Record bosses laughed when I played hit song…Simon Fuller was left laughing the most.

“MUSIC PRODUCERS LAUGHED WHEN I PLAYED THEM 19…”

…But Paul Hardcastle reveals why legendary mogul Simon Fuller was left with the biggest grin.

PAUL Hardcastle has revealed that record bosses laughed at him when he first played them his smash hit 19.

And he says it was thanks to Simon Fuller, who went on to become a multi-millionaire music mogul, that the iconic song became such a success.

Speaking to GB News, Paul said: “When I first took the song 19 into a record company, I’d just got together with Simon Fuller who worked at Chrysalis. He asked me to come in and I played it to the hierarchy there. Well they sort of all laughed really.

“They all basically sort of said: ‘Thanks, Paul, you know, we’ll get back to you’, apart from Simon.

“He stayed behind and he said ‘But they don’t get this, I do. How would you feel about me becoming your manager and leaving my job at Chrysalis?’

“And I was so young with it. I said ‘What does a manager do? He said “I just take all the, let’s just say the c*** for you.”

“So basically he became my manager, and seven weeks later we were number one in 13 different countries!

“That’s where 19 Management started. The number 19 came from the record 19, so it was 19 Management and Simon went on to become the biggest, most successful manager ever. He was my best man, my daughter’s godfather, so our friendship is still to this day – and it’s great.”

Originally released in 1985, 19 was so named because it reflected the average age of soldiers going into the Vietnam war.

The track, which was initially recorded in Paul’s mum’s front room, reached the number one chart spot in 13 different countries and sold six million copies.

In his interview with GB News, Paul also said Three Lions would never be topped as a football song.

Paul said: “The only one really that has done anything for me has been Three Lions because it’s got great lyrics and it means something.

“‘Three lions on a shirt, Jules Rimet still gleaming’, all those years of hurt, you know, never stopped us dreaming – I don’t think you can get more inspirational than that.

“I think we’ve hit our peak. Maybe someone should have re-made it. I should have asked Oasis to redo it… that’s probably the only way to top it.

“When you start playing the song it basically just changes the whole atmosphere. It’s fantastic.”