19 - Paul Hardcastle - 1985

Paul Hardcastle

19 - Paul Hardcastle

Paul Hardcastle

Fonte: Wikipedia

Dopo aver studiato pianoforte, nei primi anni '80, Hardcastle suonò le tastiere in diversi singoli dell'etichetta discografica "Oval" per molti gruppi e artisti musicali. Successivamente, nel 1985, decide di intraprendere una carriera solista, specializzandosi in musica disco. 

Questa incominciò con il disco Zero One, frutto di una collaborazione con il gruppo funk Universal Funk. Da questo esperimento vennero pubblicati due singoli: la rilassante Rain Forest e l'inquietante Sound Chaser. Questi entrarono immediatamente nelle classifiche di 

musica dance, specialmente Rain Forest che si posizionò al numero 57 della Hot 100. Subito dopo Hardcastle pubblicò una cover di un pezzo dei D-Train You're The One For Me, unita con altre due sue composizioni, AM e Daybreak. Sempre nello stesso anno, pubblica 

il suo album di debutto, dal titolo omonimo, ricco di brani da discoteca come King Tut, Just for Money, Central Park, Better e la famosissima 19. Quest'ultima è una delle canzoni più note del musicista britannico ed è incentrata sulla partecipazione, da parte degli americani 

alla guerra del Vietnam e l'effetto che questa ebbe sui soldati coinvolti. Dopo questa canzone, Hardcastle pubblicò: Don't Waste My Time (con la voce di Carol Kenyon) che raggiunse la posizione numero 8 nella UK Singles Chart, The Wizard, che è diventata la 

colonna sonora per la trasmissione televisiva Top of the Pops e The Voyager, che è stato utilizzato per il programma della BBC, "Holiday". Dopo il 1986, Paul Hardcastle iniziò a occuparsi principalmente di colonne sonore per show televisivi (infatti, scrisse il tema 

principale di "Saturday Live") e remix di alcuni lavori, alcuni di artisti come Five Star, Barry White, Third World, Sinitta, Johnny Logan, Hiroshima e Ian Dury. Nel 1988, rilascia il suo primo (e unico) concept album, No Winners, che si concentra sugli effetti distruttivi della 

corsa agli armamenti della Guerra Fredda. Da qui, egli cambia rotta e si tuffa nell'universo del free jazz. Diventerà una delle icone più rappresentative di questo stile, soprattutto nel 2000 con il singolo Desire.

Hardcastle ha registrato diversi album smooth jazz, alternando uscite sotto i nomi di Kiss The Sky, The Jazzmasters, e Hardcastle. In questi lavori vi è la collaborazione con alcuni cantanti (come Helen Rogers, Becki Biggins, e Margo LeDuc) e sassofonisti tra cui Gary 

Barnacle, Snake Davis, Phil Todd, Tony Woods, e Rock Hendricks. Tutti questi rilasci sono stati poi riprodotti su radio smooth jazz negli Stati Uniti. Paul quindi nel 2008 vinse come miglior artista jazz nella Smooth of the Year Award.

Source: Wikipedia

In the early 1980s, Hardcastle played the keyboards on several singles on the Oval record label by the dance music groups Direct Drive and First Light, before going solo.

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.[2] "Rain Forest" also hit number five on the soul chart 

and number fifty-seven on the Hot 100.[3] In 1985, he came to greater prominence with the international hit "19", a song about America's involvement in the Vietnam War and the effect it had on the soldiers who served, using sampled dialogue from the 1984 ABC documentary 

Vietnam Requiem about the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by veterans. Producer Simon Fuller named his company '19 Entertainment' after the song, and the two are known to collaborate on certain projects.

Hardcastle enjoyed several further hits in the UK, including "Don't Waste My Time" (with vocals by Carol Kenyon) (UK No. 8) and "The Wizard", a UK No. 15 hit that became the theme tune for BBC Television's music chart show Top of the Pops from April 1986 until 

September 1991. He also had a hit with "Just for Money", which reached No. 19 in the UK and featured Bob Hoskins and Laurence Olivier. 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", a version of which was used for the BBC One programme Holiday.

After 1986, Hardcastle started to specialise in television soundtracks and remixed work, for artists as such as Five Star, Barry White, Third World, Sinitta, Johnny Logan, Hiroshima and Ian Dury. His piece "The Shuffle" was included in the soundtrack of the movie When the Wind Blows.

In 1988, Hardcastle released the concept album, No Winners, which focuses on the potential negative effects of the Cold War arms race. In 2000, he released Hardcastle III, which included a remake of "Rain Forest" and a hit single, "Desire".

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.[1] Working regularly with vocalists such as Helen Rogers, Becki 

Biggins and Margo LeDuc, Hardcastle has recruited several saxophonists including Gary Barnacle (on the first album), Snake Davis, Phil Todd, Tony Woods and Rock Hendricks. All these albums have been played on smooth jazz radio in the United States, where some of 

the most played tracks include "Northern Lights", "Lost in Space", "Desire", "Shine", and "Serene". He won the Billboard Smooth Jazz Artist of the Year award in 2008.

2010's The Jazzmasters VI track "Touch and Go", featuring his son Paul Jr. on saxophone, reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Jazz songs chart, becoming his tenth number one on the Smooth Jazz chart in total.

His album, Hardcastle VI, released in September 2011, features yet another remake of "Rain Forest"—this time mixed with R&B legend Marvin Gaye's signature song, "What's Going On".

In February 2014, Hardcastle was appointed Chairman of NUA Entertainment, which was founded by one of the UK's top businessmen, Neil Utley and his wife, Nicky