19 (song)
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- See also: 19 (number)
19 is a song by English musician Paul Hardcastle, released in 1985. 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 the average age of an American combat soldier in the war was nineteen. This claim has since been disputed. [1]
Nineteen topped the pop charts in the UK, and reached the top twenty in the USA. For a while it was the top selling single in thirteen countries, and it received the Ivor Novello award for Bestselling Single Of 1985. Hardcastle was later sued by the ABC for his unauthorised use of samples from the documentary.
The same year British comedian Rory Bremner, using the band name The Commentators, released a parodied version of the song as N-n-n-n-nineteen Not Out, about England's recent tragic performance in test cricket.
| Preceded by "Move Closer" by Phyllis Nelson |
UK number one single May 5, 1985 |
Succeeded by "You'll Never Walk Alone" by The Crowd |
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