Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock,

Matt Aitken Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s and early 1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman ...

, and

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterm ...

. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time, scoring more than 100 UK top 40 hits, selling 40 million records and earning an estimated £60 million (about $104 million). SAW started producing underground club hits, but earned worldwide success with a mix of

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

-influenced sound, romantic

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

lyrics and

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the early 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, p ...

melodies. During 1984–1989, their musical style was labelled

Eurobeat Eurobeat refers to two styles of dance music that originated in Europe: one is a British variant of Italian Eurodisco-influencedAng, Ien & Morley, David (2005). "Cultural Studies: Volume 3, Issue 2". ''Routledge''. pgs. 171, 173, 170. . "Eurorec ...

. They also put swing shuffle elements into their songs.

History

The team

In January 1984, Mike Stock and

called

asking for a meeting. Mike and Matt turned up with a song they had written and produced called "The Upstroke", a

female version of

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

's "Relax". Pete Waterman was impressed and offered to form a partnership with Mike and Matt. "The Upstroke", performed by female duo Agents Aren't Aeroplanes, was the very first Stock Aitken Waterman record. It wasn't a chart hit, but it was a club hit and was championed by

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

. Their initial style was in creating hi-NRG dance music with "

You Think You're a Man "You Think You're a Man" is a single by American performance artist Divine, released in 1984. The song also appeared on the compilation album ''The Story So Far'', released the same year. It was written by Geoff Deane, formerly the lead singer an ...

" by

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

(UK No. 16 in July 1984) and " Whatever I Do" by

Hazell Dean Hazell Dean ( Poole; born 27 October 1952) is an English dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading Hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top-ten hits in the United Kingdom "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)", ...

(UK No. 4 in July 1984). This period saw a rapid refining of the core production team and their roles, with a fourth collaborator, Pete Ware, who was co-credited on the team's earliest records, leaving after Stock and Aitken objected to him taking a side gig touring with Dean. The production trio achieved their first UK No. 1 single in March 1985 with "

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is a song by English pop band Dead or Alive, featured on their second album, '' Youthquake'' (1985). Released as a single in November 1984, it reached No. 1 in the UK in March 1985, taking 17 weeks to get ...

" by Dead or Alive. Although a massive commercial success, the record set the scene for SAW's often fractious creative relationship with those bands and artists who demanded creative involvement in their records. Engineer Phil Harding, who mixed the track, said tensions were running so high between the band members and producers Stock and Aitken during mixing, that it almost escalated to violence. Stock has disputed the seriousness of studio tensions, alleging that singer Pete Burns, Harding and Waterman have all "exaggerated" what happened in their recounting of events. Despite the enormous success of the single, Pete Waterman has stated in interviews that the trio were still in dire financial straits at the time. This chart success and the trio's sound attracted the attention of

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...

. Group member

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later ...

wanted to record a cover version of

Shocking Blue Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat. The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement during ...

's hit song "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

". The result was a pop/hi-NRG reworking which became a worldwide chart hit, reaching No. 1 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart on 6 September 1986, and reaching the top 10 in the UK and many other countries.

went on to make Stock, Aitken and Waterman their main producers, and would collaborate with them on some of their biggest hits, including " Love in the First Degree", " I Can't Help It", and "

I Heard a Rumour "I Heard a Rumour" is a song by English girl group Bananarama from their fourth studio album, ''Wow!'' (1987). It was released on 29th June 1987, as the album's lead single. It was also featured in the 1987 comedy film ''Disorderlies'' and is i ...

". The act were one of only a few who were given co-writing credits with the producers, with Stock describing the creative relationship as challenging; explaining he was obliged to collaborate with them due to a deal with their management. “It’s very difficult to be creative if someone’s just going to mock you, or laugh at you,” he said. “With Bananarama it was just awkward, all the time very awkward, and I didn’t feel comfortable writing with them.” SAW took early notice of the skills of UK engineer, remixer and producer Harding and made him the chief engineer and remixer at the newly formed PWL studios. Harding was another significant force in shaping the sound of a PWL record, and subsequent engineers Pete Hammond and Dave Ford would follow his example. Harding and co-producer/keyboard player Ian Curnow became the club remix and production "B team" of PWL Studios with many remixes and productions for internal PWL SAW Productions (Kylie Minogue, Bananarama, Dead Or Alive, Mel & Kim) as well as external record company clients (e.g. Diana Ross, Michael Jackson/Jackson 5, Holly Johnson, Pet Shop Boys, Eighth Wonder, Four Tops, Chic, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Jesus Jones, Voice of the Beehive, Gary Moore) which included many U.S. dance chart No. 1s (such as ABC's "

When Smokey Sings "When Smokey Sings" is a song by English pop band ABC, released as the first single from their fourth studio album, ''Alphabet City'' (1987). The lyrics and title of the song are a tribute to R&B and soul singer Smokey Robinson. In the Unite ...

", Imagination's " Instinctual", Blue Mercedes' "

I Want to Be Your Property I Want to Be Your Property is a 1987 dance hit by Blue Mercedes. The single was most successful on the dance charts, making it to number one for four weeks and was the most successful dance single of 1988. "I Want to Be Your Property" was a cros ...

"). They also produced the Princess hit "

Say I'm Your Number One "Say I'm Your Number One" (also formatted as "Say I'm Your No. 1") is a song by English singer Princess, released in 1985 as the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album (1986). Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW), the ...

" (1985), the Mandy hit "

I Just Can't Wait ''Mandy'' is the only studio album by Mandy Smith. It was released by PWL in 1988, re-issued in 1993 in Japan and re-mastered and re-issued in 2009. Smith, who was already well-known in the British tabloids due to her relationship with Rolli ...

" (1987), and

Sinitta Sinitta Malone (born 19 October 1963), known mononymously as Sinitta, is an American-born British singer, actress and television personality. She initially found commercial success in the mid-1980s with the single "So Macho" and had several ot ...

's "

Toy Boy "Toy Boy" is a song by American-British singer Sinitta, and was her first collaboration with producers Stock Aitken Waterman. The song was released on 25 July 1987, and became the fourth single in her self-titled debut album, which came out on 2 ...

" (1987).

The assembly line

Following their early success, their style evolved into a more mainstream

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

, typically performed by attractive singers. Their usual method for creating the music was to write the songs themselves, although some of their early artists (such as Dead or Alive and Bananarama) wrote or cowrote their own material. Next they would record the music with extensive use of synthesizers, drum machines (drums were often credited to "A Linn", a reference to the Linn brand of drum machine) and sequencers; and then finally bring in a singer solely to record the vocal track. Pete Burns of Dead or Alive would later criticise SAW for their methods, describing that "they took our sound and just basically wheeled it off with a load of other imbeciles, and that makes me a bit sour." The tendency toward interchanging artists and repertoire was well established when

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality, who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits including his signature song "Ne ...

's breakout album ''

Whenever You Need Somebody ''Whenever You Need Somebody'' is the debut studio album by English singer Rick Astley, released on 16 November 1987 by RCA Records. It is his best-selling album and, according to his own official website, has sold 15.2 million copies worldwi ...

'' got its name and title track from a minor hit the trio had produced a year earlier for

O'Chi Brown O'Chi Brown is an English singer and songwriter born in Tottenham, London, England. She scored two hits on the Dance Club Songs, the most successful being "Whenever You Need Somebody," which hit number one in 1986. Despite strong demand, the s ...

. Evidently they thought the song still had some mileage, and it was even issued with an exact replica of O'chi's club mix for the Rick Astley club mix. Similarly, many of their songs were tried out and recorded by multiple artists;

Mel and Kim Mel and Kim (stylized as MӗL & KIM) were an English pop duo, consisting of sisters Melanie and Kim Appleby. Originally managed by Alan Whitehead, they achieved success between 1986 and 1988, before Melanie died of cancer in January 1990 at t ...

Pepsi and Shirlie Pepsi & Shirlie are an English pop duo group formed in London in 1985, which released two albums, ''All Right Now'' in 1987 and ''Change'' in 1991. Their debut single "Heartache" reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. Career The act comprised ...

and

all recorded the song "Who's Gonna Catch You", both

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

and

Mandy Smith Amanda Louise Smith (born 17 July 1970) is an English former pop singer and model. She became known in the mid-1980s for her romantic relationship with, and subsequent marriage to, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who is 33 years her senior. ...

recorded "Got To Be Certain", whilst Mel and Kim, Carol Hitchcock and

all laid down vocals for "More Than Words Can Say". Their prodigious,

production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...

-like output and similar song structures led to them being referred to as the "hit factory" (not to be confused with the record label of the same name or the New York City recording studio

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, a singer, record producer, and one of the principal owners of the Record Plant Studios New York, purchased the ...

) and attracted criticism from many quarters, including the ''Guardian'' newspaper who unflatteringly dubbed the team, "Schlock, Aimless and Waterdown". However, Pete Waterman defended their style by comparing it to the output of Motown in the 1960s. SAW's early work was recorded and mixed at Marquee Studios in Wardour Street, where Phil Harding and Rob Waldron worked with them on '' Youthquake'', the Dead or Alive album which included their huge hit "

". Waldron went to work as an assistant engineer to Harding when Waterman opened his new studio in Borough (The Hit Factory). Waldron became the chief recording engineer and

Linn 9000 The Linn 9000 is an electronic musical instrument manufactured by Linn Electronics as the successor to the LinnDrum. It was introduced in 1984 at a list price of $5,000, ($7,000 fully expanded) and about 1100 units were produced. It combined MIDI ...

programmer (A Linn) and Harding was the mixer/remixer, working with various artists including Bananarama,

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, Rick Astley, Hazell Dean,

Haywoode Haywoode (Sidney Haywoode, London) is an English female singer. She is best known for the 1986 UK top 20 hit single, "Roses". She later also recorded under the name Sid Haywoode. Career Haywoode trained from an early age at London's Corona Sta ...

, Brilliant and O'chi Brown.

The youth, the press and the underground

SAW's greatest success was in fully exploiting the underground music scene that was booming in Britain in the late 1980s. SAW's goal was to harness the dynamic energy of club culture (and the sound of Hi-NRG music) and bring it to a mainstream audience. In this regard, they were extremely similar to Motown, with SAW reportedly making use of the "artist development deal" just as

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

had two decades earlier. Under such arrangements, all facets of a young artist's career would be controlled and dictated by the record company, and often the artist's publishing rights would be co-opted in the process and the record company would fill the role of manager on the artist's behalf. While SAW seem to have worked equally well with artists under their control and with those more established and independent acts, it obviously made more business sense for them to focus on the development of new talent under the terms that gave them the most control. As the 1990s rolled in, they increasingly focused on their young teenage signings (through PWL and the publishing arm of All Boys Music). PWL was championed by the music papers for their fresh sound and seemingly underground aesthetic, but not for long. They incurred bad reviews from the British music press establishment when they strong-armed the group M/A/R/R/S into a legal settlement; M/A/R/R/S had taken from SAW's own recording, "Roadblock", and used in their surprise hit " Pump Up the Volume". Pete Waterman wrote an open letter to the music press calling such things "wholesale theft". The press fired back that Waterman was currently using the bassline of

Colonel Abrams Colonel Abrams (May 25, 1949 – November 24, 2016) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. Early life Colonel Abrams (his real name) was born in Detroit, Michigan. His family later moved to East 13 Street, in Manhattan's ...

's " Trapped" in Rick Astley's "

Never Gonna Give You Up "Never Gonna Give You Up" is the debut single recorded by English singer and songwriter Rick Astley, released on 27 July 1987. It is one of Astley's most famous songs. It was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, and was released as ...

". Indeed, "Roadblock" itself could be described as inspired by the classic Average White Band hit "Pick Up the Pieces". Waterman's production company later lifted the entire basic rhythm arrangement from "Pump Up the Volume" (complete with the chorus) in a remix for a Sybil record (wisely titled the "Red Ink Remix"). As a result, relations between PWL and much of the UK's music underground were for a long time acrimonious. Waterman said it was a matter of principle rather than profit and promised to donate all royalties from the court case to charity. As the epitome of creating very popular teen-pop music, the trio were often satirised or criticised. Comedy group

Morris Minor and the Majors Morris Minor and the Majors was a British band from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, formed by the comedians and writers Tony Hawks and Paul Boross. The group became famous with their 1987 song "Stutter Rap (No Sleep til Bedtime), Stutter Rap ...

' parodied the Stock Aitken Waterman style on "This is the Chorus", specifically referencing

's hit song "

I Should Be So Lucky "I Should Be So Lucky" is a 1987 song performed by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album '' Kylie'' (1988). Released on 29 December 1987 by Mushroom Records and PWL Records, the song became a worldw ...

" as well as

's " Respectable". The popular satire puppet show ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...

'' also parodied

, depicting the Australian singer as being brought to life by a big headed scientist. Stock, Aitken and Waterman also appear as puppet heads with their bodies forming a tape machine with arms who sing along with a SAW-style song about how 'lucky' the singer has been. Comedians

French and Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...

also parodied "

" in their television show in 1990 where the song features as an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

. In later years, Kylie Minogue became one of SAW's biggest artists. Her first 13 singles reached the UK top ten and her debut "I Should Be So Lucky" spent five weeks at number one in the UK. The album '' Kylie'' was the highest selling album in Britain of 1988, and fifth highest-selling album of the decade. They were also responsible for 1987's highest-selling single,

's "

". At the height of their fame, SAW also had a top twenty hit as themselves with the largely instrumental "Roadblock" (from which M/A/R/R/S would lift the offending sample for "Pump Up the Volume"). In 1989, SAW wrote and produced the highest-selling album of the year, Jason Donovan's ''

Ten Good Reasons ''Ten Good Reasons'' is the debut studio album by Australian pop star and actor Jason Donovan. It was released on 1 May 1989 by PWL (UK) and Mushroom Records (Australia). It became the biggest selling album in the UK that year, and yielded t ...

''. Donovan had been Minogue's co-star in ''Neighbours'', and his success for a time equalled hers. In 1988–89, SAW recorded three tracks with

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

, a cover and their own tracks "I Will Return" and "Runaround". These tracks were never released, and are said to be in Judas Priest's possession. Pete Waterman also owns a copy of the recording, commenting to Drowned in Music: "I occasionally dig the record out and play it to people, and they're amazed that we made heavy metal." and also "They're probably the best tracks we ever did, but quite rightly their manager said no." In 2015, a snippet of their cover version of The Stylistics hit "You Are Everything" was posted on the hard rock news site Blabbermouth.net In 1989, SAW also recorded and produced

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

's ''

Another Place and Time ''Another Place and Time'' is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on March 20, 1989 by Atlantic Records and PWL. The album was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and featured Summer's top-10 hit "This ...

'' album, as well as writing or co-writing all the tracks including the hit "

This Time I Know It's for Real "This Time I Know It's for Real" is a song by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on February 13, 1989, as the first single from her 14th studio album, ''Another Place and Time'' (1989), by Atlantic Records and Warner Bros. Record ...

". Summer, a legendary American disco and pop singer, hired SAW in order to revive her career, just as an earlier European pop music producer (

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

) had launched it. However, a followup to ''Another Place and Time'' was never to be realized, reportedly due to difficult contract negotiations between Summer and SAW. Another of SAW's most successful hit singles was the 1989 number-one single "

Ferry Cross the Mersey "Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reachin ...

" (a

charity single A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's " Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-mad ...

featuring The Christians,

Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he wa ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and

Gerry Marsden Gerard Marsden MBE (24 September 1942 – 3 January 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow b ...

). They also produced the 1989 edition of "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

1990–1993

Being the top producers in 1989, with seven number one singles, SAW started the 1990s with high hopes. February 1990 brought their last UK No.1 single, Kylie Minogue's cover of "

Tears on My Pillow "Tears on My Pillow" is a doo-wop song written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The composition was first recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials on End Records and was that group's debut recording under that name. Their origi ...

", and a top 10 hit with new recruit

Lonnie Gordon Lonnie Gordon (born November 8, 1965, Philadelphia) is an American female dance, pop and R&B singer and songwriter. She scored several chart hits during the 1990s, most notably for her 1990 UK top 10 single '' Happenin' All Over Again''. Earl ...

, "Happenin' All Over Again" which hit No.4. However, by mid-1990 SAW artists were having problems placing singles in the top 10 (with the notable exception of Kylie Minogue), and the week of 13 October 1990 became the first with no SAW-produced singles in the UK top 75 in over two years. In mid-1991, Matt Aitken left the team due to stress, and Stock and Waterman carried on. With their sound no longer in vogue, they still had notable hits with Jason Donovan (who left them in 1991) and Kylie Minogue (who left them in 1992). 1993 saw a slight resurgence with two top 10 hits from Sybil, and top 40 hits from

Bill Tarmey Bill Tarmey (born William Piddington; 4 April 1941 – 9 November 2012) was an English actor and singer, best known for playing Jack Duckworth in the soap opera '' Coronation Street''. First appearing in the role in November 1979, he played ...

and the

WWF Superstars is a wrestling video game manufactured by Technōs Japan and released for arcades in 1989. It is the first WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the same title were released by LJN for the original Game Boy. Techn� ...

. They also had a top 20 hit that year in the U.S. market with American female group

Boy Krazy Boy Krazy was a New York City-based girl group that saw brief fame in 1991, and again in 1993 with their hit single "That's What Love Can Do". Career The group was put together through auditions by a management company in New York. Boy Krazy f ...

. In late 1993, Mike Stock ended his partnership with Waterman following a disagreement over their finances.

Recent times

In 1994, Stock and Aitken began working together again, forming Love This Records and achieving some success in the UK during the 1990s (notably with

Robson & Jerome Robson & Jerome are an English pop duo who were active in the mid-1990s, consisting of actors Robson Green and Jerome Flynn. They rose to prominence via the English television series ''Soldier Soldier''. The duo's musical catalogue was compose ...

and

Nicki French Nicki is a given name, and may refer to: Film and television * Nicki Aycox (1975-2022), American actress best known for her roles as Syl on the series ''Dark Angel'' and Stella Vessey on the dramedy ''Ed'' * Nicki Chapman (born 1967), English tel ...

), while Waterman kept running PWL Records. In 2005, the three producers reunited again and released a CD+DVD album, '' Stock Aitken Waterman Gold'', with some of their best known singles. Despite their reunion, Aitken soon left. 2007 saw the release of a new Stock/Waterman produced single, the first in 14 years. It was The Sheilas' single " (I'm So) Happy Happy (You're Mine)", which reached No. 91 in the UK. A reunion concert event called ''Hit Factory Live'', was scheduled to place in Hyde Park, London in July 2012 featuring many of the acts associated with Pete Waterman's record labels but was cancelled due to safety concerns caused by the ongoing heavy rain during that summer. The rescheduled concert took place on 21 December 2012 at London's

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...

. Following on from the cancelled summer event, Cheer Up, a night dedicated to the music of Stock Aitken Waterman was created by partygoers who had arrived at London that July meeting up in a bar near to the venue's grounds. The event, which has played in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton, Newcastle, and Birmingham, has featured Sinitta, Sonia, Hazell Dean, Lonnie Gordon, Nathan Moore, Scooch, Nicki French, and Chloe Rose. In December 2015, Stock, Aitken and Waterman made a return as a trio to their Hit Factory roots, producing a remix of the

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...

-written

song "

Every Day's Like Christmas "Every Day's Like Christmas" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, taken from her thirteenth studio album and first Holiday album, ''Kylie Christmas'' (2015). It was written by Chris Martin, the frontman of the British alternat ...

Eurovision Song Contest

One of Stock Aitken Waterman's first collaborations was the Cypriot entry for the

Eurovision Song Contest 1984 The Eurovision Song Contest 1984, the 29th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the with the song "Si la vie est cadeau" by Corinne Hermes. Organised by t ...

, " Anna Maria Lena", performed by

Andy Paul Andy Paul is a Greek-Cypriot singer and songwriter. He represented Cyprus with the song "Anna Maria Lena" in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 in Luxembourg.Barclay, Simon (2010) ''The Complete & Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest ...

. The song finished 15th, with 31 points. Stock and Waterman collaborated on the UK Eurovision 2010 entry "

That Sounds Good to Me "That Sounds Good to Me" is a song written and composed by Pete Waterman, Mike Stock (musician), Mike Stock and Steve Crosby that finished last when it represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 held in Oslo, Norway. The ...

". It was revealed in the final round of Eurovision: Your Country Needs You on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

, in which

Josh Dubovie Josh James Dubovie (; born 27 November 1990) is a British singer. Dubovie is most notable for having represented the UK at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Oslo, Norway, in May 2010, after winning the UK national selection competitio ...

eventually earned the right to perform the song at the contest. He finished in 25th in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song), Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organise ...

, receiving 10 points in total.

UK number-one hits

The following SAW produced hits made it to the top of the UK singles chart: * 1985: "

", Dead or Alive * 1987: " Respectable", Mel and Kim * 1987: "

Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album It may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...

Ferry Aid Ferry Aid was a British- American charity supergroup, brought together to record the song " Let It Be" in 1987. The single was released following the Zeebrugge Disaster; on 6 March 1987 the ferry had capsized, killing 193 passengers and crew ...

, a cover of the 1970

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

' hit and charity single to raise money for the

Zeebrugge Disaster Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...

Fund * 1987: "

", Rick Astley (also hit No. 1 in the U.S.) * 1987: "

", Kylie Minogue * 1988: "

Especially for You "Especially for You" is a song performed by Australian recording artists Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan from Donovan's debut album, '' Ten Good Reasons'' (1989). The song was released as his album's second single on 28 November 1988 and was ...

", Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan * 1989: "

Too Many Broken Hearts "Too Many Broken Hearts" is a song by Australian singer Jason Donovan. The song was released on 20 February 1989 as the third single from his debut album, '' Ten Good Reasons'' (1989), and 1991's ''Greatest Hits'' album and again on a later col ...

", Jason Donovan * 1989: "

Hand on Your Heart "Hand on Your Heart" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her second studio album, '' Enjoy Yourself'' (1989), and released as its lead single on 24 April 1989. Much like her previous releases up to ''Let's Get to It'' (1991), the s ...

", Kylie Minogue * 1989: "

", Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden and SAW, a cover of the Gerry and the Pacemakers' 1964 hit and charity single for victims of the

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...

. * 1989: " Sealed with a Kiss", Jason Donovan, a cover of the

Brian Hyland Brian Hyland (born November 12, 1943) is an American pop singer and instrumentalist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He continued recording into the 1970s. AllMusic journalist Jason Ankeny says "Hyland's puppy-love pop vir ...

single * 1989: " You'll Never Stop Me Loving You", Sonia * 1989: "

Do They Know It's Christmas "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of popu ...

", Band Aid II charity single * 1990: "

", Kylie Minogue's cover of the 1958 song by Little Anthony and the Imperials

US number-one hits

The following SAW produced hits made it to the top of the US pop chart: * 1986: "

", Bananarama (UK #8) * 1988: "

", Rick Astley (UK #1 in 1987) * 1988: " Together Forever", Rick Astley (UK #2)

References

External links

Stock Aitken Waterman Official Site

Mike Stock Official Site

PWL / Pete Waterman Official Site

Phil Harding Official Site
{{Authority control English record producers English dance music groups English pop musicians Dance-pop groups British Hi-NRG musicians Eurobeat musicians British record production teams British songwriting teams Record production trios Brit Award winners Eurobeat