Stock Aitken Waterman - A Simple Stock Aitken Waterman Italian Fan Site (& Kylie Minogue): August 2010

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Go! Go! Go! Show 'is a family musical'

Mike Stock - part of the Stock Aitken Waterman phenomenon - told the Daily Mail the musical came about because he was increasingly frustrated with raunchy pop music videos and the dance routines of supposedly child-friendly stars.

Stock Aitken Waterman were behind a host of 1980s pop hits from the likes of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Rick Astley. [read the full article]

Monday, August 16, 2010

Mike Stock about new music videos and more

Songwriter Mick Stock has laid into the current crop of female popstars, including Lady GaGa and Rihanna, for being too explicit.

As well as calling Lady GaGa "a deceit", Stock told NME: "The stuff that Rihanna [releases] and the recent stuff is extremely explicit. So in that sense I don't regard it as pop music." ... [read the full article] [read another article] [another article]

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Mike Stock: Pop has 'gone too far'

Mike Stock, the man who helped launch Kylie Minogue's career, has hit out at modern pop culture as "soft porn". [read the full article]

Leggi l'articolo in italiano sul sito de LA STAMPA e i relativi commenti. Leggi l'articolo in italiano sul sito del Secolo XIX.

An article about the song Being Boring by Pet Shop Boys

Over to Tennant (in a 1996 BBC Radio 1 documentary) to shed some light: "We were always fascinated about the way Stock Aitken Waterman would change key for choruses. And so the verse of Being Boring was in A minor or D minor, maybe, after we went up a semi-tone into A flat for the chorus. Which we would never have done before. It wasn't an attempt to be mature; it was actually an attempt to be like Stock Aitken Waterman.".

Introducing... Champagne Riot

Champagne Riot is the brainchild of two Scandinavians, Caspar Bock and Anders Reuter. In their own words “Their mission is to create perfect pieces of timeless pop music that are sophisticated and gloriously irresistible”. They are set to release their debut double A-sided single “Heart Stab/ A Friend of A Friend” on the 27th September.

Both of them come from an alternative music background, coupled with an appreciation of fine art and literature, however they would not hesitate for a moment in describing the works of producers Max Martin and Stock, Aitken, Waterman as pure and genuine art forms. The band support that main sources of inspiration include all great pop songs from the past 60 years, electronic and acoustic music of all kinds, indie pop, warp records, intelligent hip hop. Etc. Or as their Myspace page simply puts it: Hedonism, Dadaism, Nihilism and Abba. [read the full article] and visit their myspace page.

I like very much "Heart Stab". All their songs reminds me very much Pet Shop Boys in the 80s.
Probably the song most similar to the Stock Aitken Waterman productions is "Ingrid Berman" for me.

Their album deserves to be purchased. It's a long time since I've heard pop songs so nice and clean. Good luck to both!

Champagne Riot - Ingrid Bergman

Champagne Riot - The Champagne Anthem

Rick rolls in to re-love those golden years

Eighties heartthrob Rick Astley talks to JODIE JEYNES about giving it all up in the 90s,then returning to music and playing at Osborne House next month.

Growing up, he sang in the church choir and then played drums in a band called FBI, but his life changed forever when he moved to London for a production deal with pop behemoths Stock, Aitken & Waterman.
A common misconception is that Rick started out as Pete Waterman's Tea Boy.

Though Rick says that's not entirely true, he does own that part of his job 'was to help out at the studios and that did involve making tea'.
He remembers: "I signed to RCA records, but I spent a lot of time making tea at first.".

"One of the best things about it was that I could go in and do my demos when the studios weren't being used."

"It was a brilliant time to be in that building. It was all very fresh and very interesting. They were doing records that didn't all sound the same – Mel and Kim were nothing like Dead Or Alive."

"But then they filtered it and filtered it, until there became a Stock, Aitken & Waterman sound," continues Rick, who now lives in Kingston upon Thames with his partner of 21 years, Danish film producer Lene Bausager (Flashbacks Of A Fool), and their 18-year-old daughter Emilie.

With the help of Stock, Aitken & Waterman, Rick was in the top 40 every week for the first six months of his career. He earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1988 and he was the first male solo artist to have his first eight singles reach the top 10 in the UK (this has still to be bettered).

Then, in 1993 – at what Pete Waterman called 'the height of his fame' (though the artist himself disagrees) – Rick Astley retired aged 27. 'There were a number of reasons,' says Rick.

[read the full article]

An Audience With Kylie Minogue

On the back of the release of her eleventh studio album, Aphrodite, Garrett Bithell sits down with Kylie Minogue.[read the full article].

Kylie Minogue not high on Lady Gaga Fashion Choices

Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue told OK! Magazine Tuesday that she could not imagine dressing in Lady Gaga's "outlandish outfits."

Minogue, 42, who is working to promote her latest album "Aphrodite," said that she is adventurous with her fashion choices for photo shoots and when she performs on stage, but "could never do that full time."

"I wouldn't walk along a street in Chelsea in satellite dish sunglasses...That's just not me," she told the magazine.

Kylie Minogue set for 'Neighbours' cameo

Australian singer/actress Kylie Minogue may return to the soap ‘Neighbours’ for a cameo to mark its 25th anniversary. Insiders revealed that Minogue is negotiating with the producers of Australia’s longest running drama ‘Neighbours’, to play a cameo role in its 6000th episode that will also mark its completion of 25 years.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Kylie Minogue Hand On Your Heart Live - Countdown Revolution 89

From the author of the YouTube Video:

This is probaby the most rare performance of this track as Kylie never did the early stuff with a live vocal and PWL backing track. From what I can recall, the show was called Countdown Revolution which use to be played nightly on the ABC Australia. I think Kylie came home for a week or two to Oz but had no schedule or duties. She decided to record this at ABC to be played when the single came out. There was no word that she was going to do it either.....I almost fell off my bean bag when it was on... as it did not rate very well...the show that is...let me know what you think...... I know you will love this fabulous Vintage Kylie track..