Introduction
Paul Hardcastle (born 10 December 1957) is a British composer, musician, and multi-instrumentalist from London. Although he specializes in the synthesizer, he can also play multiple instruments.
Career
He achieved some acclaim for his early singles, notably in 1984, the electro-funk/freestyle/instrumental track, "Rain Forest", which along with the track "Sound Chaser", hit 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 had huge international success in the charts; it went to No.1 in the UK (for five weeks), a number of other countries worldwide, and reached number 15 in the US Pop Charts and number 1 in the US Dance and Club charts. "19" became the top-selling single in 13 countries. This was helped by the fact that versions of the song, spoken by well-known local news anchors, were recorded in French, Spanish, German and Japanese. The song received the Ivor Novello Award for Best-selling single of 1985.
In 1986, Hardcastle released a remix to "One Wish" by Hiroshima.
Hardcastle has also 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.
Hardcastle also released two house music singles ("Keep This Frequency Clear" and "Listen To This") in 1988 under the name "The DTI".
Personal life
Hardcastle is married to Dolores Baker, and they have three children: Maxine (born April 1986), Paul Jr. (born August 1990), and Ritchie (born May 1997).
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Daybreak (by First Light) | |
| 1985 | Zero One (feat. Universal Funk) | EMI Music Distribution |
| 1985 | Rainforest | |
| 1985 | Paul Hardcastle | |
| 1988 | No Winners | |
| 1990 | Sound Syndicate | A/K Music / K-tel International |
| 1993 | Time For Love | Fast Forward Records (import) |
| 1993 | The Definitive | |
| 1997 | First Light | |
| 1997 | Cover to Cover: A Musical Autobiography | JVC 1997, Trippin 'N' Rhythm/Push Records 1999 |
| 2003 | Very Best: Paul Hardcastle 1983–2003 | |
| 2009 | Paul Hardcastle: The Collection | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2009 | Zero One | |
| 2011 | Desire | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2012 | Perceptions of Pacha VIII | P&C Pacha Recordings / Pacha Multimedia |
| 2012 | 19 Below Zero | Hardcastle Music, Universal Music |
| 2013 | Electrofied 80s: Essential Paul Hardcastle | Music Club Deluxe (division of Demon Music Group) |
| 2014 | Movin & Groovin | Trippin 'N' Rythmn Records |
| 2015 | 19: The 30th Anniversary Mixes | NUA Entertainment |
Smooth jazz albums
Hardcastle series
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Hardcastle | JVC Musical Industries |
| 1996 | Hardcastle II | JVC Musical Industries |
| 2002 | Hardcastle III | Hardcastle Records |
| 2005 | Hardcastle 4 | 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 |
The Jazzmasters series
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Jazzmasters | Fast Forward Records, ltd., JVC Musical Industries, Inc |
| 1995 | The Jazzmasters II | JVC Musical Industries |
| 1999 | The Jazzmasters III | Hardcastle Records, Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2000 | Jazzmasters: The Greatest Hits | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2004 | The Jazzmasters 4 | Hardcastle Records, Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2004 | JazzMasters: The Smooth Cuts | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2006 | The Jazzmasters V | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2010 | The Jazzmasters VI | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2014 | The Jazzmasters VII | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
Kiss The Sky series with Jaki Graham
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Kiss The Sky | Motown Records |
| 1994 | Millennium sky way | JVC Musical Industries |
The Chill Lounge series
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Chill Lounge, vol.1 | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2013 | The Chill Lounge, vol.2 | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
| 2015 | The Chill Lounge, vol.3 | Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | US | US Dance | US Jazz | IRE | SWI | NOR | GER | NLD | SWE | ATR | ITL | FR | NZ | |||
| "You're the One For Me – Daybreak – A.M." | 1984 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Daybreak |
| "Guilty" | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Eat Your Heart Out" | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rain Forest | |
| "Rain Forest" | 1985 | 53 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "19" | 1 | 15 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 | Paul Hardcastle | |
| "Just for Money" | 19 | — | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Don't Waste My Time" | 1986 | 8 | — | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Foolin' Yourself" | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Definitive Paul Hardcastle | |
| "The Wizard" | 15 | — | — | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Walk in the Night" | 1988 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | No Winners |
| "40 Years" | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Are You Ready" | 1989 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sound Syndicate |
| "Galaxy Of Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Rain Forest" / "What's Going On" | 2011 | — | — | — | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Hardcastle VI |
| "Easy Come, Easy Go" | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "No Stress (At All)" | 2013 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Hardcastle VII |
| "Easy Street" | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||