In the run up to Christmas, what better way to get into the festive spirit than to take a look at 7 Yuletide tracks Stock Aitken Waterman came up with between 1987 and 2015? Join Kean Canter Mattowski for 8 blogposts during December as we take a look back at some seasonal gems…
On the third day of SAWmas, the DJ played to me…
The Christmas Medley – Stock Aitken Waterman
Back in 2010, SAW fans were delighted when PWL commenced a digital re-issue of much of its back catalogue, with a huge number of singles bundles containing various mixes, remixes, backing tracks and instrumentals. What added to the excitement was that these releases included previously unreleased material, and whilst a number of these were already known about and long anticipated, there were still some surprise items.
Including The Christmas Medley, credited to Stock Aitken Waterman.
Apparently, this track was specially recorded for the December 1989 Stock Aitken Waterman Go To The Albert Hall charity concert (which featured Jason Donovan, Sonia and Big Fun amongst others). The track was not performed at the event, but was played in the venue before and after the show. It would appear this was the track’s sole purpose and it was not designed or scheduled for general release.
The medley, which interpolates Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, White Christmas and Silent Night, was produced and arranged by SAW, with vocals provided by regular SAW backing vocalists Mae McKenna and Miriam Stockley, along with Mike Stock.
Opening with swirling harp, blustery wind and sleigh bells, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer launches into a jaunty synth-backed retake on the famous song, with an occasional interruption by a weird synth squiggle which one assumes is supposed to be a cry of joy from the titular reindeer.
In a slightly jarring change of tone, White Christmas takes over around a minute into the track, with light percussion and strings backing the vocals, in which Stock can be clearly heard.
At the 2:30 minute mark, the track brings in Silent Night, in a much more complementary segue, with an arrangement akin to that of the previous song. Again, Stock can be clearly heard here too, and the combination of both male and female voices create a real warmth.
In the final 30 seconds, Stock sings a reprise of “Sleep in heavenly”, with McKenna and Stockley singing in counter.
It’s all good fun, and is very well done given its purpose. Whilst the White Christmas and Silent Night elements work really well together, the juxtaposition of those tracks with Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer is possibly less successful. That said, that track gives the track some jolliness, whereas the other two tracks are perhaps more contemplative, and perhaps I am being a bit too Scrooge-like to scrutinise a fun Christmas track designed as background music.
It’s a worthy addition to a Christmas playlist, as it’s very evocative and festive. The digital release also includes an instrumental version.
This was not the only Christmas SAW action back in 1989, however. In fact, they had two singles vying for Christmas 1989, one of which was (and is) Christmassy without actually being about Christmas…
In the run up to Christmas, what better way to get into the festive spirit than to take a look at 7 Yuletide tracks Stock Aitken Waterman came up with between 1987 and 2015? Join Kean Canter Mattowski for 8 blogposts during December as we take a look back at some seasonal gems…
On the second day of SAWmas, the DJ played to me…
Especially For You – Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan
If Mike Stock, Pete Waterman and others around the SAW operation at the time are to be believed, then the trio’s second attempt at a Christmas number one was unplanned and mounted at the last minute.
1988 had seen the huge success of Neighbours actress Kylie Minogue’s debut album and its string of hit singles, making her a superstar and turning Stock Aitken Waterman into household names. Her fellow Neighbours actor Jason Donovan had also teamed up with SAW towards the end of the year, and had enjoyed a hit with his debut single Nothing Can Divide Us.
As Kylie and Jason’s Neighbours characters were boyfriend and girlfriend, there was much speculation as to whether the pair were an item in real life. Whilst it later turned out they were in-fact dating, this speculation was denied at the time, but did not dampen the public’s romantic hopes of them being in love.
With both parties having launched pop careers, the speculation switched to whether or not Kylie and Jason would release a duet for Christmas. Waterman, in his autobiography I Wish I Was Me, remembers that he was constantly approached by teenagers asking when the Kylie and Jason song would be coming out.
Stock, in his memoir The Hit Factory: The Stock Aitken Waterman Story, adds that there were growing calls for a Kylie and Jason duet, and that SAW initially resisted these, but changed their minds when Woolworths apparently tried to place an advance order for 400,000 copies of the mythical duet!
PWL’s marketing manager Tilly Rutherford came up with the title, and as the main songwriter of the trio, Stock set to work on the composition. The only problem was that both Kylie and Jason had returned to Australia, so SAW recorded a demo version of the track (a short clip can be found below), with Mae McKenna performing the Kylie parts and Stock singing the Jason parts.
It fell to Aitken and Waterman to fly out to Sydney to record Kylie and Jason’s vocals, with the full track being completed upon their return.
Given how successful the track was, it seems surprising to discover that there were some misgivings about the track once the initial mixes came in. Waterman states that he hated the initial version, suggesting that it lacked passion, and added that Stock also disliked it.
In an interview with Paul Smith, Waterman states that the problem with the initial version was that SAW had “tried to make it Peaches and Herb but it didn’t work”. (Note: Peaches and Herb were a 70s soul duo, who recorded Reunited, a ballad about a couple getting back together, as is the case with Especially for You).
Waterman goes on to say that Stock carried out a further remix, but “it still wasn’t wonderful, so I thought I’d have a go. Somehow it all came together at the last moment…”
This is a great story delivered with typical Waterman bonhomie, but a glance at the record sleeve will tell you that it was in fact Pete Hammond who was responsible for the final mix.
In his memoir Get Down Here Quick And Mix Yourself A Hit!, Hammond states that several mixes had been done by various engineers, but PW rejected them all on the basis that the track “just didn’t feel right” and eventually got Hammond to do it.
Hammond comments that he called up the master to prepare his mix, and was of the opinion that there was a drum timing problem. He fixed this and changed the kick sound, but apparently the main change he made was to the intro. The original mix opened with a two-part drum hit, followed by Kylie’s first line. Hammond took some backing harmonies from the bridge (performed by Mae McKenna, Miriam Stockley and Mike Stock), and put them right at the start of the song, creating that evocative opening.
One of those early mixes has been released (see below); this particular mix fades in with a drawn out synth pad before the two-part drum hit, and straightaway it’s clear that Hammond’s clever cut and paste creates an impact the early mix perhaps lacks. In addition, the drum track lacks the punch of the final mix, whilst the synth pads of the early mix are swapped for some nice guitar work in the final version.
All that said, it is clear that the final version has other instrumentation the earlier version lacked, so it appears that Stock and Aitken did some overdub work prior to Hammond’s final mix, which may be the 4 hour mixing session Waterman refers to.
If I’m totally honest, I wasn’t crazy about the record at the time (I think I felt it a bit slushy when in fact many SAW ballads have a bit of an edge to them) but listening to that final version now, there is much to appreciate about both song and the record. The backing vocals bring real warmth, as do the strings and the Spanish guitar solo, creating a lighter-than-usual backing for the main vocals. Kylie probably sounds the most comfortable here; whilst Jason’s voice would improve considerably with each release, he was still new to recording at this time. That said, his voice is pleasant here and does not detract from proceedings. Lyrically, it’s great to have a SAW song about two former lovers reuniting (rather than splitting up, or worse, not getting together at all!), whilst the fluid melody of the verses sells the tentative nature of these two lovers getting back together. The chorus is joyous and memorable, and both vocalists sound great here.
The B-side carried another Kylie and Jason duet, All I Wanna Do Is Make You Mine, which is a fun, upbeat number with Grease leanings. I probably preferred this at the time, with its clattering drums, rumbling bass, chugging guitars and horn blasts really selling the catchy melody, most notably its wonderful bridge.
As it was, Especially For You was issued in time for Christmas, but, just like the 1987 battle for Christmas number one, SAW were thwarted by EMI Records, as Cliff Richard’s Mistletoe and Wine claimed the Yuletide number one. Whilst widely derided, it is clear that Cliff’s tribute to a traditional British Christmas appealed to a large section of the record buying public. It wasn’t all bad news for Kylie, Jason and SAW, as Especially For You was the first number one single of 1989, selling just short of a million copies.
And as 1989 would prove to be SAW’s most commercially successful year, they would go on to have two records vying for the Christmas number one that year. However, it turns out that there would be a third Christmas track from SAW that would go unreleased for over 20 years…
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