MEL & KIM

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Stock, Aitken and Waterman arrived just as I was awakening

HITSVILLE UK: THE STOCK AITKEN WATERMAN STORY

It was the Sound Of Bright Young Britain - a hit-making empire that rose, ruled, and finally fell. Classic Pop examines the lauded musical partnership that really did define a decade

YOUTHQUAKE

DUMPING GLOOMY GOTH ROCK IN FAVOUR OF MAKING “A BIG GLITTERY DISCO RECORD”, DEAD OR ALIVE’S SHORT UNION WITH STOCK AITKEN WATERMAN TOOK THE OLD ADAGE OF ‘THE DIFFICULT SECOND ALBUM’ TO NEW HEIGHTS - OR PERHAPS THAT SHOULD BE DEPTHS…

POP MASTERS

Classic Pop meets Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, the creative heart behind the SAW partnership, to chart their meteoric rise from humble pub rockers to transatlantic hit makers…

BEING A POP STAR IS WEIRD. THERE’S NOT MUCH HANGING OFF A YACHT IN THE CARIBBEAN

The Foo Fighters’ favourite guest star is in reflective mood as he releases his ‘bookend’ compilation The Best Of Me. In a revealing interview Rick Astley tells us about his SAW years, forging his own way, the importance of family life and his heavy metal alter ego…

THE HITMEN AND HER

Kylie Minogue was the inch-perfect global pop star in waiting, but would PWL - by now soaring to the top of the charts on a regular basis - realise what had fallen into their hands? It’s a tale that gives a unique insight into the workings of Stock Aitken Waterman…

Q+A

THE PWL FAN TURNED EMPLOYEE TURNED ARCHIVIST TELLS TALES OF DIGGING THROUGH PWL’S SECRET TAPE STASH TO MARK ELLIOTT…

WOW!

WHEN THREE STRONG-WILLED YOUNG WOMEN MET THE HIT FACTORY MEN, THE SPARKS WERE SURE TO FLY - AND NOT ALWAYS HAPPY ONES. BUT TODAY, ALL AGREE THAT THE POPTASTIC RESULTS WERE WORTH IT…

THE BOY NEXT DOOR

Jason Donovan was the rock-loving teenage hipster and wannabe actor who was seduced by the power of pop. Even among Stock Aitken Waterman’s impressive stable, he seemed born to stardom; that part of his career didn’t quite work out the way he might have planned, but today he looks back on the whole experience with grace and good humour…

CLASSIC ALBUM WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMEBODY

THE MUSICAL MERGING OF A NORTHERN SOUL BOY WITH POP’S HOTTEST PRODUCTION TEAM, WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMEBODY RICKROLLED THE MUSIC BUSINESS, DEFYING CRITICS TO SELL MORE THAN 15 MILLION COPIES - THOUGH FOR THE SINGER, ITS SUCCESS CAME AT A HEFTY PRICE…

SHOWING OUT

Having proved themselves as starmakers for everyone from soap actors to shop assistants, rejuvenated ailing careers and gone incognito to score hits of their own, there was only one area left for Stock Aitken Waterman to prove themselves. It was time to take their show to the people…

BAND AID II

In 1989 an array of British popsters amassed to record a new and shiny version of Do They Know It’s Christmas? with Stock Aitken Waterman at the helm - and it went to the top for three weeks…

TOP 4O STOCK AITKEN WATERMAN TRACKS

They elevated catchiness into an artform, plucking new talent seemingly from the air and breathing fresh life into established artists, setting up a production line that churned out bountiful hits with remarkably few misses. We set out to choose the very best…

TURN IT INTO LOVE

Hazell Dean tells Classic Pop how she found her true calling in the 80s, becoming the Queen of Hi-NRG with the classic hit Searchin’ and recording many tracks with Stock Aitken Waterman…

ALBUM KYLIE

“THERE’S PEOPLE THAT HAVE GOT ‘IT’,” EXPLAINS PETE WATERMAN, “AND PEOPLE THAT DON’T HAVE ‘IT’. KYLIE HAD ‘IT’ IN ABUNDANCE.” THE RESULT OF THE ‘IT FACTOR’? A FIVE MILLION-SELLING, SIX-TIMES PLATINUM DEBUT ALBUM…

I JUST DON’T FEEL THAT MEL AND I WERE PART OF THE HIT FACTORY. THAT’S THE GOD’S HONEST TRUTH

As one half of Mel & Kim, Kim Appleby is a part of pop royalty. In 2018 she sat down with Classic Pop to talk of those Stock Aitken Waterman days, her rejuvenated solo career, and more besides…

ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME

AFTER YEARS OF STRUGGLING TO MATCH HER FORMER GLORIES, THE I FEEL LOVE STAR TEAMED UP WITH STOCK AITKEN WATERMAN TO CREATE AN ALBUM OF IRRESISTIBLE DANCE-POP. WAS THIS THE TRIO’S FINEST MOMENT?

FOR SOMEONE WHO SHOULD HAVE LOTS, I DON’T HAVE REGRETS

On the eve of the release of a Dead Or Alive boxset, Classic Pop decided to reassert the importance of Pete Burns as an influential artist - and then, just four weeks later, he tragically died. Here is the last-ever interview with a shining star of British pop music…

JACK FLASH

The Reynolds Girls, it seems, would rather slack than attempt a comeback. As soon as I’d Rather Jack had made them stars, Linda and Aisling Reynolds decided they didn’t fancy the pop life after all, and they’ve remained impossible to trace ever since. Classic Pop went in search of the Liverpool sisters responsible for one of Stock Aitken Waterman’s most bizarre artistic statements…

Q+A

LONG BEFORE THE X FACTOR, SINITTA ENJOYED CHART SUCCESS ON PWL - SIX HIT SINGLES IN ALL. SHE LOOKS BACK WITH MARK LINDORES…