Paul Louis Hardcastle^[1] (born 10 December 1957)^[4] 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.^[5]

Born in Kensington in London on 10 December 1957,^[4] he is the son of Joyce (née Everett, 1930–1991) and Louis Hardcastle (1915–2000).^[1]

Hardcastle began his career in 1981 when he became the keyboard player for British soul band Direct Drive.^[3][2] In 1982, Hardcastle and lead vocalist Derek Green left the band to form a duo under the name First Light. They achieved some minor success in the UK charts, but the project was abandoned after two years and Hardcastle pursued a solo career.^[3]

He 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.^[6] "Rain Forest" also hit number five on the soul chart and number fifty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100.^[7] Rain Forest, the album both tracks were released on, was nominated for Best R&B Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) in the 28th Annual Grammy Awards. Musician by Ernie Watts would win the award that year.^[8][9]

Hardcastle is best known for the 1985 single "19", which went to No. 1 in the UK (for five weeks),^[10] as well as several other countries worldwide. It also reached number 15 in the U.S. Pop chart and number 1 in the U.S. Dance charts. The song received the Ivor Novello Award for Best-selling single of 1985.^[11] 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.^[5]

In 1986, Hardcastle released a remix to "One Wish" by Hiroshima.^[12] 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.

The song "Don't Waste My Time" became Hardcastle's second UK top ten in March 1986.^[5] It featured singer Carol Kenyon, a backing vocalist of Heaven 17. In late 1986, Hardcastle collaborated with the supergroup Disco Aid (later rebranded as Dance Aid in 1987) co-producing the charity single "Give Give Give".^[13]

In 1989, Hardcastle resumed working on First Light, collaborating with vocalist Kevin Henry, whom he had worked with on previous recordings.^[14]

Using his alias Deff Boyz,^[2] he released the single Swing in 1990. It reached number 84 on the UK charts,^[15] number 27 in Germany,^[16] and number 18 in the US Dance charts.^[17]

Since the 1990s, Hardcastle has 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.^[3]

Hardcastle married Dolores Baker in 1985,^[18] and they have three children including British DJ and singer Maxine as well as musician Paul Hardcastle Jr. who both contributed vocals to Hardcastle's Transcontinental, a 2011 collection of new music recorded with Ryan Farish.

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
• List of 1980s one-hit wonders in the United States
• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• List of smooth jazz performers
• List of synthpop artists
• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart