Paul Hardcastle (born December 10 1958) is a British composer and musician specialising in the synthesiser. In the early 1980s he performed in the dance music groups Direct Drive and First Light, before going solo. He achieved some acclaim for his early singles, notably the instrumental Rainforest 1984, but came to greater prominence in 1985 with the groundbreaking 19, a dance record featuring samples from the 1982 television documentary Vietnam: A Requiem, which was about Vietnam veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (and for which Hardcastle was sued by ABC). It was a number one hit in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and was a significant hit in many other countries.

He enjoyed several further hits in the UK, including "Don't Waste My Time" (with vocals by Carol Kenyon ) and "The Wizard", the theme from BBC TV's Top of the Pops. After 1986 he started to specialise in TV soundtracks. He has also recorded several acclaimed synth-jazz albums under the name Jazzmasters, which are played heavily on smooth jazz radio.