I listened last night to a fascinating interview with that marvellous musical maestro Pete Waterman (of Stock Aitken Waterman and PWL fame), as part of BBC Radio 2's Paper Cuts series. Among the gems of gossip, and the insight into a career led hugely in the bitter gaze of the tabloid press, I was reminded that as well as providing a star vehicle for some of our faves - Kylie, Bananarama, Mel and Kim, Hazell Dean, Dead or Alive, Divine and the rest - the boys of The Hit Factory were also accomplished musical performers themselves.
As we lurch, thankfully, towards another weekend, let's get a bit funky with the only solo hit by Stock Aitken Waterman (the original song upon which the more famous Pump Up The Volume by MARRS was based) - Roadblock, and... Thank Disco It's Friday!
Have a good one!
Stock Aitken and Waterman on Wikipedia
PWL official website
Much as I loved most of the PWL output, I always thought this was dreadful! As for Pete, the man is so full of himself - he had very little do to with the music, his role was mostly promotion and dealing with the artists. Yet in interviews you'd think he wrote, arranged, played and performed every single song. I would love to see an in depth new interview with the other two fellas, that were indeed responsible for many of the best songs of the 80s...
ReplyDeleteFair play to Mr W - it was his money that made the whole Hit Factory run, whether or not he was the musical genius he likes to think he was. Plus, he was responsible for brining the Three Degrees to the UK from Philadelphia in the 1970s, so I am eternally grateful to him for that :-)
DeleteAs for the others, I get the impression they are not the "being interviewed type" - Mr Aitken has apparently retired, and one certainly doesn't get much out of Mr Stock, whose musical production career is arguably the most successful of the three (having collaborated with the Mighty Cowell as well as Mr Waterman). I guess he prefers to work with loud-mouths who will do all the talking...
Jx