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The Hit Factory: The Stock Aitken Waterman Story

The Hit Factory: The Stock Aitken Waterman Story
By Mike Stock

"Stock Aitken Waterman sold records by the millions, created new stars and changed the face of pop music. It was no wonder the rest of the music industry and pop media called us a `Hit Factory', a label that was later taken up by Pete Waterman to promote us."

The Hit Factory is Mike Stock's story of how it all came together - about a lot of fun, hard work and innocent dreams, the personalities behind the scenes and the stars whose hits lit up the charts. But it's also a story about the dark side of the industry...

Mike had always wanted to become a successful pop songwriter and his dream came true as one of the founder members of the most successful British record-producing teams and song writing partnerships of all time - Stock Aitken Waterman, aka SAW.

SAW became known as the `Hit Factory', producing and recording more than 100 Top 40 singles during the 1980s - a claim that even The Beatles, did not achieve.

At the peak of SAW's success, I Should Be So Lucky and Never Gonna Give You Up helped launch the world-famous artists Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley and as the hits poured off the production line, SAW itself became even more famous than the stars, a household name, so much so that they were dubbed the Svengalis of Pop - a term that Mike disliked immensely since his aim was always simple: to make great quality bespoke pop records which were handcrafted and tailor made.

Mike's book, The Hit Factory, details how success brought fame and great personal rewards - but at a price.

We learn how Mike had no musical training and was completely self taught - but that it was his self-determination to succeed at what he loved doing best, i.e song-writing, which culminated in the beginnings of SAW. The Hit Factory then takes a more detailed look at SAW behind-the-scenes, revealing the true roles of the dynamic trio.

Mike reveals all about the explosive success of SAW; what happened at that first fateful meeting with Kylie Minogue; how the music industry began to dislike the success of SAW; how the relationship between Mike and Pete became tense; how Pete sold his record label PWL to Warner Bros, a financial decision which eventually led to the demise of SAW; how the success of SAW took a toll on Mike's personal life, spending little time with his family along with receiving threats of blackmail and kidnapping.

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Related links:

1. Buy The Hit Factory Book
2. ilikemusic.com Interview with Mike Stock