Musician Paul Hardcastle has revealed that he spoke to his son, also named Paul, just minutes before he died in a motorbike crash last week. The 68-year-old shared the details in an Instagram video, explaining that his 35-year-old son had said he would call back in five minutes but never did.
Paul Jnr, a saxophonist and DJ, had followed his father into the music industry. According to Hardcastle, his son was running late after missing a flight to Greece and was attempting to reach his father's house on a scrambler motorbike that was not road certified. He intended to collect a saxophone, believing the bike would be faster than a taxi.
Hardcastle said: “Look, at the end of the day the bike's not supposed to be on the road and where he was seen, he was actually on a road, so I think it was an unmarked police car decided to chase him… He's hit a blue van and people were around him, sort of trying to sort of help him and stuff but his breathing was very shallow.”
The musician described the moment police officers informed him of his son's death. “I said ‘Okay’. [They replied] ‘We're very, very, very sorry to tell you that your son's been involved in an accident and he's passed away’,” Hardcastle recounted.
He added: “I’ve lost a lovely son, and he's lost his life, and could have easily all been avoided. But that's decisions. You make decisions, and if you make the wrong ones, then these are the things that can happen to you.”
