Paul Hardcastle

A producer and keyboardist from London, Paul Hardcastle debuted as a solo artist in 1984 and scored the following year with "19," an electro-oriented record featuring news reports and other sources on Vietnam. It became a major hit in his native country; in the U.S., it topped Billboard's club chart. Later, he produced and did remixes for artists such as Ian Dury and Phil Lynott. He continued to sell well in the specialty dance market and occasionally released records as part of the duo Kiss the Sky (with Jaki Graham) while also operating under names like the Def Boys, Beeps International, and Jazzmasters.

Because Paul Hardcastle has had great commercial success with his "Jazzmasters" projects, he occasionally gets linked to jazz. In reality, Hardcastle is a producer of electronic pop instrumental records who uses keyboards, drum machines, some regular instruments, often a saxophone lead and occasional singers to create dance music. The emphasis on repetition and long melody statements fits securely into lower-level acid jazz, although it lacks any real spontaneity. This double-CD has rare tracks (formerly out only in Europe), a few hits, lots of cover tunes of pop songs and plenty of previously unreleased pieces that should be of interest to Paul Hardcastle collectors.

A producer and keyboardist from London, Paul Hardcastle debuted as a solo artist in 1984 and scored the following year with "19," an electro-oriented record featuring news reports and other sources on Vietnam. It became a major hit in his native country; in the U.S., it topped Billboard's club chart. Later, he produced and did remixes for artists such as Ian Dury and Phil Lynott. He continued to sell well in the specialty dance market and occasionally released records as part of the duo Kiss the Sky (with Jaki Graham) while also operating under names like the Def Boys, Beeps International, and Jazzmasters.

Paul Hardcastle is absolutely an Icon of Jazz Fusion and Easy Listening music. And his daughter Maxine hit it right on this recording. Its just the right amount of women's voice to make it extremely alluring but not over the top. Just perfect. Beautiful creation an achievement!

Paul Taylor's tenth studio album, 2014's Tenacity, showcases more of the saxophonist's distinctive crossover jazz and instrumental R&B. The album features production by Taylor's longtime collaborator Dino Esposito, who previously worked on Taylor's first two albums…

Lemongrass, Five Seasons, Paul Hardcastle, Pauline London, Lenny Mac Dowell, Tape Five, Red Buddha and many more.

NOW Music is proud to present the newest edition to our ‘Yearbook’ family: NOW – Yearbook 1985, the 6th addition to our Yearbook 80s series and 7th addition including NOW – Yearbook 1979. This Special Edition CD is housed in ‘hard-back-book’ packaging, including a 28-page booklet featuring a summary of the year, a track-by-track guide, a quiz, and original singles artwork.

100 Hits begins with some songs that might be termed new romantic, then shifts into non-romantic synth pop, then sophisti-pop, and then, suddenly, it looks more like a compilation more accurately classified as "'80s pop, alternative, and mainstream." Like the other sets in the 100 Hits series from the U.K.'s EMI-funded Demon label, 100 Hits: The New Romantics features 20 songs on each one of its five discs and provides a big chunk of music for a small price. This is ideal for hoarders who care more about obtaining a wide swath of songs on a budget than focused track lists with nice packaging. Most of the tracks were, indeed, hits, new romantic or not. Duran Duran's "Planet Earth," Japan's "Ghosts," the Human League's "Sound of the Crowd," and Thomas Dolby's "Hyperactive!" are among the highlights.