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| Paul Hardcastle |
Paul Louis Hardcastle (born 10 December 1957) is a British composer, musician, producer, songwriter, radio presenter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his song "19", which went to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1985.
Hardcastle began his career in 1981 when he became the keyboard player for British soul band Direct Drive. In 1982, Hardcastle and lead vocalist Derek Green left the band to form a duo under the name First Light. They achieved some minor success in the UK charts, but the project was abandoned after two years and Hardcastle pursued a solo career.He achieved some success with his early singles, including the 1984 instrumental track, "Rain Forest", which along with the track "Sound Chaser", reached number two on the dance chart. "Rain Forest" also hit number five on the soul chart and number fifty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
Hardcastle is best known for the 1985 single "19", which went to No. 1 in the UK (for five weeks), as well as several other countries worldwide. It also reached number 15 in the U.S. Pop chart and number 1 in the U.S. Dance charts. The song received the Ivor Novello Award for Best-selling single of 1985. The follow-up single to "19" was "Just for Money", which reached No. 19 in the UK. It also charted in several other European countries.
In 1986, Hardcastle released a remix to "One Wish" by Hiroshima.[10] In the same year, Hardcastle's "The Wizard" was adopted as the theme tune for the BBC's Top of the Pops weekly chart show. The theme tune was used from 3 April 1986 to 26 September 1991.
The song "Don't Waste My Time", became Hardcastle's second UK top ten in March 1986. It featured singer Carol Kenyon, a backing vocalist of Heaven 17. In late 1986, Hardcastle collaborated with the supergroup Disco Aid (later rebranded as Dance Aid in 1987) co-producing the charity single "Give Give Give".
In 1989, Hardcastle resumed working on First Light, collaborating with vocalist Kevin Henry, whom he had worked with on previous recordings.
Since the 1990s, Hardcastle has recorded several synth jazz albums, alternating releases under the pseudonyms Kiss the Sky (with Jaki Graham) and the Jazzmasters, as well as under his real name Paul Hardcastle.
A selection of music videos on YouTube:
...and many more on YouTube under "Paul Hardcastle Greatest Hits" etc.
