He has been responsible for over a hundred top-40 hits in the UK, including 16 Number One's and is recognised as one of the most successful songwriters of all time by the Guinness World Records.

[8] Fascinated by the popular songwriting styles of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and writers such as Irving Berlin and the energy and freshness of the Beatles, he established a deep love of pop music.

[9] Stock signed a publishing contract when he was nineteen after earning a reputation as a budding songwriter, although no one had suggested a full-time career in the music world was a possibility.

[6] In 1970 Stock earned a placement at the University of Hull to study Drama and Theology and formed a band with a fellow student, the future film director, Anthony Minghella.

[8] Whilst at Hull, Stock met his wife Bobbie and left university when she graduated to concentrate his efforts in making it in music.

[10] In 1975 they married and soon after, sold their house in Bury, Lancashire to move back south [11] Stock played his first paid, solo gig at Aveley Working Men's Club in Essex in 1976, earning twenty five pounds.

[17] During the break of one of Mirage's sets on New Year's Eve 1983, Stock informed the band he would be leaving and was going into the studio to pursue his career as a songwriter and producer.

[19] A version of the track found its way to Pete Waterman who managed Peter Collins, then a successful producer with acts like Musical Youth and Nik Kershaw.

Waterman was seeking a new partnership and in February 1984 they went into the Marquee Studio in Wardour Street Soho to record the song "The Upstroke" for 'Agents Aren't Aeroplanes'- a front for their concept of a female Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

[20][23] "The Upstroke" achieved popularity in the gay clubs and discos where many new records were being found and subsequently promoted into the mainstream as Hi-NRG.

"Anna Maria Lena" was voted by the Cypriot public to represent their country in the competition and the re-recorded version would be Stock and Aitken's second collaboration with Waterman.

[26] In September 1984 they were approached by Dead or Alive to produce the song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", which became SAW's first UK number 1 in March 1985.

Whilst working with the band Brilliant, Stock wrote a song for their backing singer Desiree Heslop called "Say I'm Your Number One", which became a hit in the UK under her stage name 'Princess'.

[36] Two years later Stock would again collaborate with McCartney on the Gerry and the Pacemakers hit - "Ferry Cross the Mersey", recorded to raise funds for the victims and their families of the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 which also went straight to No.

[42] Stock flew to Australia to meet Minogue and her parents at her home to apologise and successfully convinced her to record a follow-up single "Got to Be Certain", which reached No.

[43] When her debut album Kylie was released in August 1988 it sold 2.8 million copies and she spent more weeks on the singles chart than any other artist.

[44] Minogue went on to record three more studio albums with SAW, scoring 15 successive top 10 hits including "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi", "Hand on Your Heart", "Wouldn't Change a Thing", "Tears on My Pillow", "Better the Devil You Know" and "Shocked", among many others.

[47] Stock wrote "Especially for You", sang the demo with a SAW backing singer and Aitken flew to Australia to record Minogue and Donovan's vocals in time for a Christmas release.

1989 became Stock Aitken and Waterman's most successful year having helmed seven UK number ones (a feat equalled only by George Martin in 1963) and 15 top 5s.

[50] During 1989 Stock wrote and produced over seven albums' worth of material for artists such as Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Bananarama, Donna Summer, Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney.

In 1990 SAW picked up three "Ivors": for Songwriter of the Year, Most Performed Work for Donna Summer's "This Time I Know It's for Real" and Best Selling A-Side for Jason Donovan's "Too Many Broken Hearts".

Despite continued success in the '90s with the likes of Minogue's "Better the Devil You Know", "Step Back in Time" and "Shocked", and Lonnie Gordon's "Happenin' All Over Again", the partnership began to disband.

[56] In 1994 Simon Cowell asked Stock to produce the record for the popular kid's TV show 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' which was a top 5 hit in the UK.

[59] In 1994 Stock produced several artists for Simon Cowell including Kym Mazelle, Jocelyn Brown and Robson and Jerome.

Their cover of "Unchained Melody" produced by Stock and Aitken became the highest selling non-charity single of the decade, remaining at No.

[61] As a result, Stock was forced to pull out of a joint deal with Cowell and BMG to produce several artists including the band Westlife in 1996.

[69] In 2003 Stock formed the label Better the Devil Records and had a huge hit with the "Fast Food Song" reaching #2 in the UK Charts and selling 200,000 CD singles.

Show debuted at the Leicester Square Theatre, London in July 2010 and was performed daily at Alton Towers through the entirety of their 2011 season as their resident attraction.

We can't get enough of this and we reckon you'll feel the same..."[86] In 2016 Stock confirmed that he was working with young singer Chloe Rose on a single for NSPCC's ChildLine 30 year anniversary.

Commenting on the songs, it said that "All We Ever Can Do" and "Boomerang" illustrate the group's "extraordinary resilience", while "The World We Left Behind" sees them "laying to rest a few old ghosts".