lot of it about!  I find it more interesting to write about other people’s lives, and their struggles - perhaps more obscure figures who to me are in some way heroic.  And I think ‘Lennie Dale’ is a typical of that approach," says James Hughes.

Upon moving to London in the early 2000s, Hughes launched James Clarke Five with the barnstorming single 'Get Out Of Bed' and later found success with his song 'Sexbombe Uber Alles', the main theme of the film 'Last Shop Standing'. His most recent albums 'Zoom and The Gadflies' (2024), 'Underneath The Lemon Tree' (2021) and 'ParlourSounds' (2018), released by iconic Canadian label The Beautiful Music, garnered rave reviews. His music has also appeared in the film 'Soundtrack to Sixteen' and has amassed over 1.25 million Spotify streams to date.

As of August 7, 'Lennie Dale (Fly Fly Fly)' is available from fine digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple and Bandcamp.  

"Like XTC had they taken a glam rock route... Pop perfection and thensome" 
~ Big Takeover Magazine

"Wondrous, positive and generally upbeat... Pure, perfect power pop" 
~ The Spill Magazine

"James Clarke Five, king of the guilty pop pleasure who deserves national treasure status" ~ Pop In The Real World

"Infectious energy... successfully marries retro vibes with a modern twist"
 ~ Skylight Webzine 

"Some kinda locked-in-his-bedroom genius... very listenable pop" ~ Dagger Zine

James Clarke Five

Lennie Dale (Fly Fly Fly)

Released via Favourite Recordings

8 August 2025

CREDITS
Written by James Clarke (AKA James Hughes)
Vocals and all instruments by James Clarke
Produced & mastered by James Clarke
Cover artwork by James Clarke
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR

Keep up with James Clarke Five
Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter 
 Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

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