One of the most successful songwriting trios in the world, who launched Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley into stardom, has been nominated for a Southwark Blue Plaque.
Between 1984 and 1993, British pop producers Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman were responsible for over 200 million records sold worldwide.
The trio formed in 1984 after Pete, who was already established in the music industry, signed producers Matt and Mike to his company Pete Waterman Limited (PWL).
They had impressed him with a song they had written and produced called ‘The Upstroke’ – which would be the group’s first release.
Before joining Pete, Mike and Matt had been working together from a small recording studio in Mike’s basement in Abbey Wood, where the pair spent most of 1983 writing songs and producing local bands.
Just one year later, SAW – as they are commonly known – had already secured their first number-one hit with Dead or Alive’s ‘You Spin Me Round’.
Having found the formula, they went on to gain 13 number-one singles and over 100 top 40 hits in the UK alone – with the success repeated worldwide.
Along with many other stars, they famously launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, with ‘I Should Be So Lucky,’ and Rick Astley with ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’
All this success was made from a little backstreet studio in Borough – The Vineyard in Sanctuary Street – above which Pete Waterman still resides.
From this humble building, which became known as ‘The Hit Factory,’ they also made chart successes for Bananarama, Donna Summer, Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney and many more.
Tony Moorcroft, from Bermondsey, worked at the studio for seven years from the end of 1987-1994. “The funny thing is – whilst it was happening none of us realised that history was being made.
“All three of them were amazing.”
Tony, who worked his way up from tea boy to a producer, recalled one time when Pete really had his back.
“[Pete] had noticed I wasn’t happy, so he called me into his office and questioned me about it.
“I admitted I was struggling a bit with the rent; he asked me how much I was earning and how much I owed.”
He explained that Pete then proceeded to double his wages and write a cheque to pay off Tony’s debt.
“That’s the kind of guy he is,” Tony said. “All three of them were amazing.”
Reminiscing on his years there, he said all three treated everyone like family. “It didn’t matter if you were the tea boy or the owner of the company – they treated everyone with respect.”
He mentioned their annual Christmas parties were always hosted in ‘weird locations.’
One year it was on board the Flying Scotsman – of which Pete Waterman is reportedly the last living owner.
Tony continued: “Every party was in a weird place. Another year we had it in the dinosaur at the Natural History Museum once – you’d never be allowed to do that now.”
On why his former bosses deserve a Southwark Blue Plaque – Tony said: “No songwriting production team has ever had the songwriting success with as many artists as they had.
“People might not realise how hard they work behind the scenes.
“Without the song, you’ve got nothing.”
Lesser celebrated feats are their charitable ventures.
These included the three records they recorded at Borough’s ‘Hit Factory’ to raise millions for various causes – Bananarama & Lananeeneenoonoo’s ‘Help!’ for Comic Relief, Band Aid II’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ and a version of ‘Ferry Cross the Mersey’ in aid of the Hillsborough Disaster Appeal, which featured Holly Johnson, Gerry Marsden and Paul McCartney.
The official end of the group began with Matt’s departure in 1991 and then Mike’s in 1993, but they continued to reunite for different projects in the years that followed.
Highlights of later years included the 2005 release of the Stock Aitken Waterman Gold compilation album; Mike and Pete’s collaborations to write and produce a single for girl band The Sheilas (in 2007) and then the UK’s 2010 entry for The Eurovision Song Contest.
To the surprise of many, there was a full Stock Aitken Waterman reunion in 2015 when the trio came together again at the request of Kylie Minogue – to arrange and produce a new version of Kylie’s Every Day’s Like Christmas in their classic 80s style.
Last year, ‘I Should Be So Lucky’, a musical featuring all their hit songs premiered and is currently being touring theatres across the UK, including The Churchill Theatre in Bromley.
To vote for Stock Aitken Waterman for a Southwark Blue Plaque please email isabel@southwarknews.co.uk