19 - Paul Hardcastle

"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 features dialogue by television narrator Peter Thomas, and a strong anti-war message. Nineteen topped the pop charts in the UK for five weeks, and reached the top twenty in the USA, 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. Hardcastle was later sued by ABC for his unauthorized use of samples from the documentary.
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. In 2009, the song placed at #73 on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s.

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