The Hit Factory : The Stock Aitken & Waterman Story 

The golden era. No social media, just fantastic music ! Best of times.

"In 20 years people will look back and say 'they were geniuses' ..." ... so true.

When I first heard of Rick Astley’s ‘Never gonna give you up’ instantly loved it. So I bought the album ‘Whenever you need somebody’ that whole album was something new I never heard before. It was the different r&b sounds and textures mixed with Rick Astley’s amazing vocals during that time was like gold to my ears. Classic era of the 80’s for me.

From the USA , this is the first time I have ever heard of Stock, Aiken & Waterman, these gentlemen produced the music of my first speeding ticket and first time first time at a Dance Club.

I didn't know the extent of how many songs Stock, Aiken & Waterman were responsible for! They have literally wrote and produced the soundtrack to my teen years.

I honestly was at the brink of crying my eyes out during the segment on Mel & Kim especially when Mel's cancer diagnosis was brought up. One love to PWL/SAW! We miss you Mel!

Till today in 2019, their music still being danced and as a DJ, I play them regularly from time to time. Really a floor filler every time without fail. Miss you guys.

Some people call their stuff cheesy, I loved it. Great fun, inoffensive pop music of the best quality.

To be in one's 20s, in the 80s, with this music (among other great 80s music), was a very special kind of blessing.

I love their style of production.

They were the soundtrack of my youth. Thanks for the best songs guys.

Mel will always live through the songs and videos the girls created - something so special will never die

what a great time for music...regardless of what the critics say, the records sold, people danced and memories were made!

80's were awesome ! thanks again for the documentary !

This documentary was WAYYYY overdue. SAW was among the best music producers in history. Thanks a million for sharing!.

Thank God for these 3, they made the most memorable music.

Thank you very much for posting this documentary!!! I live in France and would never have the chance to see it otherwise. I loved their music. I still do by the way. I listen to these great song on a regular bases. Thanks SAW for making the best music of my childhood!!!

Here in USA we had MTV every other video was Bananarama but mostly my Rick! My four year old daughter would dance and hug the TV when he came on.🤗

The music of Stock, Aiken and Waterman always takes me back to the 80's. I was one of those young people who would go out and buy the singles and albums. I have nostalgic moments listening to these great hits and I have alot of these songs downloaded to my Spotify playlist 😀 I thank these 3 men for the music ❤

Still upsets me that Mel Appleby was gone too soon. X

enjoyed their music so much..respect to the trio

120 BPM was every DJ's goal back then. S.A.W basically took underground euro house music and watered it down, made it G rated and made a whole lot of money.

I loved so many of their songs..especially Mel & Kim! They were my favorites. It broke my heart when I heard that Mel died of cancer back in 1990.

I can't think of another pop sound that simultaneously sounds so dated and timeless. I also don't know anyone who still listens to their songs. But I love that sound, and the songs were superb examples of bubblegum pop done right. Take away the innocent smiles and cheerful colours, and you're left with songs that would be great in any era. You could update the sound to whatever new style you want, and they could all be hits all over again today. I mean, it's easy to write long pieces of music or very complex stuff. But to write simple, catchy melodies that linger in people's ears for 30 years (and counting), that takes serious skill.

A great,comprehensive doco and tribute to the Hit Factory artists from the 80''s and 90's and to the SAW team at PWL studios. back at the time.

The 1980s synth pop fun times happened and was good for its time. Perhaps something new may arise again in the future. May those whom have passed rest in peace.

I love the 80's, I'm so glad that my preteen an teenage years where in the 80's and miss the 80's

RIP Mel Appleby Miss Mel & Kim 💗 xxx

My dearest friend and soul sister Tracey Jane Broom died, then Mel passed away. Miss both and always remember the laughs and dance routines. Love you girl xxx

David Howells in every documentary he's in when being interviewed about Kylie Minogue ALWAYS describes her change in image/sound post Better The Devil You Know negatively. After that point her appeal skyrocketed FAR beyond SAW's target market and Pete Waterman was supportive (they remain friends to this day) of her when she left PWL and signed with dance/house label Deconstruction which was seen by critics as a risk but it paid off in the long term. Kylie Minogue is far more intelligent and shrewd than people give her credit for.

Although I prefer Rock music, I absolutely love the 80's Pop. Great doc, thank you

I swear Sinitta is a vampire, she hasn't aged a day. I wouldn't mind being her Toy Boy even know.

Thanks for posting this. I hope you never take it off. Super documentary. I love Stock Aitken Waterman forever.

The best music ever in the eras we grew up although some songs we gave a wide berth but 8/10 was fab we miss Pete Burns he had a classic voice and sadly others have since passed to sing in God's disco and music halls

Rick Astley,with his incredible voice,Never gonna give you up and the wonderfull Cry for help,with a marvelous gospel choir

very interesting doc,wish banana Rama was singing still . RIP Divine. one fab drag queen!

Really was a fun time for music... this type of music or nirvana type it was all great.... our kids and grandkids will never know the feeling we got out on the weekends listening to this at a club... they get rap which isn't all bad but doesn't give you the same light happy feelings..... lots of amazing memories from my youth🦋🇨🇦

Always loved their awesome music. I spent my youth with SAW cassettes.

I remember walking into Woolworths North Shields to buy whatever 7" single i was after and was just faced with a wall of 40 seperate records. £1.79 was the price. 😆

Donna Summer is a Goddess! 💕🙌🏻💕

it aint the 80s without this lot bloody great

Watching in 2019 and still feeling so well, love most of all the hits they produced. These songs were my "soundtrack" of my teen years. Thank you SAW.

Rick Astley appeared on the US Morning Show "Good Morning America" and the folks were so happy many of which grew up on The Second Wave Of The British Invasion (Like Me).

Thank you digivoka. I had no idea this special even existed. SAW were such a major part of my life it was truly wonderful to watch this special and see them celebrated. Certainly they were soundtrack to my life from 84-90. I spent sooo much money on singles, 12", CDs, magazines and so on because of SAW. And they really did make a lot of people very, very happy.

Pete Burn was so bloody hansome in the 80`s, I could marry him at once

This is the key change, the key change. It's a standard device to stop us sounding mundane.

Love em or hate em, there is no doubt that these guys knew exactly what they were doing. Personally, I love them

Love these trio of producer. They made great music of the 80's -90's n I still play them

I miss the 80's :-(

Takes me back to the great 80's..

I kept watching the video and I think I've just been RICK ROLLED ---- again!

Thanks so much for posting this. So many memories of great music. :)

Little white guy with the big voice. Loved him

This was my childhood..best years of my life. Loved all SAW songs 👏👏

These Guys Did Some Incredible Work!! Got To Donna Summer And Almost Teared Up, Thanks Sooooo much for This Post!!

Those were the years I was dancing the night away in disco houses !

As a 80's dj I still play all these songs and people still love them

OMG... Donna is just goreous !

weather you liked it or not it happened and i loved almost every thing they put out

I really enjoyed this "trip down memory lane". Most of the songs featured I bought as 45's and or 12" singles. I'd visit disco or dance record stores where I first heard Mel & Kim here in Toronto, Canada. Others I would hear on Much Music television. Until recently, I had never heard of Steps. Their new CD is on my want list. Anyway, I've often thought of PWL as the 80's version of Holland-Dozier-Holland (Motown) or Gamble-Huff (Philadelphia International) or Mann & Appell (Cameo-Parkway).

Donna Summer's "Another Place and Time" is a masterpiece... not a bad track on the album.

Thank you Hit Factory :-) love listening to this songs back in the day when I was 10 and till now in my late 30s

Watching this in 2018. I think another compelling reason for their success was that they carried over into pop a lot of the Chicago house music sounds which were mostly underground/club hits before 86. Many of the 12 inches they did for Mel and Kim and Rick definitely have that house music foundation that was becoming very prevalent by 1988. By then house music had proliferated into more than just one type (Chicago house, acid house, hip house, Italo house etc...) Needless to say, growing up in this period, I had become a house music fan for life. The 90's totally killed SAW (and house music with it IMHO). I can't say I like music after the 80's, especially when radio stations began forcing that garbage from Nirvana and REM down my throat and clubs migrated to Euro trance and techno. But I will always enjoy a good Silk Hurley house track or SAW 12 inch.

I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride Something touched me deep inside ........The ...day ...when music...... died

kylie minogue gets more coverage on this because after 25 years since her first hit with SAW PWL she is the only one still around and whose success has gone from big to bigger!! More than 60M albums, 20M dollars production shows it makes more sense from a documentary editing point of view.

LONG LIVE P.W,L. MUSIC OF MY GENERATION I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU DID FOR ME GROWING UP AND MILLIONS MORE WILL AGREE......THANK YOU FROM MY HEART.

Damn where the time went it felt like i just heard this yesterday.

Mel and Kim, Kylie. Most of all Donna Summer. My heart weeps for those years. AND I'M A METAL MAN!

Back in the day when you had to go down to your local record shop and pay for a song. Now a days you can come on RU-vid and download it for free.

Unknown people with half-decent voices turned into popstars, wow that's certainly a critic. I have to say that Kylie is my most favourite, I discovered her through an 80s collection tape I bought in the mid-90s as a HS student. I Should Be Lucky was the song.

Their music was the soundtrack to my childhood and teens. Cheesy? Yeah and I loved it!

A really enjoyable documentary. Fab music.

This is part of my youth...thanks for posting.

SAW were outstanding. The Donna Summer songs were terrific.

One of the greatest years in pretty much everything....miss those times. Full positive energy...

They deserve nothing than respect!

Beautiful MEL!!! ..and beautiful KIM!! I love you both forever! U r both bigger than life

Producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman music defined the eighties for me. Their early years being their most creative and my favorite period. After that the sound became a little too familiar and repetitive. Like a factory. And of course it was.

Admittedly, I own some of their artists today and still sing along. It was my grade 5 through grade 7 years. Very formula, but very catchy

R.I.P Mel, Divine, Donna, and now Pete.

"You'd walk into any of the rooms at PWL, and everyone would be oozing positiveness." What do you expect, when the vast majority of these songs just made you feel good on first listen? Their products are timeless, and the quality speaks for itself. :)

SAW discovered many great singers. However, no one compared to Rick Astley. One of the most powerful voices ever heard. Rick Roll!!! :)

I recall hearing Dead Or Alive for the first time at my Club (I had just bought the 12 single) I had already been a DOA fan since their first Album so picked it up without hearing it. I filled the Dance floor on the First Play! I liked Princess too especially the track "After the love has gone". Gorgeous Kylie is actually more beautiful today IMHO (Incredible I know) :-)

Try watching this and knocking back a shot every time a mullet appears onscreen. I got as far as Samantha Fox before throwing up.

Thanks so much for posting this! I love music history!

Nothing lasts forever. It kind of reminded me of Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound. He and his Associates had an unforgettable string of hits but when The Beatles took America by Storm, everything ended.

timeless 80`s music o how i was still there.....

So they're responsible for Meatspin and Rickrolling. Cool.

at the time i never realised how good they were cause they were everywhere but now i think on reflection they were very good songwriters

God, I didn't know that Pete Waterman worked with Princess. That was the Jam back in the Day when I was out Clubbing. There were a lot of British R & B Singers never got the recognition that they should have. Johnny Kemp, Loose Ends, Soul To Soul.

Fantastic Documentry with alot of artists I love, Princess, Mel & Kim, Rick Astley, Brother Beyond and the beautiful Donna Summer. Loved it! :)

MUSIC was GOOD and FUN & So Gay back then . Music has never been the same since. The 1980-1990's MUSIC WAS FREAKING AWESOME in the CLUBS.

Stockhausen and Waterman - pop music let's go!!!

Mel and Kim: very sad story.

I Love You Rick Astley ❤️

I liked many of these artists back in the day and I bought many of their albums. I'm sure I helped Stock-Aitken-Waterman make their millions.

What amuses me the most is that all of the music they made was on a fairlight music computer. Still a beast to be reckoned with really. But everything sounds the same. It’s the quintessential sound of the 1980’s. Worryingly, I remember it well. I still feel like I’m in my 20’s. I suppose that’s how it goes!

They certainly had the right formula at the right time

There will be a meeting next week for all those who grew up to these hits, 1980s - 90. For those that have left us, fare thee well. Those that are still here, we were offered the best, in life and in music. Be blessed wherever you’re on this earth. 🌍

love that era