For a period in the late 80's there was a production team who had the midas touch, everything they did turned to gold or platinum (in record sales that is) and they seemed unstoppable. I am of course talking about Stock Aitken Waterman lead by Pete Waterman.
I was 12 years old when they scored their first Number 1 with Dead or Alive's YOU SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) early in 1985. They were still going strong by the end of the decade. I loved alot of the songs and artists they produced. Back then, I was their prime market - a teenager with a penchant for pop music and 1984 was the year I discovered POP. They managed to score 13 Number 1's in the UK
The other day while looking for footage of their Christmas Cracker Concert on utubes, I came across this fab documentary about SAW (aka Hit Factory). If you have a spare 40 minutes its well worth watching, if only to see Pete Burns face.
MY TOP 7 SAW TRACKS/ARTISTS LIST
(click on song title to be taken to youtube official video - i hope!)
1. Kylie Minogue - Better the Devil You Know
If I were to list my favourite SAW tracks then all of them are likely to be Kylie tracks so I've tried to keep this HOT LIST interesting. This is my fave Kylie song and as she was the Queen of the Hit Factory then this has to be top of the list. So instead of posting another video here is a Coke commercial Kylie made in Australia
2. Bananarama - Venus
This was SAW's first track with the Nana's and it was and still is a stroke of pop cover genius. The song was Number 1 for 6 weeks in Australia
3. Dead or Alive - Turn Around and Count 2 Ten
OK so i know this is isn't the biggest hit but this is like HIGH NRG on speed or something. Its a great pop track and probably the last AMAZING single made by Pete Burns. I love the scene in the video as he slowly enters the bath. Its priceless. Here's a rather nice photo of Pete from the SAW concert. Its amazing how good you can look with a Veil on. The Power of the Veil indeed.
4. Princess - Say I'm Your Number One
Everytime I listen to this song it reminds me of 1985 so clearly and how can you not like Princess? For some strange reason it also reminds me of Eastenders which I guess was pretty big at the time.
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5. Donna Summer - This Time I Know Its For Real
This has to be up there with the all time best collaborations with SAW. I was so surprised when Donna Summer queen of disco teamed up with SAW. You just think, why does she need them? I am glad she did though as this is a gem of song. Donna passed away last year and I have been going through a phase of buying her old LP's. She was such a talent and had such a strong voice. This was like her 4th incarnation as a popstar! Donna Darling may you R.I.P. I quite like this collector's collection of Donna 7inches! Here's one of my favourite pics of Donna.
6. Divine - You Think You're a Man
The first BIG HIT for SAW and what an artist! It was the year of the gender benders but Divine was something else. A documentary about the life of Divine titled I AM DIVINE is currently in production.
7. Mel and Kim - Thats The Way It Is
I've saved the best for last. I loved these girls. It's so sad how Mel passed away from Cancer and that their career was cut short. I love this short clip from TV AM (how awful is Anne Diamond) - they were just lovely east end girls wanting to have a good time. Thats the Way It Is was the 4th single from Fun Love Money (FLM) (their only album) and the girls don't even appear in the video. I have fond memories from when this was released and thinking what a lovely track it was.
Further reading:
NOTE: Apologies for the delay of this post. It was originally supposed to be done before end of 2012 but it has been delayed due to holidays and LIFE.
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