PAUL HARDCASTLE
Genres: Pop, Art Song, Folk, RnB, Nu Jazz • United Kingdom

Paul Hardcastle (born 10 December 1957, London, England) is an English composer and musician, specialising in the synthesizer. 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. "Rain Forest" also hit number five on the soul chart and number fifty-seven on the Hot 100. 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 an American television documentary about the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by veterans.   Hardcastle enjoyed several further hits in the UK, including "Don't read more...