BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985
Today we honor every service member who has ever worn one of our nation’s uniforms. Happy Veterans Day (US).
“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, focusing 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, 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.
“19” topped the charts in the UK for 5 weeks, and reached the top 20 in the US, where it also topped the dance chart. For a while, it was the top selling single in 13 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 Best-selling single of 1985. The song’s English language release came in 3 different 12″ versions (“Extended Version”, “Destruction Mix” and “The Final Story”), each with an alternative cover design.
SIDE A:
19 (Extended Version) 5:11
SIDE B:
19 (Destruction Mix) 6:55
The Asylum (It’z Weird) 3:38
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 19 | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #15 |
| 1985 | 19 | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play | #1 |
| 1985 | 19 | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | #1 |
| 1985 | 19 | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles | #8 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Chrysalis – 4V9 42875
Format:Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro
Credits: Artwork [Cover Art], Design – Janet Perr
Management – Simon Fuller (2)
Producer – Paul Hardcastle
Written-By –J. McCord* (tracks: A, B1), P. Hardcastle*, W. Coutourie* (tracks: A, B1)
NOTES:
In World War Two The Average Age Of The Combat Soldier Was 26. In Vietnam He Was 19
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Thanks. Very Great. greetings from Turkey
Great post my friend! I am a Brazilian Air Force officer and this song marked me deeply in 1985. I love this song and the entire collection of Paul Hardcastle. Fantastic!! Soon I want to make my donation to your site that only shares with us precious things! Thank you always and God bless you! Hug!
One of my favs can’t believe i didn’t comment at the time. Bit late now but if you see this any chance of any of the foreign (not UK / USA) versions or the 3rd 12″ The final story?
muchas gracias
Great record which still holds up well today.
Thanks Paul 🙂
Thanks Paul. I didn’t have the Destruction mix.
many thanks for this classic paul’s song!!!
Thank you, Paul!
Hi Paul,
thanks for this great mastering of the 19 12 Inch Single. There was another one called 19 (The Final Story). A completely different version, see also the 19 Video-Clip. Have you this great 12 Inch too? In Germany the 12 inch released as an Double A-Side. 19 (The Final Story) 8:30 and 19 (Destruction Mix) 7:07
Very appropriate for Veterans’ Day Paul. A great single that had a lot to say. I love Paul Hardcastle. I always remember when the Latin Rascals did the KISS-FM mastermix dance parties on the weekends and included this song with their own special edits, it was ferocious. The stammering and multi-edits so reflected a soldier’s sense of shell shock and terror from the experience. I also liked how Hardcastle’s bell-like keyboards reminds me of Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” in one of that piece’s moments. Scary stuff but very poignant. AND you can dance to it too!!
Jeff
Found it very strange when this record was played on dancefloors back in the days. Drunk people enjoying the 19 n-n-n-n-nineteen and smiling and dancing.
The grooming of future soldiers starts way before 19 n-n-n-n-nineteen. Like to go to open-house-airshows and parades, and take your children with you?
Just saying.
I agree Dirk I grew up in a military family my dad is retired US Air Force but I didn’t follow that path. I found the music instead 🙂
Ai, i was talking in general, but good to know it is not set in stone for everyone 🙂
Great to have this Paul. Can u also post the sax remix of Rainforest from 1985,if you have it? Thanks.
I’ll see what I am able to do Omar 🙂
We can be at the same age, but being born at a different period, and/or born in a different country, our lives can turn out to be so different.
A sombre topic but to a dancefloor beat. I think that is the brilliance to this single.
And on to something more light-hearted…trust the Brits to spot the potential of a novelty cover version!
Just a month after the original, The Commentators released N-N-Nineteen (Not Out), and the 19 here refers to the batting average of the Cricket Captian. LOL!
Well said Ric 🙂
Always been a favourite of mine, the lyrics say so much.
Without fueling an argument, best left alone.
ex15
Enjoy Ex15 🙂
Thanks. To this date, whenever someone utters the number nineteen in whatever context, I often can’t help repeating it, stuttering n-n-n-n-nineteen. Now some people have this “what the…” look on their faces, other of similar age smile knowingly…
Lol I hear ya ronald 🙂
I’m afraid I think of Morris Minor and the Majors. “At the age of n-n-n-n-n-n-thirteen.”
Thanks Paul. A poignant post.
You’re welcome Jermajesty 🙂
The Vietnam Requiem documentary all the samples came from is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qqbq2xiguU
Thanks Jermajesty very interesting.
Thanks! Great 12 ”
My father was a Soldier of Brazilian Army in the early 90s! ( In times of peace)
Thanks Drake 🙂