Paul Hardcastle
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
Born in Kensington in London on 10 December 1957, he is the son of Joyce and Louis Hardcastle.Career
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.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. "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, 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. 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. 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 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 and The Jazzmasters, as well as under his real name Paul Hardcastle.
Personal life
Hardcastle married Dolores Baker in 1985, and they have three children, including Maxine and Paul Jr.. Their son Ritchie Max Hardcastle is Chairman of the Romford Young Conservatives.Discography
Studio albums
Smooth jazz albums
Hardcastle series
Jazzmasters series
Chill Lounge series
Kiss the Sky with Paul Hardcastle & [Jaki Graham]
| Year | Album | Label |
| 1991 | Kiss the Sky | Victor ; Motown Records |
| 1994 | Millennium Skyway | Victor ; JVC; Hardcastle Records |
Transcontinental with Paul Hardcastle & [Ryan Farish]
| Year | Album | Label |
| 2011 | Transcontinental | Rytone Entertainment |
Compilations
Singles
Unreleased promotional tracks
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 | 2001 | Extreme Global Hardcore | Warner Chappell Music |
| Killing Machines | 2001 | Extreme Global Hardcore | Warner Chappell Music |