Paul Hardcastle
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Biography
Crossover jazz/pop musician, composer, producer, and bandleader Paul Hardcastle was born on December 10, 1957 in Kensington, London, England. He is best-known for his 1985 Number 1 single â19â and his series of Jazzmasters albums. Hardcastle began his musical career in the early 1980s as a member of Brit funk band Direct Drive. He and vocalist Derek Green left the band in 1982 and formed First Light. After two albums â First Light (1983) and Daybreak (1984) â the band split and Hardcastle pursued a solo career. He achieved some success with early singles like âKing Tutâ (1984) and especially âRainforestâ (1985) but became a global sensation with his Vietnam War-inspired single â19â in â85, which was initially a hit but continued chart domination for a few months thanks to a variety of remixes. The song was featured on the 1985 album Paul Hardcastle, which also included the hits âDonât Waste My Timeâ, âKing Tutâ, and âRainforestâ. While he did not achieve the same chart success after that self-titled album, he continued to release a series of albums under his own name that were highly-acclaimed by his fanbase. In 1994, he masterminded a new project called The Jazzmasters, which received a lot of attention from smooth jazz radio programmers. The Jazzmasters recorded a total of seven albums up through 2014. Running concurrently with his Jazzmasters project, he released a series of smooth jazz albums under the name Hardcastle. He released Hardcastle IX in 2020. Heâs also released several albums in his Chill Lounge series and two Japanese-only albums with Jaki Graham under the group name Kiss the Sky.
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Albums
Top Tracks
- Track Popularity
- Walkin' To Freedom
- Wavelength by Rock Hendricks
- The Circle
- Desire
- Angelic Chimes
- Rainforest
- Syndicate Theme
- Shine
- Paradise Cove
- Easy Street
- Lost In Space
- Tropicool
- Free As The Wind
- Welcome to the Beach
- Shelbi
- Easy Come Easy Go
- Happy Go Lucky
- Cut Loose
- Echoes Rising
- Dancing Galaxies
- Touch and Go
- Lazy Days
- Serene
- Lucky Star
