wonder why Paul Hardcastle has zero cred -- and never ever gets mentioned in dance history accounts -- when what he did wasn't so very far from e.g. what M/A/R/R/S would do a couple of years later...

not saying the verdict is wrong exactly, indeed at the time "19" seemed tres naff to me, but i heard it on the radio just a little while ago and suddenly couldn't remember when it came out, it sounded like it was contemporary with e.g. 808 State or Bomb the Bass or S'Express or Stakker Humanoid  or Jack the Tab... but of course when i checked it's from 1985

What else did he do?

Before "19" there was "Rain Forest" - which is a bit Shakatak meets "IOU"-Freez

After "19" there were several more hits - like this (which became the TOTP theme tune)

Overall he seems to have slipped into the mire of smooth jazz...