A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman

Check out previews of two of our most popular bonus track-by-track episodes. Gavin and Matt discuss Kylie , the debut album by Kylie Minogue , and, with special guest Barry Stone , talk about the first SAW -produced album by Dead Or Alive , Youthquake . As well as giving our thoughts on every song, we count down listeners' favourite tracks. If you enjoy these sneak peeks, you can subscribe to...

What a tumultuous year 1990 had been for the Hit Factory — and the final four singles produced by Stock Aitken Waterman that year certainly highlight that. What should have been Lonnie Gordon 's second SAW-produced single, "If I Have To Stand Alone", came out as her third, but despite being in the same vein as top 5 hit "Happenin' All Over Again", it under-performed o...

After the big creative risk that was previous single and video "Better The Devil You Know", Kylie Minogue and Stock Aitken Waterman went for something more playful with follow-up "Step Back In Time". With its fun lyrical nod to '70s disco music and a video dripping in retro style, the song was pure pop joy — and another big hit at a time when the Hit Factory sorely needed...

Although she had been signed to PWL in the UK for a while and scored a couple of hits with remakes of "Don't Make Me Over" and "Walk On By", Sybil went into the studio with Stock Aitken Waterman in 1990 to record soulful ballad "Make It Easy On Me". The American singer/songwriter joins us to discuss starting out with US label Next Plateau in 1986, her string of c...

Although they'd achieved some hits with ballads that they had produced, Stock Aitken Waterman were better known for their uptempo pop/dance tracks, but in mid-1990, four ballads in a row emerged from the Hit Factory. Three of those were the latest releases in the jukebox era series of remakes, with Big Fun ("Hey There Lonely Girl"), Sonia ("End Of The World") and Jason Don...

When they came to work with Stock Aitken Waterman , pop act Yell! had one top 10 hit under their belt already — a remake of Dan Hartman 's "Instant Replay". Signed to Simon Cowell' s Fanfare label, the duo comprised of Daniel James and Paul Varney recorded their follow-up, "One Thing Leads To Another", with SAW, but it was not the success anyone hoped it would be, des...

They'd been on the verge of breaking through for a couple of years, and sisters Romi & Jazz had their hopes up when their record label paired them with Stock Aitken Waterman for their latest single in 1990. The siblings join us to share their musical journey — from their first steps into the industry with a bhangra meets hi-NRG remake of The Four Tops' "Reach Out", which wa...

As great a song as it is, "Better The Devil You Know" would not have been anywhere near as impactful as it was without its accompanying music video. A landmark in Kylie Minogue 's career, the video transformed her image from that of girl-next-door to "sex kitten", according to director Paul Goldman , who joins us to detail the before, during and aftermath of the shoot, inc...

After two very successful albums at PWL, but little in the way of artistic control, Kylie Minogue was ready for a change. And in this first part of a two-part special looking at landmark release "Better The Devil You Know", we hear from those closest to her about the strategy taken to compel Stock Aitken Waterman to agree to a more collaborative approach. From directly influencing the st...

His journey with Stock Aitken Waterman was one of the most successful, with multiple UK number 1 hits and the highest-selling album in Britain in 1989. And now, Jason Donovan joins the podcast to talk about his time at the Hit Factory. From his first steps into the music industry with Mushroom Records in Australia to his early sessions with Pete Hammond and then Mike Stock and Matt Aitken to that...

Her time at PWL might not have yielded any hits, but the short-lived pop career of Japanese singer Kakko is the stuff of legend. We take a deep dive into the story behind her debut single, "We Should Be Dancing”, hearing from PWL’s David Howells and Nicki L’Amy Brée about how the aspiring performer learnt the ropes at the label before being sent into the studio with both Mike Stock and Matt A...

New year. New artist. New hit. Stock Aitken Waterman 's hit streak continued in 1990 with the breakthrough single for American club artist Lonnie Gordon , who had relocated to the UK in the 1980s and made a name for herself with a series of personality-filled anthems like "No Regrets", "Love Eviction", "(I've Got Your) Pleasure Control" and "It's N...

Any fears that the public had tired of Stock Aitken Waterman were dismissed as 1990 got underway and the latest single by Kylie Minogue became the next UK chart-topper for the trio. Taken from the soundtrack to her feature film debut in The Delinquents , Kylie's remake of 1950s classic "Tears On My Pillow" got the new decade off to a great start in terms of UK chart success, althoug...

The name Yoyo is well known to Stock Aitken Waterman fans, appearing on the back covers of dozens of hit singles and albums. The long-time PWL engineer was an integral part of the team from May 1986 when he earned a job as an assistant at the new studios at the Vineyard, London. Yoyo (real name: Boyowa Olugbo) quickly established himself as a studio talent thanks to his remix work alongside fellow...

And so our journey reaches the end of the '80s and the conclusion of Stock Aitken Waterman 's most commercially successful year. The final three singles released in 1989 were all top 10 hits, including "Listen To Your Heart" by Sonia , which saw a return to the poppy fare of her debut and caught the attention of comedy duo French & Saunders , who sent up the red-headed teen...

Kylie Minogue . Big Fun . Donna Summer . The last time we encountered these three artists, things were going swimmingly for each of them. In the case of Kylie, she had just racked up her seventh UK top 2 hit in a row — a run that was broken by "Never Too Late", the third single from Enjoy Yourself . As well as discussing why a tune as good as "Never Too Late" wasn't as wel...

Teen heartthrobs past and then-present rubbed shoulders as Stock Aitken Waterman wrote and produced the latest hit for music industry veteran Cliff Richard and the final single was lifted from Jason Donovan 's debut album, Ten Good Reasons . Matt Aitken reveals what it was like to work with an artist as well-established as Cliff and how the song they collaborated on, "I Just Don't H...

As we hit the second half of 1989, we take a look at the latest singles from Kylie Minogue and Donna Summer . On "Wouldn't Change A Thing", PWL's pop princess took another step towards a cooler sound and, in the video, a more grown-up image. Stylist Sharon McPhilemy fills us in on how the looks in Kylie's first UK-shot music video came together. We're also joined by D...

The UK chart-toppers continued for Stock Aitken Waterman as another two singles reached the top spot in 1989. First, there was Jason Donovan 's remake of a much-covered tune. Part of SAW's series of '50s and '60s covers performed by their teen-friendly artists, "Sealed With A Kiss" had the potential to widen Jason's appeal even further, but was the plan to go for...

In this special episode focusing on the PWL look, we hear from former PWL MD David Howells , who was responsible for the label's visuals, stylist Sharon "Shazza" McPhilemy and hairstylist Lino Carbosiero. The three members of the PWL team talk about working with the label's roster of artists and what the approach to image and style was. Support the show Subscribe for bonus mate...

After blitzing the Australian and UK charts with her debut album, it was time for Kylie Minogue to move onto her follow-up, Enjoy Yourself , and thanks to the chart-topping success of its lead single, "Hand On Your Heart", there would be nothing difficult about this second album. Mike Stock returns to the podcast to discuss the inspiration and enthusiasm he had for working with Kylie at...

By early 1989, Jason Donovan had a couple of hits under his belt, but his music career went into overdrive with the release of "Too Many Broken Hearts" and the mass hysteria that followed his every move in the UK. Jason has been the first to acknowledge it took him a while to warm up as a singer and we hear from engineer Karen Hewitt and long-term PWL session singers Mae McKenna and Miri...

She was the queen of disco; they were an unstoppable pop music force. Together, Donna Summer and Stock Aitken Waterman made some of their best music together. In this look at the first single from the Another Place And Time album, we chart Donna's landmark run of hits in the 1970s and difficult transition into the 1980s thanks to a deal with Geffen Records that saw her taken away from the son...

A protest song. A novelty record. A camp classic. The beginning of the end. "I'd Rather Jack" by The Reynolds Girls has been called a lot of things over the years and it remains one of the Stock Aitken Waterman singles that is most fiercely debated by fans. A swing at restrictive radio playlists, the record was fronted by teenage sisters Linda and Aisling Reynolds , who got their de...

Thanks to a little help from comedy trio Dawn French , Jennifer Saunders and Kathy Burke (aka Lananeeneenoonoo ), Bananarama 's hit streak continued as their remake of The Beatles ' "Help!" took them back to the UK top 3 in early 1989. Released in support of Comic Relief, the cover version was true to the song's pop roots musically, but came with added input from the satir...