To mark the third anniversary of A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman, former PWL remixer Tony King joins us to share his story of going from Phil Harding's assistant to being responsible for a Billboard Hot 100 smash hit thanks to his remix of "Don't Make Me Over" by Sybil. Tony recounts the "weird" way he landed a job at PWL and how his first task was to remix "Packjammed (With The Party Posse)" by Stock Aitken Waterman — in a matter of hours. He also talks about some of his early...

The Boy Krazy story is one of the most interesting — and complicated! — in the SAW history. The American girl group was put together through auditions in New York, going through a few line-up changes before the final five-piece, Johnna, Josselyne, Kimberly, Renee and Ruth Ann, signed a deal with PWL Records and flew to London to start recording with Stock Aitken Waterman. Kimberly and Josselyne join us to reminisce about that process and how debut single "That's What Love Can Do" came...

It had to happen at some point. In May 1991, the Stock Aitken Waterman era ended when Matt Aitken walked away from his role as one third of the songwriting and production trio. In this episode, he explains what prompted his decision and we explore the changing nature of PWL at the time, which was a contributing factor in the split. Mike Stock also weighs in on Matt's departure and reveals whether he blames his musical partner for leaving. In terms of the music, we look at one of the most...

The fourth in arguably the best singles run in pop music history was also a first for Stock Aitken Waterman, as external mix team DNA took care of the 7" remix of "Shocked" by Kylie Minogue, Neal Slateford from DNA tells us how the unprecedented remix came about following the runaway success of his and production partner Nick Batt's reinvention of Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner". A key component of the "Shocked" remix was the rap by Jazzi P, who also joins us to talk about the triumphs and...

She was our very first interviewee back in Episode 1 — and we finally reach the conclusion of Hazell Dean's Stock Aitken Waterman journey with her version of "Better Off Without You", which was released in 1991. The Queen of Hi-NRG joins us once again to discuss recording a song previously cut by Lonnie Gordon and her thoughts about the SAW sound struggling in the early '90s. Girl group Delage were also finding it hard to land a hit with original SAW tune "Running Back For More" missing the...

While "What Do I Have To Do" by Kylie Minogue stands on its own two feet as a song, the impact of the single was increased greatly due to the striking imagery on display on the single cover and in the music video. Celebrity stylist David Thomas takes us right back to the early years of his career and tells the story of how he was hired to style the video. His desire to take Kylie into a much more fashionable direction was something she was right on board with and their collaboration produced...

 In 1991, it was another bold step forward for Kylie Minogue, and in the decades since, "What Do I Have To Do" has cemented its place among fans' all-time favourites from her extensive back catalogue. But the third single from Rhythm Of Love didn't come together easily, with a lengthy period of time spent mixing the club-influenced track — and remixing it. Songwriters and producers Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, mixers Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, and engineer Peter Day all join us to discuss...

You can have the best single in the world, but there's little chance of it being a hit if no one hears it. That's where pluggers come in — taking songs to radio and convincing programmers to playlist them. In 1987, Ron McCreight and his business partner, Robert Lemon, joined forces with PWL's Pete Waterman and David Howells in a plugging company that became known as Sharp End. In this special episode, Ron talks about how the music industry power players teamed up and the role Sharp End had in...

Check out previews of two of our most popular bonus track-by-track episodes. Gavin and Matt discuss Kylie, the debut album by Kylie Minogue, and, with special guest Barry Stone, talk about the first SAW-produced album by Dead Or Alive, Youthquake. As well as giving our thoughts on every song, we count down listeners' favourite tracks. If you enjoy these sneak peeks, you can subscribe to hear the full bonus episodes and all the other extra content at chartbeats.com.au/subscribe. Meanwhile,...

What a tumultuous year 1990 had been for the Hit Factory — and the final four singles produced by Stock Aitken Waterman that year certainly highlight that. What should have been Lonnie Gordon's second SAW-produced single, "If I Have To Stand Alone", came out as her third, but despite being in the same vein as top 5 hit "Happenin' All Over Again", it under-performed on the UK chart and the If I Have To Stand Alone album wasn't even released there at the time. Lonnie joins us for one final time...

After the big creative risk that was previous single and video "Better The Devil You Know", Kylie Minogue and Stock Aitken Waterman went for something more playful with follow-up "Step Back In Time". With its fun lyrical nod to '70s disco music and a video dripping in retro style, the song was pure pop joy — and another big hit at a time when the Hit Factory sorely needed one. Mike Stock and Matt Aitken recall pulling the lyrics together for the nostalgic tune, while Phil Harding and Ian...

Although she had been signed to PWL in the UK for a while and scored a couple of hits with remakes of "Don't Make Me Over" and "Walk On By", Sybil went into the studio with Stock Aitken Waterman in 1990 to record soulful ballad "Make It Easy On Me". The American singer/songwriter joins us to discuss starting out with US label Next Plateau in 1986, her string of club hits that caught the attention of PWL, those Bacharach & David covers with Tony King's pivotal remix work and what it was...

Although they'd achieved some hits with ballads that they had produced, Stock Aitken Waterman were better known for their uptempo pop/dance tracks, but in mid-1990, four ballads in a row emerged from the Hit Factory. Three of those were the latest releases in the jukebox era series of remakes, with Big Fun ("Hey There Lonely Girl"), Sonia ("End Of The World") and Jason Donovan ("Rhythm Of The Rain") all reinterpreting golden oldies. In the cases of those first two artists, it would be their...

When they came to work with Stock Aitken Waterman, pop act Yell! had one top 10 hit under their belt already — a remake of Dan Hartman's "Instant Replay". Signed to Simon Cowell's Fanfare label, the duo comprised of Daniel James and Paul Varney recorded their follow-up, "One Thing Leads To Another", with SAW, but it was not the success anyone hoped it would be, despite being a fresh new sound from the Hit Factory and the guys both being talented singers. Paul joins us to discuss his start in...

They'd been on the verge of breaking through for a couple of years, and sisters Romi & Jazz had their hopes up when their record label paired them with Stock Aitken Waterman for their latest single in 1990. The siblings join us to share their musical journey — from their first steps into the industry with a bhangra meets hi-NRG remake of The Four Tops' "Reach Out", which was co-produced by former SAW associate Pete Ware, to their two initial singles with Chrysalis Records, "People In The...

As great a song as it is, "Better The Devil You Know" would not have been anywhere near as impactful as it was without its accompanying music video. A landmark in Kylie Minogue's career, the video transformed her image from that of girl-next-door to "sex kitten", according to director Paul Goldman, who joins us to detail the before, during and aftermath of the shoot, including his run-ins with PWL over the direction it took. Stylist Nicole Bonython-Hines recalls piecing together the various...

After two very successful albums at PWL, but little in the way of artistic control, Kylie Minogue was ready for a change. And in this first part of a two-part special looking at landmark release "Better The Devil You Know", we hear from those closest to her about the strategy taken to compel Stock Aitken Waterman to agree to a more collaborative approach. From directly influencing the style of tracks — edgier, clubbier — to veto power on the final mixes, Kylie gained input to an extent way...

His journey with Stock Aitken Waterman was one of the most successful, with multiple UK number 1 hits and the highest-selling album in Britain in 1989. And now, Jason Donovan joins the podcast to talk about his time at the Hit Factory. From his first steps into the music industry with Mushroom Records in Australia to his early sessions with Pete Hammond and then Mike Stock and Matt Aitken to that blistering run of singles in 1988 and 1989, Jason speaks honestly about what the experience was...

Her time at PWL might not have yielded any hits, but the short-lived pop career of Japanese singer Kakko is the stuff of legend. We take a deep dive into the story behind her debut single, "We Should Be Dancing”, hearing from PWL’s David Howells and Nicki L’Amy Brée about how the aspiring performer learnt the ropes at the label before being sent into the studio with both Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, and Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, all of whom also recall the project. After an aborted first...

New year. New artist. New hit. Stock Aitken Waterman's hit streak continued in 1990 with the breakthrough single for American club artist Lonnie Gordon, who had relocated to the UK in the 1980s and made a name for herself with a series of personality-filled anthems like "No Regrets", "Love Eviction", "(I've Got Your) Pleasure Control" and "It's Not Over". We hear from Lonnie about those early records — and their spoken sections — and how she targeted SAW as the producers she wanted to take...

Any fears that the public had tired of Stock Aitken Waterman were dismissed as 1990 got underway and the latest single by Kylie Minogue became the next UK chart-topper for the trio. Taken from the soundtrack to her feature film debut in The Delinquents, Kylie's remake of 1950s classic "Tears On My Pillow" got the new decade off to a great start in terms of UK chart success, although the single was not as embraced in Australia, where it became her lowest-charting hit to date. As well as...

The name Yoyo is well known to Stock Aitken Waterman fans, appearing on the back covers of dozens of hit singles and albums. The long-time PWL engineer was an integral part of the team from May 1986 when he earned a job as an assistant at the new studios at the Vineyard, London. Yoyo (real name: Boyowa Olugbo) quickly established himself as a studio talent thanks to his remix work alongside fellow assistant Jamie Bromfield as the Extra Beat Boys and he was promoted to assist first Phil...

And so our journey reaches the end of the '80s and the conclusion of Stock Aitken Waterman's most commercially successful year. The final three singles released in 1989 were all top 10 hits, including "Listen To Your Heart" by Sonia, which saw a return to the poppy fare of her debut and caught the attention of comedy duo French & Saunders, who sent up the red-headed teenager in savage style shortly after. The single also featured fan favourite B-side "Better Than Ever", which was...

Kylie Minogue. Big Fun. Donna Summer. The last time we encountered these three artists, things were going swimmingly for each of them. In the case of Kylie, she had just racked up her seventh UK top 2 hit in a row — a run that was broken by "Never Too Late", the third single from Enjoy Yourself. As well as discussing why a tune as good as "Never Too Late" wasn't as well received as Kylie's previous singles, we hear from Mike Stock about the meaning behind the song, while Sharon McPhilemy...