Paul Hardcastle

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Paul Louis Hardcastle
Birth namePaul Louis Hardcastle
Born (1957-12-10) 10 December 1957 (age 62)[1]
OriginKensington,[1] London, United Kingdom
GenresSynthpop, freestyle, electronica, ambient, electro house, breakstep, smooth jazz
Occupation(s)
InstrumentsSynthesizer, keyboards, piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion, programming
Years active1982–present
LabelsChrysalis, Motown, V2, Profile
Associated actsDirect Drive, First Light, Dance Aid, Carol Kenyon, Helen Rogers, Jaki Graham
Websitepaulhardcastle.com

Paul Louis Hardcastle 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.

Early life[edit]

Born in Kensington in London on 10 December 1957, he is the son of Joyce (née Everett, 1930–1991) and Louis Hardcastle (1915–2000).[1]

Career[edit]

Hardcastle began his career in 1982 while working with session vocalist Derek Green 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.[2]

He achieved some success with his early singles, including the 1984 electro-funk/freestyle/instrumental track, "Rain Forest", which along with the track "Sound Chaser", reached number two on the dance chart.[3] "Rain Forest" also hit number five on the soul chart and number fifty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[4]

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 and Club charts. The song received the Ivor Novello Award for Best-selling single of 1985.[5] 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.[6]

In 1986, Hardcastle released a remix to "One Wish" by Hiroshima.[7] 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.[6] It featured singer Carol Kenyon, a backing vocalist of Heaven 17.

In 1989, Hardcastle resumed working on First Light, collaborating with vocalist Kevin Henry, whom he had worked with on previous recordings.[8]

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.[2]

Personal life[edit]

Hardcastle married Dolores Baker in 1985,[9] and they have three children, including Maxine (born April 1986) and Paul Jr. (born August 1990). Their son Ritchie Max Hardcastle (born 1997)[10] is Chairman of the Romford Young Conservatives.[11]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Year Album Label
1984 Daybreak (by 1st Light) Metronome (division of London Records)
1985 Zero One (with Universal Funk) Bluebird/10 Records, EMI Music [12]
1985 Rainforest Profile Records
1985 Paul Hardcastle Chrysalis Records
1988 No Winners Chrysalis Records
1989 Sound Syndicate [a.k.a. Are You Ready...] AJK Music, K-Tel International
1991 The Wizard Chrysalis Records
1993 Time for Love Fast Forward Records; Victor (Japan) [13]
1994 Feel the Breeze Victor (Japan)
1996 Look to the Future Victor (Japan)
1996 Star of the Story Victor (Japan)
1997 First Light Connoisseur Collection
2009 Zer01 Hardcastle Music
2012 Perceptions of Pacha VIII (remixed by Nacho Marco) Pacha Recordings
2012 19 Below Zero Hardcastle Music, Universal Music
2014 Moovin & Groovin Trippin 'N' Rythmn Records

Smooth jazz albums[edit]

Hardcastle series[edit]

Year Album Label
1994 Hardcastle JVC; Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
1996 Hardcastle II JVC; Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2002 Hardcastle III Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2005 Hardcastle 4 Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2008 Hardcastle 5 Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2011 Hardcastle VI Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2013 Hardcastle VII Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2018 Hardcastle VIII Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2020 Hardcastle IX Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records

Jazzmasters series[edit]

Year Album Label
1993 The Jazzmasters Fast Forward Records; JVC; Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
1995 The Jazzmasters II JVC; Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
1999 The Jazzmasters III Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2004 The Jazzmasters 4 Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2006 Jazzmasters V Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2010 Jazzmasters VI [14] Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2014 Jazzmasters VII Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records

Chill Lounge series[edit]

Year Album Label
2012 The Chill Lounge, Volume 1 Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2013 The Chill Lounge, Volume 2 Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2015 The Chill Lounge, Volume 3 Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records

Kiss the Sky with Paul Hardcastle & Jaki Graham[edit]

[15]

Year Album Label
1991 Kiss the Sky Victor (Japan); Motown Records
1994 Millennium Skyway [a.k.a. Kiss the Sky II] Victor (Japan); JVC; Hardcastle Records

Transcontinental with Paul Hardcastle & Ryan Farish[edit]

[16]

Year Album Label
2011 Transcontinental (6-song EP) Rytone Entertainment

Compilations[edit]

Year Album Label
1993 The Definitive Paul Hardcastle Connoisseur Collection
1996 The Very Best (The Gold Collection) EMI Music
1997 P.H. (Paul Hardcastle Works) Victor (Japan)
1997 Cover to Cover: A Musical Autobiography JVC; Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records [17]
2000 Jazzmasters: The Greatest Hits Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records
2003 The Very Best of Paul Hardcastle 1983–2003 Jazz FM Records
2004 Jazzmasters: The Smooth Cuts Hardcastle Records; Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records [18]
2009 Paul Hardcastle: The Collection Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records [19]
2011 Desire: The Ultimate Seductive Album Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records [20]
2013 Electrofied 80s: Essential Paul Hardcastle Music Club Deluxe (division of Demon Records)
2015 19: The 30th Anniversary Mixes Nusic Sounds, Caroline International
2016 The History of Paul Hardcastle 1984–2016 Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records

Singles[edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[21][6] 		US
[22] 		US Dance
[22] 		US Jazz
[23] 		US R&B
[22] 		IRE
 SWI
 NOR
 GER
 NLD
 SWE
 ATR
 ITL
 FR
 AUS
[24] 		NZ
"You're the One for Me – Daybreak – A.M." 1984 41 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Daybreak
"Guilty" 53 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Eat Your Heart Out" 59 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rain Forest
"King Tut" 42 — 10 — 32 — — — — — — — — — — —
"Rain Forest" 1985 41 57 2 — 5 — — — — — — — — — — —
"19" 1 15 1 — 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15 10 1 Paul Hardcastle
"19 (German Version)" — — — — — — — — 17 — — — — — — —
"Just for Money" 19 — — — — 15 27 — 31 — — — — — — —
"Don't Waste My Time" 1986 8 — 31 — 65 15 9 — 15 12 — — — — 66 20
"Foolin' Yourself" 51 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — The Definitive Paul Hardcastle
"The Wizard" 15 — — — — 10 — — 51 — — — — — — —
"Walk in the Night" 1988 54 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — No Winners
"40 Years" 53 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Are You Ready" 1989 90 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Sound Syndicate
"Galaxy of Love" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Serene" 2005 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle IV
"Marimba" 2008 — — — 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle V
"Lucky Star" — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — —
"The Circle" 2009 — — — 8 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle VI
"Rain Forest" / "What's Going On" 2011 — — — 16 — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Easy Come, Easy Go" — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — —
"No Stress (At All)" 2013 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle VII
"Easy Street" — — — 2 — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Unlimited Love, Pt. 1" 2014 — — — 7 — — — — — — — — — — — — Moovin & Groovin
"Rhythm Of Life" 2015 — — — 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — Jazzmasters VII
"Echoes Rising" 2016 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — The History of Paul Hardcastle
"Cut Loose" 2018 — — — 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle VIII
"Amber Skies" — — — 5 — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Happy Go Lucky" 2019 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Dancing Galaxies" 2020 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Latitude" — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle IX

Unreleased promotional tracks[edit]

This is a list of several unreleased tracks that were made by Paul Hardcastle that were originally intended to have been used to promote the Lego Bionicle toyline in 2001.

These tracks were originally meant to have been included with the Bionicle Power Pack CD package that was later released in the same year.

Title Year Album Label
Bionic Age (also referred to as the Bionicle Age) 2001 Extreme Global Hardcore Warner Chappell Music (division of Warner Music Group)
Killing Machines (also known as the original full version of The Bionicle Music track that was cut following the final release of the CD & later uses in commercials for the toyline) 2001 Extreme Global Hardcore Warner Chappell Music (division of Warner Music Group)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Birth of Paul Louis Hardcastle", England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2005
  2. ^ a b Collar, Matt. "Paul Hardcastle - Artist Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 117.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 244.
  5. ^ NUA - Paul Hardcastle Biography Retrieved 24 January 2020
  6. ^ a b c "Paul Hardcastle - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  7. ^ Chin, Brian (10 May 1986). "Dance Trax" (PDF). pp. 39–40. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  8. ^ Blues & Soul, Issues 552-563. Napfield Limited. 1990. p. 14. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Marriage of Paul Louis Hardcastle and Dolores Baker", England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916–2005
  10. ^ "Ritchie Max Hardcastle", England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2005
  11. ^ "Ritchie Hardcastle, 19, chairman of Young Conservatives Romford". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Zero One – Paul Hardcastle – Releases – AllMusic".
  13. ^ "Time for Love". Amazon.co.uk.
  14. ^ "The holidays are coming and so is Jazzmasters 6 – Paul Hardcastle". Chatterboxworldwide's Blog. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Paul Hardcastle – Biography & History – AllMusic".
  16. ^ "Transcontinental - EP by Paul Hardcastle & Ryan Farish". Music.apple.com. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Cover to Cover – Paul Hardcastle – Releases – AllMusic".
  18. ^ "Jazzmasters: the Smooth Cuts – Paul Hardcastle – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic".
  19. ^ "The Collection - Paul Hardcastle | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  20. ^ "Desire – Paul Hardcastle – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic".
  21. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 243. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  22. ^ a b c "Paul Hardcastle Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Chart History: Paul Hardcastle - SMOOTH JAZZ SONGS". Billboard. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  24. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 133. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

External links[edit]

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