Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The strangeness of being a name on the lips of everyone to one who can pass relatively unnoticed through a large crowd is one that is an underrated and startling. It is a reassurance that we can all have a moment in the national limelight that is filled with compliment and congratulations, and then be comfortable in our niche that we thrive, without being exposed to overwhelming idolatry.
If you are of a certain age then you not only remember the big hit single of 1985, 19, but the time that surrounded it as well, a flux in world affairs that returned Ronald Reagan to the White House for his second term as President of the United States Of America, Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary General of the Soviet Communist Party, Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace vessel is bombed, and in cinema, the second of the Rambo series is released with some applauding the issue raised of missing Vietnam War POW/MIA and others decrying its brutalist tone and violence.
What you would remember is that Paul Hardcastle was at the height of his pop fame, seemingly out of nowhere, despite some success in previous incarnations of bands, and it all came down to the physicality of one song, remixed beyond its tentative grip, a worldwide smash, and in Britain it paved the way for a short while for the music of the musician to be appropriately lauded and even one of his singles to be used as the theme for Top Of The Pops, the force that was The Wizard.
Almost 40 years on, unless you have kept up with Mr. Hardcastle’s prestigious and undeniably cool Jazz albums, you would be forgiven to find that the release of Nineteen And Beyond: 1984-1988 was a surprise, that for many the sense of the near one hit wonder should be granted such a fanfare of applause in a wonderfully crafted boxset. Yet by delving in the four cd’s, two studio albums, the eponymous output of Paul Hardcastle and its follow up of No Winners, and with two jam packed cd’s of remixes, B sides, and extended versions, you soon find yourself transported back to a period in which the Cold War was starting to hit home amongst the teenage population and the prospect of Nuclear War a hard, desperate reality.
It is the subtly of 19, the lead song throughout this period, and perhaps to a lesser extent the war theme with its use of the President’s voice speaking in terms of sombre propriety and the chilling fear that his words would spark an unforgiveable war between ideology, that the package revolves majestically around; and whilst other tracks get their due deference, such as the sublime Don’t Waste My Time with Carol Kenyon, Just For Money, which featured the gripping tones of Bob Hoskins in particular Harold Shand mood, and 40 Years in which should be noted for its grave understanding of a world on the brink of nuclear madness, it is to be certain a resolute and fond salute to the track that gave the musician his time in the spotlight and music history.
Nineteen And Beyond: 1984-1988 is an astonishing offering, one that hopefully will urge the public to look deeper into Paul Hardcastle’s work away from the popular hits and at his career forceful entity.
Ian D. Hall