Talk about any of the big names in pop music over the last six years--Rick Astley, Hazell Dean, Mel and Kim, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan to name but a few--and all three names spring just as easily to mind: Stock Aitken Waterman, the masterminds between each of these superstars of pop. No one can deny that this amazing trio have single handedly changed the face of pop music today, taking the charts by storm with each new release, filling the dancefloors across the worl with people of all ages enjoying the positive, distinctive sound that is Stock Aitken Waterman.
So what brought this record breaking team together?
The Stock Aitken Waterman story begins in January 1984, when Pete Waterman returned from working in America with just one ambition: to conquer the UK dance market. "I had a million ideas, and lots of experience, but I'm no musician, so I lacked the talent to put any of this into practical use. It was only when I met Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, both excellent musicians, that I realised I found what I was looking for." Mike Stock agrees: "Matt and I had been looking for an ideas man, and when we met Pete we knew we'd found the missing piece of the jigsaw." And so the trio was formed.
July 1984 saw Stock Aitken Waterman's first top ten hit, 'Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)', a high energy disco smash from Hazell Dean. This was followed by a string of hits from artists such as Divine, The Three Degrees, Princess, and the team's first number one production for Dead or Alive. Over the next twelve months the hits kept coming, including Stock Aitken Waterman's first US number one production, Bananarama's 'Venus'. Then, March 1987 saw another milestone in their career, as Mel and Kim's disco hit 'Respectable' smashed into the number one spot.
In August 1987, Stock Aitken Waterman introduced a brand new talent--Rick Astley, a powerfully voiced young singer who took the charts by storm with his first single, 'Never Gonna Give You Up', spending five weeks at number one, and becoming the best selling record of the year--yet another feather in Stock Aitken Waterman's cap.
And still, nothing could stop them. In 1988, they had no fewer than twenty top forty hits, including the effervescent number one from another new talent, Kylie Minogue's 'I Should Be So Lucky'/ This success, coupled with fabulous hit songs for Rick Astley, Bananarama, and Sinitta, put them firmly at the top of the industry.
1988 also saw another new face, with the appearance of Jason Donovan, who, together with Kylie recorded the irresistably romantic number one single 'Especially For You', the first number one of 1989.
If anyone had dared to suggest that Stock Aitken Waterman had reached their peak by now, then 1989 would have made them eat their words! With twenty five -- yes, twenty five consecutive top forty hits, seven number ones, four top five albums -- and well over ten million record sales, the silver, gold, and platinum discs were now mounting up at terrific speed. In mid 1989, Stock Aitken Waterman introduced two more new faces, Sonia and Big Fun, to the record buying public, who responded by catapulting Sonia's first single, 'You'll Never Stop Me Loving You' straight to the top of the charts, and by hurling Big Fun's debut single, 'Blame It On The Boogie' to number four, higher than the Jeacksons' original version of the song!
As well as introducing new talent, Stock Aitken Waterman also supplied top ten hits for some of pop's more established figures. Who could possibly forget the soulful beat of Donna Summer's 'This Time I Know It's For Real', or the bouncy, enthusiastic sound of Cliff Richard's 'Just Don't Have The Heart'?
Stock Aitken Waterman have also helped to raise millions of pounds for different charities, with singles such as 'Let's All Chant', 'Ferrey Cross The Mersey', 'Let It Be', 'Help!' and 1989's Christmas number one for Band Aid II, 'Do They Know It's Christmas', which raised well ocer a quarter of a million pounds in the first weeks of sale.
As for 1990, well, we've seen the chart busting team go from strength to strength, Stock Aitken Waterman's success story has continued with massive hit singles and albums from Kylie, Jason, Sonia, Big Fun, and of course, this one, truly a ton of hits from the Hit Factory, an invitation to join Matt, Mike and Pete in a celebration of six years of the Stock Aitken Waterman sound.
John Moore - Jeremy Gartland