Vietnam in the pop charts
Paul Hardcastle’s electro single 19 spends the last of five weeks at UK Number 1. Using sources including ABC TV’s documentary Vietnam Requiem, the track presents manipulated samples on the horrors of the Vietnam war and the average age of its American combatants. “I was sitting here watching a programme one night and I taped it,” Hardcastle tells NME. “Of course it’s about the Vietnam war, but it’s mainly about the fact that those kids were only 19 when they had to go and fight.” The single’s released on three different 12-inch mixes, while bespoke versions follow in German, Japanese, Spanish and French. Narrator Peter Thomas receives royalties, as does – later – Mike Oldfield.