Paul Hardcastle 80s

The 80s – think n’n’n’n’n’ nineteen (19), Rainforest and the synthesizer…

From his dance club hits of the mid-1980s through to his current popularity among adult contemporary jazz listeners, Hardcastle has maintained an intentionally low profile, while at the same time exhibiting a level of technical wizardry--both at the keyboard and at the studio console--that has produced numerous hits for himself and for others.

His love of sound equipment eventually led to a job as a stereo salesman. In 1980 Hardcastle acquired his first synthesizer. He quickly landed a spot as keyboard player for the band Direct Drive, effectively ending his career in sales. With Direct Drive, Hardcastle got his first taste of dance club success, scoring a handful of minor hits on the British underground dance scene Hardcastle joined forces with vocalist Derek Green to form the funk band First Light in 1982.

After watching Vietnam Requiem, a television documentary about the Vietnam War, Hardcastle was deeply moved by the fact that the average age of a U.S. soldier in that conflict was 19, compared to 26 during World War II. The program inspired him to create his biggest hit, 19, which made use of samples from the documentary's soundtrack, though well-doctored with all manner of electronic effects and scratch techniques. 19 rocketed to number one on the British charts, and also reached the top spot in 13 different countries selling 4 million copies

Hardcastle enjoyed several further hits in the UK, including "Don't Waste My Time" (with vocals by Carol Kenyon) (UK #8) and the now-classic "The Wizard", a UK #15 hit that became the theme tune from BBC Television's Top of the Pops. He also had a hit with "Just For Money", which reached #19 in the UK. Earlier, he had cut a cover version of D-Train's most influential hit "You're the One For Me", segued with his own compositions "Daybreak" and "A.M." Hardcastle also wrote the theme tune for Saturday Live, a popular entertainment show which ran from 1985-1987. He also made the hit single "the voyager", which was used for the BBC one program Holiday.

After 1986, Hardcastle started to specialise in television soundtracks and remix work, for artists as such as Five Star, Barry White, Third World, Sinitta, Johnny Logan, Hiroshima and Ian Dury.




here are some video exsamples of thar era:









complete discography of the 80s:
1984 Daybreak
1985 Zero One
1985 Paul Hardcastle
1988 No Winners
1990 Sound Syndicate
1992 Kiss the Sky
1993 The Definitive
1997 First Light
2003 The Very Best of Paul Hardcastle 1983-2003