‘He said he’d get back to me in 5 minutes’: Paul Hardcastle reveals the horrifying twist of fate that led to son’s fatal motorbike crash

Paul Hardcastle has revealed the horrific twist of fate that led to his son’s fatal motorbike crash.

In a heartbreaking Instagram post on Monday night, 68-year-old musician Paul announced that his 35-year-old son of the same name had passed away.

Paul said his son was late for his flight to Greece, but he had to pick up his saxophone from his father’s house and made a last-minute effort to ride his motorcycle there, which had no road certificate.

“I’ll get back to you in five minutes,” Paul said in an emotional Instagram video on Friday. ‘He didn’t get back to me within five minutes.’

Describing the tragic circumstances that led to his son’s death, Paul began: ‘His car was taken to a garage two nights ago because there was a hole in the underside of the car that had affected the ball joints. They came and towed the car.

‘So he came back to them the next day and said ‘oh, I have to take out my saxophone and some of its parts’ and for some reason they wouldn’t let him get his saxophone back. This wouldn’t have happened if they had let him get his saxophone back. But they didn’t say this is a gift car, so we can’t let you take it.

In a heartbreaking Instagram post on Monday night, musician Paul, 68, announced that his 35-year-old son of the same name had passed away (Image together)

‘He came home, told me and I said ‘look you don’t have much time, get here as quickly as you can to get your saxophone or maybe we’ll meet halfway’.’

Paul continued: ‘What he did was based on the assumption that he could get across the fields on his motorbike and his beater and get to my house in half the time it took a taxi. So he made the decision to do this.

‘Look, at the end of the day the bike wasn’t supposed to be on the road and where it was seen, it was actually on the road, so I guess an unmarked police car decided to chase it and Paul thought “I’ve got to get my saxophone back” and just drove off, drove off and apparently crashed into a blue van and the people around him were trying to sort of help him but his breathing was very shallow.

‘I don’t know exactly when he passed away, but he did. So that’s basically what happened. All because he missed his flight. ‘I’m trying to get his saxophone and he should have taken an Uber or something but he thought it would take half my time.’

Paul described the moment police knocked on his door to tell him his son had died and he burst into tears as he recalled that terrible day.

He said: ‘I lost a lovely son and he lost his life and it could all have been easily prevented.

‘But these are decisions. You make decisions, and if you make the wrong decisions, these are the things that can happen to you. So everyone out there is thinking: “Oh, I’ll do this. I’ll do that.” It’s not worth it.

‘Because I felt sorry for the police when there was a knock on the door, there were actually two of them and they were nice people. They said, “Do you mind if we come? We have news.” “Okay” I said. [They replied] ‘We are very, very sorry to tell you that your son was involved in an accident and passed away.’

“I’ll get back to you in five minutes,” Paul began in an Instagram video on Friday. ‘He didn’t get back to me within five minutes’

Paul Sr. first shared the tragic news about his son in a heartbreaking Instagram post alongside a childhood photo.

Paul broke down in tears as he continued: ‘When you hear that, you think wow, nothing is worth doing this.

‘So if there’s anyone out there thinking along those lines, don’t worry. It’s not worth it. Cancel the concert. Do something else. I don’t know what you want to do, but don’t do that, because actually the odds, I won’t say the odds are against you, but the odds can be really cruel when they come up and that’s what happens.

‘Rest in peace Paul Jr., I love your father.’

Paul revealed that his son Paul Jnr decided to take a ride to join his father on his scrambler motorcycle after his car suffered a puncture.

But Paul Snr claimed the motorbike should not have been on the road, so his son was briefly pursued by a police bar before the fatal crash.

Paul Sr. first shared the tragic news about his son in a heartbreaking Instagram post alongside a childhood photo.

The singer, composer and producer wrote: ‘I want you to know that my super talented son, Paul Hardcastle Jr., was previously involved in a fatal motorcycle accident and sadly died. RIP my son loves my father.’

Paul Jnr was also a musician and was known for playing the saxophone and DJing.

The singer, composer and producer wrote: ‘I want you to know that my super talented son, Paul Hardcastle Jr., was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident.’

Police confirmed earlier this week that Paul Jnr died in a motorbike crash after failing to stop for police.

Police chased a motorbike that failed to stop in Ongar, Essex, on Monday, police said.

The bike collided with a minibus and police said the motorcyclist, aged in his 30s, tragically died at the scene.

The minibus driver, who was detained in connection with the incident, was released within the scope of the investigation.

Essex Police said the incident had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which confirmed it would conduct an independent investigation into the tragedy.

He starred in his father’s 2008 film Hardcastle 5, which was released in 2008 and is featured on the album’s final track, Take 1. He also worked on the 2022 release Hardcastle X.

Paul Sr. is perhaps best known for his 1985 hit 19, which he wrote about soldiers in the Vietnam War and peaked at number one on the charts for five weeks.