19 – Paul Hardcastle (1985)

“19” is a song by English musician Paul Hardcastle released as the first single from his 1985 self-titled third studio album “Paul Hardcastle”. The song features dialogue by television narrator Peter Thomas, and a strong anti-war message. The track is about America’s involvement in the Vietnam War and the effect it had on the soldiers who served. “19” features sampled dialogue and news reports from “Vietnam Requiem”, an ABC television documentary about the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by veterans. The title “19” comes from the documentary’s claim that the average age of an American combat soldier in the war was 19, as compared to the claim of World War II’s 26. “19” reached the top twenty of the US pop charts, where it also topped the dance chart. For a while it was the top-selling single in thirteen countries (helped by the fact that versions of the song were recorded in French, Spanish, German and Japanese), and it received the Ivor Novello award for Bestselling Single Of 1985. The song’s English language release came in at least three different 12″ versions, each with an alternate cover design. Famous record and television producer Simon Fuller of “Britain’s Got Talent” and “American Idol” named his management company 19 Entertainment after he signed Paul Hardcastle to Chrysalis Records and the single went to number one in the UK Thischannel is dedicated to all the great ‘old school’ R&B music I grew up with, the stuff that originally made me tap my feet and …