From the iconic vocals of Mel & Kim to the unforgettable lyrics of Rick Astley’s chart-topping hits, the music of Stock, Aitken, and Waterman dominated the UK charts in the late 1980s. With a blue plaque now commemorating their “hit factory” in Bermondsey, the trio shared insights with Sky News about recognizing Kylie’s “spark” and humorously claiming they “invented” AI.
At their peak in 1989, the songs of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman accounted for an impressive 27% of the UK singles market, marking one of the most successful collaborations in pop music history. Waterman expressed his amazement at the 40 or so attendees who came to witness the honor, including 1980s artists like Brother Beyond, former staff members, and devoted fans. “These are some of the kids who used to come here after school for autographs. Now, of course, they’re all grown up!” Waterman chuckled.
The partnership was responsible for numerous hits for some of the era’s biggest stars. “We had a method of working, tailoring the songs to how we believed the public would perceive the artist, and we were quite successful in that regard,” Aitken explained. Waterman added, “If it didn’t work, we didn’t bother.”
In 1988, their success skyrocketed with a collaboration with a young Australian soap actress named Kylie Minogue, who was unknown to them at the time. “When she arrived at the studio, we were unaware she was even coming,” Stock recalled. “So we had to come up with a song pretty quickly.” They wrote her debut hit, “I Should Be So Lucky,” in just 20 minutes. “She was a fantastic performer,” Aitken noted. “When she was sitting quietly in the corner, you wouldn’t notice her, but the moment a camera was on… she lit up,” Waterman added.
In the past, most of their hits were recorded on a basic 24-track tape machine, but with advancements in AI technology, songs can now be produced almost instantaneously. So, how do the trio feel about artificial intelligence becoming the new “hit factory”? Waterman joked, “AI? We invented it!” He continued, “You have to draw from past influences, but the key difference between AI and what we did is that we infused our work with emotion. We argued over songs if a lyric didn’t resonate. It simply doesn’t work without emotion.
