Jump to content

19 (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 83.137.142.66 (talk) at 14:16, 13 October 2009 (→‎Song information). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"19"
Song
B-side"Fly by Night"

"19" is a song by British musician Paul Hardcastle released as the first single from his self-titled third studio album Paul Hardcastle (1985). The song features dialogue by television narrator Peter Thomas, and a strong anti-war message.

The track is about America's involvement in the Vietnam War and the effect it had on the soldiers who served. "19" features sampled dialogue and news reports from Vietnam Requiem, an ABC television documentary about the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by veterans.

Song information

The title "19" comes from the documentary's claim that the average age of an American combat soldier in the war was nineteen, as compared to the claim of World War II's 26. This claim has since been disputed.[1] Undisputed statistics do not exist, although Southeast Asia Combat Area Casualties Current File (CACCF), the source for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, shows a large number of deaths (38%) were ages 19 or 20. According to the same source, 23 is the average age at time of death (or declaration of death.)[2]

Nineteen topped the pop charts in the UK for five weeks, and reached the top twenty in the USA, where it also topped the dance chart. For a while it was the top selling single in thirteen countries (helped by the fact that versions of the song were recorded in French, Spanish, German and Japanese), and it received the Ivor Novello award for Bestselling Single Of 1985. The songs English language release came in at least three different 12" versions, each with an alternate cover design. Hardcastle was later sued by ABC for his unauthorized use of samples from the documentary.

Famous record and television producer Simon Fuller named his management company 19 Entertainment after he signed Paul Hardcastle to Chrysalis Records and the single went to number one.

UK progressive rock musician Mike Oldfield claimed that a melodic element of "19" had been copied from a sequence of his multi-million selling concept album, Tubular Bells, and a settlement was made.

The same year British comedian Rory Bremner, using the band name The Commentators, released a parodied version of the song as N-n-n-n-nineteen Not Out, about England's tragic performance in test cricket, with references to the England cricket team's disastrous 1984 home series against the West Indies in which the England captain David Gower had averaged 19.[3]

The song inspired the videogame 19 Part One: Boot Camp.

Chart positions

Chart (1985) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart 1
German Singles Chart 1
Italian Singles Chart 1
Dutch Top 40 1[4]
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 1
Norwegian Singles Chart 1
Swedish Singles Chart 1
Swiss Singles Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 15
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1

References

  1. ^ Roush, Gary (2008-06-02). "Statistics about the Vietnam War". Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network. Retrieved 2008-03-30. Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually 22. None of the enlisted grades have an average age of less than 20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Statistical information about casualties of the Vietnam War". Retrieved 2008-10-26.
  3. ^ "West Indies in England, 1984 - Test Averages". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  4. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 26, 1985". Retrieved 2008-03-01.
Preceded by UK number one single
May 5, 1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
July 6, 1985 - July 13, 1985 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=19_(song)&oldid=319625566"