Paul Hardcastle

Career Hardcastle began his career in 1981 when he became the keyboard player for British soul band Direct Drive. 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 chart, but the project was abandoned after two years and Hardcastle pursued a solo career.

Hardcastle 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. "Rain Forest" also hit number five on the soul chart and number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. 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.

Hardcastle is best known for the 1985 single "19", which went to No. 1 in the UK (for five weeks), 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 chart. The song received the Ivor Novello Award for Best-selling single of 1985. 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.

In 1986, Hardcastle released a remix to "One Wish" by Hiroshima. 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.

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

Using his alias Deff Boyz, number 27 in Germany, and number 18 in the US Dance chart.

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. They have three children, including British DJ and saxophonist Paul Hardcastle Jr. and singer Maxine Hardcastle, who both contributed vocals to Hardcastle's Transcontinental, a 2011 collection of new music recorded with Ryan Farish.

On 13 January 2026, Hardcastle announced the death of his son, Paul Hardcastle Jr., aged 35, in a road accident.

Discography Studio albums

Smooth jazz albums Hardcastle series Year Title Label Peak chart positionsUS Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records 176 — 52011 Hardcastle VI — — 42013 Hardcastle VII — — 32018 Hardcastle VIII — — 62020 Hardcastle IX — — 172022 Hardcastle X — — 14 "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Jazzmasters series Year Title LabelUS Jazz Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records —2014 Jazzmasters VII 1 "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Chill Lounge series Year Title LabelUS Jazz

Compilations

Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK US US Dance US R&B NZ "You're the One for Me / Daybreak / A.M." 1984 41 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — The Definitive Paul Hardcastle "Guilty" 53 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — "Eat Your Heart Out" 59 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rain Forest "King Tut" — — 10 — 32 — — — — — — — — — — — "Rain Forest" 1985 41 57 2 — 5 — — — — — — — — — — — "19" 1 15 1 — 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15 10 1 BPI: Gold Paul Hardcastle "19 (German Version)" — — — — — — — — 17 — — — — — — — "Just for Money" 19 — — — — 15 27 — 31 — — — — — — — "Don't Waste My Time" 1986 8 — 31 — 65 15 9 — 15 12 — — — — 66 20 "Foolin' Yourself" 51 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — The Definitive Paul Hardcastle "The Wizard" 15 — — — — 10 — — 51 — — — — — — — "Walk in the Night" 1988 54 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — No Winners "40 Years" 53 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — "Are You Ready" 1989 90 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Sound Syndicate "Galaxy of Love" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — "Serene" 2005 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle IV "Marimba" 2008 — — — 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle V "Lucky Star" — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — "The Circle" 2009 — — — 8 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle VI "Rain Forest" / "What's Going On" 2011 — — — 16 — — — — — — — — — — — — "Easy Come, Easy Go" — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — "No Stress (At All)" 2013 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle VII "Easy Street" — — — 2 — — — — — — — — — — — — "Unlimited Love, Pt. 1" 2014 — — — 7 — — — — — — — — — — — — Moovin & Groovin "Rhythm of Life" 2015 — — — 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — Jazzmasters VII "Echoes Rising" 2016 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — The History of Paul Hardcastle "Cut Loose" 2018 — — — 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle VIII "Amber Skies" — — — 5 — — — — — — — — — — — — "Happy Go Lucky" 2019 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — "Dancing Galaxies" 2020 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — "Latitude" — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle IX "Welcome to the Beach" 2021 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — "Tropicool" — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — "Wavelength" 2022 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — Hardcastle X "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Unreleased promotional tracks This is a list of several unreleased tracks that were made by Paul Hardcastle that were originally intended to have been used to promote the Lego Bionicle toyline in 2001.

These tracks were originally meant to have been included with the Bionicle Power Pack CD package that was later released in the same year.