| "19" | ||||||||
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| Single by Paul Hardcastle | ||||||||
| from the album Paul Hardcastle | ||||||||
| B-side | "Fly by Night" | |||||||
| Released | 17 February 1985 | |||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||||||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||||||
| Genre | New Wave, Freestyle, Post-disco, R&B | |||||||
| Length | 6:20 (album version) 3:37 (single version) |
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| Label | Chrysalis | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Paul Hardcastle William Coutourie Jonas McCord Mike Oldfield |
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| Producer | Paul Hardcastle | |||||||
| Paul Hardcastle singles chronology | ||||||||
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"19" is a song by British musician Paul Hardcastle released as the first single from his self-titled third studio album Paul Hardcastle (1985).
The song has a strong anti-war message, focussing on America's involvement in the Vietnam War and the effect it had on the soldiers who served. The track was notable for early use of sampled and processed speech, in particular a stutter effect used on the words "n-n-n-n-nineteen" and "d-d-d-d-destruction". It also includes various non-speech samples such as crowd noise and a military bugle call.
"19" features sampled narration (by Peter Thomas), interview dialogue ("I wasn't really sure what was going on") and news reports from Vietnam Requiem,[1] an ABC television documentary about the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by veterans. In 2009, the song placed at 73 on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s.[2] Hardcastle was later sued by ABC for his unauthorized use of samples from the documentary.
Nineteen topped the pop charts in the UK for five weeks, and reached the top twenty in the US, 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 three different 12" versions ("Extended Version", "Destruction Mix" and "The Final Story"), each with an alternate cover design.
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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.[3] The song incorporated bits of interviews from soldiers as well.[3] This claim has since been disputed.[4] Undisputed statistics do not exist, although Southeast Asia Combat Area Casualties Current File (CACCF), the source for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, shows a large number of deaths (38%) were ages 19 or 20. According to the same source, 23 is the average age at time of death (or declaration of death).[5] The song also comments that while the tour of duty was longer during WWII, soldiers in Vietnam were subject to hostile enemy fire almost every day.[3]
The success of "19" meant that Hardcastle's manager Simon Fuller, who had recently left Chrysalis Records to set up on his own, was able to use the funds to continue his business. He named the business 19 Management in acknowledgement and the number 19 has become of great significance to Fuller.[6] Fuller went on to become the most successful British music manager of all time and was behind the success of the Spice Girls and American Idol. Hardcastle has continued his connections to 19 Entertainment and in 2009 created the sound for the end card used at the end of 19's television shows.[7]
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 2 |
| France Singles Chart | 15 |
| German Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 1[8] |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| Top 10 Veracruz Stereo Medellin, Colombia | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 15[3][9] |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |
The year of release, British comedian Rory Bremner, using the band name The Commentators, released a parodied version of the song as N-n-nineteen Not Out, about England's tragic performance in test cricket, with references to the England cricket team's disastrous 1984 home series against the West Indies in which the England captain David Gower had averaged 19.[10] In 2002, Hardcastle admitted in an interview with Q Magazine that, despite objections from his record label, he had helped contribute towards the making of The Commentators' version of the song.
The song inspired the video game 19 Part One: Boot Camp.
Manchester United used the "19" soundtrack to celebrate their nineteenth Premier League title in May 2011, and the song made a reappearance in the UK Top 40.
| Preceded by "Move Closer" by Phyllis Nelson |
UK number one single 11 May 1985 - 8 June 1985 |
Succeeded by "You'll Never Walk Alone" by The Crowd |
| Preceded by "You Can Win If You Want" by Modern Talking |
German number-one single Juni 7, 1985 - Juli 18, (6 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco |
| Preceded by "Into the Groove" / "Angel" by Madonna |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single July 6, 1985 - July 13, 1985 |
Succeeded by "Glow" by Rick James |