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.

Career

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

Hardcastle 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 (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. 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.

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.

Personal life

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