[3] In 1990 SAW picked up three Ivor Novello Awards 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".
[5] SAW started producing underground club hits, but earned worldwide success with a mixture of hi-NRG-influenced sound, romantic Motown lyrics and Italo disco melodies with singles from Rick Astley, Bananarama, Mel and Kim, Donna Summer, Sinitta, Dead or Alive, Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue.
[11] A version of the track found its way to Waterman who managed Peter Collins, then a successful producer with acts like Musical Youth and Nik Kershaw.
[13] In January 1984, Stock and songwriter Matt Aitken arranged to meet Waterman at his office in the Stiff Records building, Camden Town.
Waterman was seeking a new partnership and in February 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.
[18] "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.
[21] In September 1984, SAW were approached by Dead or Alive frontman Pete Burns to produce the song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", which became SAW's first UK No.
[24] Stock has disputed the seriousness of studio tensions, alleging that Burns, Harding and Waterman have all "exaggerated" what happened in their recounting of events.
Whilst working with the band Brilliant, Stock wrote a song for their backing singer Desiree Heslop called "Say I'm Your Number One", which peaked at No.
Group member Siobhan Fahey wanted to record a cover version of Shocking Blue's hit song "Venus".
[26] Bananarama went on to make Stock, Aitken and Waterman their main producers, and would collaborate with them on some of their biggest hits, including "Love in the First Degree" (UK No.
The act were one of only a few who were given co-writing credits with the producers, with Stock describing the creative relationship as challenging; explaining he was obliged to collaborate with them due to a deal with their management.
1 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.
Pete Burns would criticise SAW for their methods, describing that "they took our sound and just basically wheeled it off with a load of other imbeciles, and that makes me a bit sour.
The tendency toward interchanging artists and repertoire was well established when Rick Astley's breakout album Whenever You Need Somebody got its name and title track from a minor hit the trio had produced a year earlier for O'Chi Brown.
[42] Their prodigious, production line–like output and similar song structures led to them being referred to as the Hit Factory, and attracted criticism from many quarters, including The Guardian newspaper, who unflatteringly dubbed the team, "Schlock, Aimless and Waterdown".
In forty minutes Stock and Aitken had written the song, "I Should Be So Lucky", recorded a backing track and Minogue's vocals.
[48] Stock flew to Australia to meet Minogue and her parents at her Melbourne home to apologise and successfully convinced her to record a follow-up single "Got to Be Certain", which reached No.
[50] Minogue went on to record three more studio albums with SAW, scoring fifteen successive Top 10 UK hits including "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" (No.
[53] 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.
[56] During that year, SAW 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.
[60] In mid-1991, Aitken left the team due to stress and deep dissatisfaction with business and creative decisions made by Waterman.
[23][61] Stock stayed with Waterman to write and produce Minogue's fourth album, Let's Get to It, Sybil's 1993 hits, "The Love I Lost" (No.
A reunion concert event called Hit Factory Live took place ion 21 December 2012 at London's O2 Arena featuring many of the acts associated with Waterman's record labels.
It was revealed in the final round of Eurovision: Your Country Needs You on BBC One, in which Josh Dubovie eventually earned the right to perform the song at the contest.
In 2023, the trio reunited for the filming of the Channel 5 documentary Legends of Pop: Stock Aitken Waterman, each giving interviews both individually and as a group.
On 21 March 2023, it was announced that a musical entitled I Should Be So Lucky, making use of SAW songs, would premiere at the Manchester Opera House before embarking on a UK tour.