10 things I have learned from A Journey Through SAW (aka the best podcast in the world)

Yes, I know it’s been a long time… but I simply had to bring this blog out of hiatus to write a bit about Gavin Scott and Matthew Denby’s wonderful podcast A Journey Through SAW.

It is quite simply the documentary series all SAW fans have coveted for many years, and quite frankly, I struggle to think about who could have done a better job than Gavin & Matthew.

 

If you’re reading this blog, then you will of course know about the podcast, so there’s no need for me to go into detail about it. Nor do I want to spoil the experience for new listeners by going through all of the juicy info that Gavin & Matthew have uncovered. But should you not be aware of it, the podcast is telling the story of SAW using each of their released UK singles as touchpoints, from first SAW single The Upstroke through (I expect) to Slamm’s Virginia Plain, though I believe they will cover post-SAW product in some form, and will no doubt cover the latterday Stock & Waterman one-offs as well as the full SAW reunion for the remix of Kylie’s Every Day Is Like Christmas.

 

The podcast is a seriously impressive endeavour; Gavin & Matthew are journalists, and it’s clear how much those skills and that background contribute to the whole affair. They have tracked down all manner of contributors – many of whom we have not heard from before – and have gotten some great stories and viewpoints from. They know their stuff and their quality standards around information are high. And crucially, they are not afraid to voice their opinions if they do not like certain tracks, but remain respectful when doing so.

 

I especially like how Gavin positions himself as good cop, with Matthew being bad cop (in a good way, if that makes sense); it’s fun when the two do not agree on something.

 

Whilst Gavin & Matthew are following in the footsteps of the great fan researchers such as Jeremy Kay, Paul Smith, John Palmer, Dave Roberts & Tom Parker, they are actually taking the whole SAW fandom wider as their podcast gains increasing recognition. And deservedly so.

 

Anyway, I wanted to share 10 things I have learned from A Journey through SAW, so here goes:

 

1)    Suzanne Rhatigan would be my ideal dinner party guest

Like many diehard SAW fans, you kind of get used to hearing the same old stories from the same old people – which is absolutely fine, but one of the joys of this podcast is hearing from people who haven’t told their story before. I loved hearing from people like Yoyo, Dee Lewis and Nick East, but Suzanne Rhatigan was an absolute delight. She was enthusiastic, friendly, honest yet respectful and hilarious. I could listen to her reading the full SAW discography. In particular, I loved her story about getting in trouble with Pete Waterman because Suzanne’s mum had unwittingly leaked a story to the Irish press! If this was my podcast, Suzanne would be on every episode.

 

2)    Matt Aitken is refreshingly honest about the SAW back catalogue

Well I guess I kind of knew this anyway from what others have said about Matt Aitken, but what I really like about Matt’s contribution to the podcast is that he will give his view on whether a track worked or not. This is different from Mike Stock, who I feel is more defensive of SAW’s work (which is fair and proper – and I’ve spent 30-odd years defending their work too). By the way, it’s great that Matt has started to contribute more to retrospective projects such as the podcast; I feel his account of events is helping to give a fuller view of SAW’s history.

 

3)    Sheila Ferguson’s version of Always Doesn’t Mean Forever has different phrasing in the chorus than Hazell Dean’s version

Always Doesn’t Mean Forever is genuinely one of my favourite SAW tracks, and it was a real thrill to hear a snippet of the original & unreleased Sheila Ferguson version. I love the sneaky way Gavin introduced it as the Hazell Dean version, and then stopping it after 20 seconds to correct himself! At first, I thought “ooh I haven’t heard this mix before”, before realising what version it actually was! The biggest surprise was that the phrasing of the “Always doesn’t mean forever” is different, in the way that the phrasing of the “Got to be certain” line is different in Mandy Smith’s version of Got To Be Certain to Kylie Minogue’s. Great to hear the snippet, and hopefully one day we will get to hear the full Sheila version (and the rest of her unreleased tracks).

 

4)    Romi & Jazz could – and should – have been the next Mel & Kim

Gavin & Matthew did a great episode recently with a big focus on Romi & Jazz, whose sole 1990 SAW track One Love One World is a favourite of mine. The boys did a great overview of Romi & Jazz’s career leading up to the SAW collaboration, and it was great to hear Romi & Jazz now looking back on that time with fondness. Matt Aitken made a comment – “(We’ve) hit the jackpot here – where did it all go wrong?” – which got me thinking about the parallels between Romi & Jazz and Mel & Kim. One Love One World probably isn’t as revolutionary a track as Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend) was, but it was a case of SAW applying emerging club sounds to a pop track and doing something new (like using a spoken sample as the bridge). I think if Chrysalis had managed to break this single, then Romi & Jazz had a great chance of forging a successful career, especially if they had stayed with SAW and also if they had the opportunity to bring in the Bhangara elements more.

 

5)    The story around how Princess parted ways with SAW and Supreme Records was even more fascinating than I thought

This was an early coup for Gavin & Matthew, and one which really showed that their podcast is a very special endeavour. They got Princess to agree to a comprehensive interview when the podcast had only started and was still building its profile, which is a great feat, but Gavin’s interviewing skills clearly put Princess at ease as she was able to be very candid about her experience. I want people to listen to the podcast so I am not going to go through the details here, except to say it’s clear there were lots of personalities at play and it seems Princess herself may have been caught in the crossfire. When your record label puts out a single with a text only cover, you know there’s a problem. I was also fascinated by Gavin & Matthew’s observation that one of the problems affecting Princess’s success was a move away from the pure soul of Say I’m Your Number One, as subsequent releases became more poppy (although final SAW single In the Heat Of A Passionate Moment went in a totally different direction and embraced Chicago House).

 

6)    Lisa Fabien’s story of missed opportunities with SAW was a heartbreaking indictment on the record industry

If you’re a fully-signed up member of SAW fandom, then you will know the name Lisa Fabien but will not know much about her. Gavin & Matthew changed all that when they tracked her down. Lisa was a vocalist who was in the SAW and PWL orbit; she duetted with Rick Astley on the pre-Never Gonna Give You Up single When You Gonna (produced by Harding & Curnow), and later was the credited vocalist on the unreleased 4^th SAW single Better Than Ever. It turns out that Lisa was signed for a deal and was given assurances that she was going to be the next big thing… before being unceremoniously dropped before anything actually happened. Sure, the history of pop music is littered with stories about artists who almost but never made it but Lisa’s experience, as she tells it, sounds really unfair and hurtful.

 

7)    Kylie wasn’t actually flying back to Australia the day I Should Be So Lucky was recorded

Go and listen to Terry Blamey on the recent Better The Devil You Know part 1 edition of the podcast but it seems that Terry Blamey told a white lie about it being Kylie’s last day in the UK in order to force SAW to record Kylie. It’s bonkers he had to do that, but thank god he did. And this revelation only adds to the labyrinthine legend of how I Should be So Lucky was born.

 

8)    Jamie Morgan’s life should be made into a film

I am slightly obsessed by Looking Good Diving by Morgan McVey, so it was great to hear from Jamie Morgan about how that track came together. What was even better for me was Jamie’s story about being chased by a murderous boyfriend who wrongly thought Jamie had copped off with his girlfriend, and how Jamie escaped into a club to hear DJ Tim Simenon playing B-side Looking Good Diving With The Wild Bunch, which led to Simenon producing Neneh Cherry's Buffalo Stance. Absolutely fascinating and brilliantly hilarious.

 

9)    The guitar solo on Samantha Fox’s Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now was played on keyboard

Matt Aitken is of course an amazing guitarist, but I was already aware (having been lucky enough to have a brief email correspondence with Matt in the early 2000s) that a number of his guitar solos were actually performed on keyboard and routed through the Rockman guitar amp. Once I knew that, I was able to hear the difference between the keyboard solos (even though they were impressively done) and the real guitar solos. However, I was absolutely certain that the solo on Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now was the real deal – until Gavin revealed to Samantha Fox on the podcast that that particular solo was a keyboard/Rockman special. This is what’s great about the podcast; it’s easy to think that you know it all after nearly 40 years of being a fan, and then Gavin & Matt pull something out of the bag!

 

10) The mystery of the Roland Rat & SAW collaboration may have been solved

     If you’re a die-hard SAW fan, you will know that they produced and co-wrote a number of tracks for UK TV puppet Roland Rat, one of which was the theme to the 1986 BBC TV show Roland Rat – The Series; these tracks ended up on an album, with the theme song released as a single. However, in Mark Elliott’s excellent 2017 book The Ministry of Pop, Mike Stock said he had no recollection of working on these tracks at all. Now, we know there have been occasions when a record contained a SAW credit but was actually the work of Pete Hammond or Phil Harding (and sometimes had nothing to do with SAW or PWL), but these tracks – at least in production terms – sound like SAW to me. Especially when you consider the Roland Rat-free version, which is a great slab of Chicago House and actually a proto-version of the Mel & Kim sound. But on the podcast, Mike re-iterated that he does not recall any involvement in these tracks, and I have no reason to doubt his account (he was there, after all – or, in this case, wasn’t!). He does suggest Matt Aitken was involved in putting the backing track together. Not only that, Phil Harding – credited as mixer – also cast doubts on his own involvement. The last word – for now – comes from the always-excellent John Palmer, who has suggested (and I am paraphrasing here) that perhaps SAW provided backing tracks to the BBC, probably for toplines to be written over them by composer Simon Brint, scriptwriter Lise Meyer & David Claridge, the man behind Roland Rat. This could explain the full-on Chicago House Roland-Rat-free version of the track with a female-sung verse (and no chorus); was this the original version of Living Legend rather than a remix of it as many of us have thought?

A quick note for the subscriber-only bonus material, which is already a treasure trove of expanded & additional interview material, as well as some special episodes where Gavin & Matt focus on a particular topic, album or artist. At roughly £2 per month, this is a steal.

In closing, the podcast is not only a history of SAW, but it’s also a wider cultural history of the music industry in the 1980s and 1990s – a double achievement then! A big well done and thank you to Gavin & Matt!

Hang On... it’s not that bad, is it?

Over the years, Stock Aitken Waterman tracks have come in for a lot of criticism (largely unjustified), but some tracks even get a bad reputation amongst SAW fans. One such track is Jason Donovan’s 1990 single Hang On To Your Love, but why is this the case...?

1989 had been an amazing year for Jason Donovan, and he entered 1990 on the back of the success of the well-received When You Come Back To Me. There was a sense that Donovan was in a strong position to consolidate that success, as indeed were his producers Stock Aitken Waterman. However, Donovan’s first single release of 1990 would come to be regarded as something of a misstep.

Hang On To Your Love was, as usual, a Stock Aitken Waterman composition and production, recorded in January 1990 as part of the initial sessions for Donovan’s second album, Between the Lines. It would seem that, consciously or not, that SAW was starting to move Donovan’s sound away from the bright pop that characterised his previous material.

One of the hallmarks of Stock Aitken Waterman tracks, especially self-composed, was the dichotomy between upbeat production and downbeat lyrical content. And that had been the case with many of the tracks on Donovan’s debut album Ten Good Reasons, such as Time Heals, Too Late to Say Goodbye and If I Don’t Have You. But Hang On To Your Love brought a darker edge to proceedings.

Sure, the beats and percussion are still present, but the synths are heavier, the strings more dramatic and the electric guitar adds to the bleakness. This is all topped off by Donovan’s doleful delivery: “Just to think I had the world in my hands / And I let it slip through my fingers” opines Jason, “I guess I didn’t know what I had / It’s just a memory that lingers”.

The result is that, at the time and even now, there was a pervading view that Hang On To Your Love just wasn’t as good as Donovan’s previous singles, to the point where even fans found it unlikable.

So this is where I come in. Because I think Hang On To Your Love is great.

I actually prefer it to When You Come Back To Me. I love its drama. I love its boldness. I love the spirit of Abba that the melody has. I love the thicker, chunkier arrangement. And I love the guitars.

So why is it so disliked?

Listening to it again for this article, the most striking thing about it is just how downbeat it sounds. The light and twinkly Yamaha Staccato Heaven preset was all over Ten Good Reasons, but here we have a thumping bassline and pounding beat accompanied by doleful synths.

And this brings me to my main proposition. Hang On To Your Love moves away from the aforementioned contrast between upbeat arrangement and melancholic lyrics/themes, and instead provides a double whammy of melancholic arrangement and lyrics. As a result, the usual bittersweet combination of joy and sadness is sacrificed for melodrama.

And it is quite a dramatic record, at least in terms of arrangement and production. The opening combination of electric guitar and strings is impressive, but it does set the tone for the next 3 minutes. There’s a certain heaviness to this track, which does match the world-weary and regretful nature of the lyrics, but the usual glimmer of hope you’d find in most Stock Aitken Waterman records is in short supply here.

In fairness to Mike, Matt & Pete, they’d gone into 1990 with a sense that it was time to try out some new methods, and whilst Hang On To Your Love was not one of the 3 experimental tracks marked out as a possible new sound, the track does reflect some of the stylistic choices made for those tracks. I am not grumbling that Stock Aitken Waterman should have made the record sound brighter or have made the lyrical content less depressing, but this is the key reason I can arrive at as to why so many listeners have an issue with a record which is just as well constructed as other Jason Donovan tracks which have a better reputation.

The extended version (expertly mixed by Phil Harding) is a fascinating listen. It’s a great mix – but the bleakness/heaviness of the track is felt even more keenly. That said, the musicianship and playing is well demonstrated in this version, and there is a great bit in the breakdown where Donovan’s echoed vocals make him sound a bit like David Bowie! It also features a great piece of vocal loc work in the instrumental break, with stuttering samples of Donovan’s vocals chugging away over sweeping strings and jangling guitars. 

Whilst the video to Hang On To Your Love retains the instrumental break from the extended version (albeit without the vocal locs), the single mix released to radio and through the shops completely excises the instrumental break – with a sudden cut that is so jarring, it actually sounds like a manufacturing fault. It’s not of course, and I’m sure it was done to add some drama to the track (which was so dramatic anyway that it didn’t need any more), but it just sounds wrong. For my money this cannot have helped the reaction to the song.

And you know, whilst I am a huge Stock Aitken Waterman fan, that doesn’t blind me to the point that perhaps people just didn’t like it because it didn’t connect with them. Maybe it’s the fact that all the component parts are great and all in place, but haven’t quite been assembled in the best way. Maybe it came along at a point where the music scene was changing and people were getting bored of Stock Aitken Waterman. That said, it did get to #8, so clearly enough people did like it. And maybe there is something good in the fact that Hang On To Your Love provoked a strong reaction instead of indifference; the follow-up Another Night (which would break Donovan’s Top 10 run and in many ways indicate the end of Mike, Matt & Pete'’s imperial phase) received a much more ambivalent response. But that is another article for another day…!

7 Days of SAWmas! #7: Every Day’s Like Christmas (A Stock Aitken Waterman Remix) – Kylie Minogue

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 7 blogposts during December as we take a look back at some seasonal gems…

On the seventh day of SAWmas!, the DJ played for me….

Every Day’s Like Christmas (A Stock Aitken Waterman Remix) – Kylie Minogue

Ever since Stock & Waterman parted ways in 1993, fans have hoped that Mike, Matt and Pete would reunite to make music. Sure, Stock & Aitken did team up again in 1994 in a successful partnership which lasted until the early 2000s, whilst Waterman found new partners to work with and also enjoyed success. However, court cases and public spats over the years suggested that relations (on a business level at least) between the two factions were strained.

There was a glimmer of hope when the trio came together in 2005 to publicise the Stock Aitken Waterman Gold collection, with the three talking about making a comeback. Alas, this promise did not reach full fruition; Aitken abstained, leaving Stock & Waterman to team up on a one-off single for girl band The Sheilas (and, latterly, the 2010 UK Eurovision entry).

But December 2015 saw fans get the Christmas present they had been waiting for.

And, even better, it was all thanks to Kylie Minogue.

Minogue had been working on material for a Christmas album, Kylie Christmas, for release in late 2015. She had been working with various collaborators, including Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin.

In an interesting move, Coldplay had hooked up with hit Norwegian record production team Stargate (comprising Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen) to create the band’s seventh album A Head Full of Stars in 2015.

It would appear that this collaboration led to Martin, Eriksen and Hermansen writing a Christmas song for Kylie Christmas. As per modern recording technology, Stargate produced the original track, with longtime Kylie collaborator Steve Anderson recording and producing the lead vocal track.

The resultant track, Every Day’s Like Christmas, is an atmospheric mid-tempo ballad, and was singled out as one of the highlights of the album, thus marking it out as a candidate as Kylie’s Christmas single.

However, no-one expected that Kylie and her record label Parlophone had approached Pete Waterman to ask if he, Mike Stock and Matt Aitken would come together again to remix the track in the trademark style.

The original triumvirate had not made a record together for 24 years, and whilst Stock & Waterman had collaborated in the meantime, the prospect of all three working together again had seemed unlikely.

But Mike, Matt and Pete agreed to reunite to work on this Kylie project; the brief was that the SAW version should be “dead retro” with “nothing modern”.

The full title of the release is Every Day’s Like Christmas (A Stock Aitken Waterman Remix) but the use of the word “remix” is misleading. Stock asserts that SAW did not merely remix the track; this was a new production with a new arrangement and instrumentation. It was Parlophone which stipulated that the track was credited as a SAW remix rather than a SAW production.

Certainly, comparing the SAW version with the original Stargate version, it is clear that this is not simply a remix; it would appear that all that was retained from the Stargate production were Kylie’s vocals and Chris Martin’s whistling motif. For one thing, the SAW version is faster, with a new drum and percussion track (courtesy of A Linn!), a throbbing DX7 bass, Stock’s synth pads and strings, plus Aitken’s distinctive guitar. Backing vocals were provided by Kirsten Joy and Mike Stock.

This arrangement and production really lifts the song and takes it in a different direction to the Stargate version; the Norwegian producers, it is fair to say, did a lovely job on the original’s contemplative vibe, but SAW bring a real sense of Christmas joy to proceedings.

The recording took place at Stock’s own MPG Studio. It’s not clear how the three worked together; the credits suggest that Stock took the lead on pre-production, keyboards and programming work, with Aitken only credited for guitar. That’s not to say that Aitken did not have any further input into the arrangement and production, and one would expect all three partners to have the final say on the end product.

One thing is clear; whilst Stock’s studio is state of the art, SAW did use some vintage equipment on this project, including a Yamaha DX7 synth, a Roland D-550 synth and a Linn Drum 9000 drum machine. Today’s Sound, Yesterday’s Technology, if you like!

Stock’s team at MPG filmed parts of the session and released a short video on social media – this showed Stock and Aitken working together in the studio, and it was a real thrill for fans to see the pair collaborating again. And whilst Waterman does not appear to have been at that session, it was even better to know that all three had reunited for this unique project.

And the icing on the cake was that the track was mixed by longtime SAW/PWL mix engineer and producer Dave Ford (who had been doing mix work at that time for Stock’s solo productions). Ford is a skilled mix engineer who brings out the best in the material and that is the case here – it’s a terrific mix that shows off the old SAW sound in a new way.

And a new way is correct: whilst the track clearly has the SAW DNA stamped right through it, it doesn’t quite sound like it is from 1988 – and actually I mean that as a compliment. What SAW achieved with this track was to knit various elements of their signature sound together, but give it an up-to-date slant. In that sense, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts – it sounds retro and modern at the same time.

SAW and Mike Stock expert Paul Smith advises that, whilst Parlophone did not request a 12” mix, Dave Ford completed an extended version as “good housekeeping” at SAW’s request; this mix became known, winningly and accurately, as The Three Wise Men Extended Version! Whilst a clip of this mix can be heard on the behind the scenes video of Mike Stock’s Facebook page, it frustratingly remains unreleased. Now that Minogue has now left Parlophone, there is probably no great impetus for this extended version to be released anytime soon – but hopefully it will surface at some point.

In the run up to release, there was little signal that the SAW reunion had happened, until a few days before when Stock hinted that there was big news coming up, culminating with him posting an old SAW pic as his Facebook profile pic the night before the news broke.

The track itself got its first play on 2 December 2015 and was immediately released on digital download and streaming formats. This unexpected SAW reunion received a warm reception, and this positive feedback far outweighed any naysayers.

The press release quoted Waterman as saying that “I wasn’t sure Chris Martin and Stock Aitken Waterman would be easy bedfellows but he said it was fine”. And indeed Martin was fine with it… although it appears he only found out about after the event when Cameron Adams of News Corp Australia Network informed him in an interview (published on 24 December 2015):

Cameron Adams: Everyone’s worried about Guns N’Roses and Oasis reforming and you’ve played a part in Stock Aitken Waterman reforming, congratulations

Chris Martin: What are you talking about?

Cameron Adams: Stock Aitken Waterman have reunited to remix the Christmas song you wrote for Kylie Minogue, Every Day’s Like Christmas

Chris Martin: Is this a joke?

Cameron Adams: Nope.

Chris Martin: I don’t think you’re being serious. Stock Aitken Waterman have remixed that Kylie song? No way! That’s great if it’s true!

Whilst it may have been news to Martin, the news of the Stock Aitken Waterman & Kylie reunion was fairly well publicised in TV, radio and press. Many UK newspapers ran articles on the project, whilst Stock and Waterman teamed up to carry out promotional duties for the release, including items on ITV News and Channel 5 News.

Aitken was unavailable for this promo, and fans would have to wait until 2016 to see all three together at the same time, when Mike, Matt and Pete were interviewed together in the Sky Arts Masters of Pop documentary. (They had also made another joint appearance on stage with Jason Donovan at the latter’s London gig in 2016).

All three apparently enjoyed the experience of reuniting for this project, and whilst they indicated that they’d be keen to work together again, they avoided making a firmer commitment as they did at the time of the SAW Gold release. (Stock and Waterman did of course reunite, but not Aitken).

As the official line goes, Stock Aitken Waterman would consider working together again if the right project came along, rather than on an ongoing basis. Of course, this makes sense; whilst all three are now in their 60s, they are pursuing their own interests inside and outside of music (Stock is the only member still actively writing and producing) and the music industry is a very different beast these days.

That said, many fans find the possibility of further collaboration hugely tantalising, and if SAW fans have learned anything over the past 30 years, never rule anything out when it comes to Mike, Matt and Pete!

In the meantime, we fans have a rich legacy of music to enjoy, and hopefully you have enjoyed this look back at the Christmas output of Stock Aitken Waterman.


Check back on 27 December 2017 for a special Kean Canter Mattowski Christmas treat: TWO new articles about EMI Records’ 1985 act Spelt Like This and their collaboration with SAW. One is my in-depth overview of the band’s time with SAW, whilst the second article is a lengthy and detailed first person account of the entire Spelt Like This story from the band’s lead singer and songwriter Alin Karna.

7 Days of SAWmas! #6: Send A Prayer (To Heaven) – Errol Brown

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 7 blogposts during December as we take a look back at some seasonal gems…

On the sixth day of SAWmas!, the DJ played to me…

Send A Prayer (To Heaven) – Errol Brown

1990 was a year of mixed fortunes for Stock Aitken Waterman. After enjoying their most successful year the previous year, 1990 saw Mike, Matt and Pete struggle to gain the same levels of attention and sales in a sea of new dance and indie acts. True, they had a very successful year by anyone else’s standards, but perhaps not by their own.

Established acts like Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Sonia and Big Fun gave SAW a healthy chart presence, but other worthy releases by new acts fared less well. So, no doubt hopes were high when SAW teamed up with the legendary Errol Brown at the end of 1990 for a Christmas single.

Brown rose to prominence as lead singer (and co-writer) of Hot Chocolate, the hugely successful 1970s and 1980s pop soul band, scoring hits with You Sexy Thing, So You Win Again and It Started With A Kiss. The band, originally produced by hitmaker Mickie Most, enjoyed a successful career into the mid-1980s.

Post Hot Chocolate, Brown commenced a solo career with WEA Records, scoring hits in 1987 with singles Personal Touch (produced by Tony Swain & Steve Jolley), and Body Rocking (produced by Richard James Burgess). However, his 1989 debut solo album That’s How Love Is and its accompanying single Love Goes Up and Down (produced by Paul Staveley O’Duffy) fared less well, and Brown parted ways with his record label.

By the time 1990 came around, it would seem that Brown had written Send A Prayer (To Heaven) and was on the lookout for a deal to issue the track with him as performer. Clearly, he landed at PWL Records, and given that no further collaborations between Brown and SAW were issued, it would appear this was a one-single deal.

Send A Prayer (To Heaven) was a diversion from Brown’s recognised style, musically and lyrically. His work with Hot Chocolate, not to mention his solo recordings, were predominantly soul and dance orientated, albeit very much in a pop vein. However, Send A Prayer (To Heaven) was very much a traditional MOR ballad, possibly leaning more towards a Cliff Richard-style Christmas hit than the funkier fare Brown was better known for. If anything, Brown’s songwriting (combined with SAW’s production) created a festive track that Cliff would have coveted for himself (although Cliff had no complaints in 1990, given that he got the Christmas number one with Saviour’s Day).

It appears that Brown was a man of faith, and this is clearly demonstrated in the song’s lyrics. Brown's lyrics are even more overtly religious than those of Saviour’s Day, with lines such as “Send a prayer to heaven and let heaven show its way” and “Send it to Heaven so His miracle we can reveal”. However, this does not detract from the wider message of Brown’s song, which asks us to look around us and see the injustice many people face. “For all those people still hungry on this day / All those people suffering their lives away” is the powerful opening line, whilst the second verse carries “For those on this day still in captivity / For the many others still fighting to be free”. Whilst the title may not sound very seasonal, the song carries repeated references to Christmas (and perhaps the absence of Christmas in the song title led people to regard this solely as a religious song).

Brown’s performance is faultless, and, perhaps given he wrote the song, one really feels that he believes every word he sings on this track. Brown is well complemented by fine backing vocals from Mae McKenna, Miriam Stockley and Mike Stock, with Lloyd Aaron also providing vocals on this release.

The arrangement is lovely; never did Stock Aitken Waterman sound so festive. Opening with mournful resonant synth pads, the track slowly builds up, adding subtle percussion, piano and strings. A dramatic middle eight is accompanied with dramatic sweeping strings and thumping timpani, then we reach a dramatic climax, where SAW throw in everything and the kitchen sink with jubilant chimes, soaring backing vocals. The track carries an extended coda, with harps, strings and a lovely bit of jazz organ.

Aside from Pete Hammond’s neat 7” mix, there was an extended version, The Full Monte Mix, which deviates from the standard SAW 12” template. There is no extended introduction with the various instrumentation building up; this mix instead opens with the single mix, with the extended material being located in the middle of the mix. This features an impressive orchestral interlude, created electronically by Stock and Aitken along with Ian Curnow, who is credited with providing additional keyboards. Curnow was (and is) a talented programmer and musician with a real knack for orchestral elements, and his involvement is no surprise. The Full Monte Mix is actually credited to Pete Hammond, Phil Harding and Ian Curnow; such crediting of multiple mix engineers would occur when two different mixes were combined into one, and one assumes that happened here.

The B-side carried a second original Christmas track, Family Christmas Time, which was a co-write between Brown and SAW. Arrangement wise, this is a rather more jolly affair, based around woodwind and piano; this deviation from the standard SAW sonic template again shows the diversity of its producers. The lyrics show Brown in contemplative mood, contrasting this happy Christmas with unhappier ones of years gone by. The lyrics appear to reflect Brown's own experiences of Christmas; at the time of release, a short item in Smash Hits saw Brown explain that he lost his parents at a young age and used to feel lonely at Christmas but that this changed when he married and had children. Mixed by Dave Ford, this track came in both 7” and extended versions.

The single was issued on 7”, 12”, cassette single and CD single (with the CD disc itself erroneously crediting the B-side as Family Christmas Tree!).

Radio 1’s Simon Bates gave the track its first radio play, saying that Pete Waterman had phoned to say he “had the Christmas number one”. Bates acknowledged that the track did indeed have the hallmarks of a Christmas hit, but as it was, Send A Prayer (To Heaven) could only make #83 on the UK Singles Chart.

There could be a number of reasons for this; it didn’t appear to get much radio play, there wasn’t much in the way of press promotion, and crucially, there doesn’t appear to have been a video to accompany the track. There is also an argument to say that the charts had moved towards dance and indie by the time this track came out; however, Cliff Richard managed to get the Christmas number one that year with Saviour’s Day, so there was clearly still a market for this kind of Christmas ballad. Which must have been galling for both Brown and SAW as Send A Prayer (To Heaven) was arguably a better song and production, coming across as a more genuine, heartfelt effort than Saviour’s Day.

Whether or not this chart placing boils down to the track not resonating with the public, it has to be said that SAW had experienced mixed fortunes in 1990 and the market had started to move away from them. As a result, their productions were receiving less coverage and airplay, so it may be that not enough people got to hear it.

A shame, as this is a well written, performed and produced Christmas track which, in other circumstances, would have become a staple of Yuletide playlists by now. The overt religious tone of the lyrics may not be to everyone’s taste but many would agree with their sentiment.

The track is available digitally as part of a single bundle which contains various mixes, instrumentals and backing tracks of both Send A Prayer (To Heaven) and Family Christmas Time.

For a long time, it appeared that this would be the last Christmas single from Mike, Matt and Pete, as Matt Aitken would leave the team partway through 1991, followed by Mike Stock’s departure in 1993. But the three producers would unexpectedly reunite in 2015 to provide a further Christmas track for one of their most famous artists…

7 Days of SAWmas! #4: When You Come Back To Me - Jason Donovan

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 7 blogposts during December as we take a look back at some seasonal gems…

On the fourth day of SAWmas, the DJ played for me…

When You Come Back To Me – Jason Donovan

1989 saw Mike, Matt and Pete dominate the charts with 7 number one singles, and a further 15 Top 40 hits. A significant part of this success was due to their collaboration with Jason Donovan, who followed Especially For You with two solo number ones (Too Many Broken Hearts, Sealed With A Kiss) and a number two hit (Every Day), and a number one debut album (Ten Good Reasons).

Jason and SAW would end such a successful year by making another attempt at a Christmas number one with the release of a new single - recorded in October 1989 - from his forthcoming second album.

When You Come Back To Me, written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, is an up-tempo number which manages to convey the Christmas spirit without making any explicit reference to the season.

Whilst it features the usual SAW hallmarks of synth brass and electronic percussion, it has a very seasonal feel to it; it's underpinned with timpani, swirling strings and prominent backing vocals, with chimes, tubular bells and timpani sprinkled on top. There's a nod to the time of year in the lyrics, with references to "so many people" with "smiles on their faces" and "armful of presents", and there being a "chill in the air". It's a tale of separated lovers, which of course resonates deeply in the Christmas season.

As with many SAW songs, the real strength lies in Mike Stock and Matt Aitken’s melody. The memorable chorus is euphoric, conflating Donovan’s hope of reunion with the hope that Christmas offers many, and Pete Hammond’s immaculate final 7” mix seals the deal that this is a bona fide hit record.

(The 2010 digital release of the When You Come Back To Me single bundle contains the Original 7” Mix, by Dave Ford; this mix dispenses with the distinctive brass found on the final 7” mix and is perhaps less energetic, but is actually more atmospheric and seasonal. It may lack the impact of the Hammond mix, but is an interesting take all the same).

In addition to the main single release, a second remix 7" was released featuring The Yuletide Sleigh List Mix -- this very much turned the track into a Christmas song; opening up with a spoken intro by Donovan, the track removes most of the frenetic percussion and synths which adorn the main version and replaces them by choral backing vocals, tinkly bells and plucked strings.

There were a number of various mixes of the track; the main Extended Version (mixed by Pete Hammond) is an atmospheric longer take on the 7” mix, with the elongated intro and outro showing off the various layers of the track. Dave Ford’s No Probs Mix takes the track into a dance direction, with Ford deploying an effective house approach, whilst the Guitar Instrumental Mix, also mixed by Ford, is a showcase for Matt Aitken as he plays the melody line on a classical guitar. The 2010 digital release contains a No Strings Mix, which was mixed by Ford and appears to be a slight variation on the Yuletide Sleigh List Mix, plus various instrumental and backing track versions.

When You Come Back To Me was fairly well received at the time, and is still fondly regarded by many even now. Perhaps just as memorable was the bright orange overcoat which Donovan wore in the video and on the single sleeve! The single sleeve, the design of which is actually credited to Donovan, also carries handwritten (and annotated) lyrics to the song, and given these appear to be written in two different sets of handwriting, it appears these were Stock and Aitken’s own original handwritten lyrics.

Given both Donovan and SAW's huge success in 1989, When You Come Back To Me would have likely been a Christmas number one -- had it not been for the rush-release of a particular charity single. However, that particular charity record did actually see both SAW and Donovan – and many others – reach number one on the 1989 Christmas charts…

Based upon and expanded from the entry in 80s UK Christmas Singles (available on Kindle)

7 Days of SAWmas! #3: The Christmas Medley – Stock Aitken Waterman

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…

7 Days of SAWmas! #2: Especially For You – Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan

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…

7 Days of SAWmas! #1: When I Fall In Love - Rick Astley

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 first day of SAWmas, the DJ played for me…

When I Fall In Love – Rick Astley

Although Mike, Matt and Pete had been operating as a trio since 1984, it wasn’t until 1987 that they made their first assault on the Christmas market, and, given that 1987 had been their most successful year yet, the ambitious producers set their sights on the Christmas number one.

1987 had seen SAW really start the move from trendy underground producers into mainstream pop hitmakers; big hits from Mel & Kim, Bananarama and Sinitta had made a huge impact, but arguably it was the success of Rick Astley which really proved that SAW had arrived.

Rick’s debut hit Never Gonna Give You Up was an instant classic and this reputation only continues to build with the passage of time, whilst the follow-up – a polished remake of O’Chi Brown’s Whenever You Need Somebody – further entrenched the 21-year-old from Newton-Le-Willows as a rising star.

So all eyes (and a few betting slips) were on Rick Astley when it was announced that he was releasing a cover version of When I Fall In Love as his third single in time for Christmas 1987.

The song itself, composed by Victor Young and Edward Heyman, was first recorded by Jeri Southern in 1952, and whilst many other singers have also recorded it, perhaps the best known and most loved recording is Nat King Cole’s. Whilst this version was recorded at Christmas 1956, it wasn’t issued until April 1957 and is not especially connected with Christmas.

The SAW-produced Rick Astley version was probably the first of the “faithful cover versions” that became a SAW staple; Mike, Matt and Pete would take an old song, give it to one of their artists and wrap it up in a modern take of the original arrangement. Yesterday’s Sound, Tomorrow’s Technology, if you like. Notable examples include Jason Donovan’s Sealed With A Kiss, Kylie Minogue’s Tears On My Pillow and Big Fun’s Hey There Lonely Girl, but Rick’s When I Fall In Love must be the pioneering example.

It’s a lush production, eschewing the then-emerging trademark SAW synth sound for a warm, string-led arrangement, which is actually credited to Gordon Jenkins (who was responsible for the string arrangement of the Nat King Cole Version). The synthesised strings are so effective (especially for 1987) that one could be forgiven for thinking they are real, and one senses the involvement of PWL’s Ian Curnow, who had joined the organisation that year and had been given the task of getting to grips with the Fairlight music computer. (Certainly, Curnow is credited on the Whenever You Need Somebody album sleeve as providing Fairlight programming on the SAW-produced tracks).

Rick performs the song effortlessly; clearly, his mellifluous voice suits the track, and has a similar tone to that of Nat King Cole, which probably inspired the song choice.

Whilst the song itself is not explicitly about Christmas, the warmth of the arrangement and production of Rick’s version (not to mention the opening’s similarities with the arrangement of Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song) creates a real connection with the Yuletide season. However, it’s the video which reinforces the seasonal feel, with Rick walking through the snow outside a log cabin.

It would be churlish to criticise such a classic song as When I Fall In Love, and certainly SAW created a typically polished version, but equally it is fair to say this is not the most exciting of SAW tracks. (For this listener, the real excitement was on the flipside, which contained a new SAW composition and production My Arms Keep Missing You, and would itself become the A side in the New Year of 1988). One wonders about the real appeal to SAW’s core audience of these “faithful cover versions”, and When I Fall In Love is no exception. But perhaps that’s just me, as it did reach number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.

So, what stopped it from getting to number one? Well, it was another old song which claimed that top spot that Yuletide, but a rather more contemporary take than Rick’s. Pet Shop Boys took the crown with their hi-NRG version of Always On My Mind, an old standard previously recorded by Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee and, most famously, by Elvis Presley. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe had, like Rick and SAW, enjoyed a successful 1987, and topped it off by turning a tender ballad into an explosive dancefloor extravaganza.

However, no matter how good the Pet Shop Boys track was, there is possibly a second reason why Rick failed to reach the top spot. At the same time as Rick’s version was climbing the charts, Nat King Cole’s version was re-released… by EMI Records. Which just happened to be the record company who owned Parlophone, the label who Pet Shop Boys were signed to. There are suggestions that this was a deliberate act to take away sales from Rick Astley, and therefore increase Pet Shop Boys’ chances on reaching number one. How true this alleged intention was is unknown, but as the Nat King Cole re-release hit number 4, there must have been some impact on Rick’s sales.

So, SAW’s first attempt at Christmas number one was ultimately unsuccessful, but number 2 ain’t such a bad result at all. As it was, SAW would make their second attempt at Christmas number one the following year, albeit an attempt which was effectively forced upon them…

Based upon and expanded from material originally published in 80s UK Christmas Singles (available on Kindle)

Ten SAW B-Sides I'd Have Made The A-Side! [Part 2]

So -- after an unplanned hiatus! -- here is the second part of my list of the 10 SAW B-sides which I would have made the A-side!

In case you missed part one, the criteria for the list is:

• Written (and/or co-written) by SAW
• Standalone tracks not belonging to an original artist album
• A full song with lyrics

So, without further ado, here's my Top 5!

5) Closer – Kylie Minogue
[B-side to Finer Feelings]

As Kylie Minogue approached the end of her tenure with PWL Records, she clearly had a growing influence on her material. Certainly, the whole Let’s Get To It album demonstrated this, even if the singles chosen to promote the album did not necessarily reflect this change in style. This new direction was probably more keenly felt in the B-sides of those singles; Say The Word – I’ll Be There (previously covered in part one of this article), the house-techno pastiche I Guess I Like It Like That, the storming Do You Dare?, and this track, the B-side to adult ballad Finer Feelings. Kicking off with a hypnotic metallic synth and heavy breathing, Closer sets out its stall from the outset – a spooky and sensual deep house track that takes Kylie and Stock & Waterman into new territory. The robust house beat and the vocal locs show a more mature, less tricksy approach to Stock’s arrangement than previously demonstrated, with an amazing squelching synth workout in the middle. Minogue’s vocals appear to have a filter applied in places, which adds to the trippy sense to proceedings.  But Stock (with Waterman and Minogue on co-writing duties) also takes an alternative approach with the song’s construction; it only has two verses (as opposed to the usual three), with the chorus tacked on to the end of each – with quite a gap between both of those verses. There is also no bridge as such (a key part of many SAW tracks). The lyrics have a pleasingly elliptical style to them, hinting towards the pleasure of sexual union (which actually complements the lyrics of the A-side), and these are of course reinforced by the heavy breathing which punctuates the track. Overall, it’s a refreshingly adult track in term of theme and sound; whilst there would be a year and two further PWL single releases before Minogue released the post-PWL Confide In Me, Closer actually indicates the mature stylised direction Minogue would take with her initial DeConstruction material. As much as I love and admire Finer Feelings, Closer was actually an utterly contemporary track that would have set a new course for both Minogue and Stock & Waterman – and arguably, the producers would have benefited more from such a re-evaluation at that time.



4) Never Knew Love Like This Before – Nancy Davis
[B-side to Higher And Higher]

Pizza-waitress turned karaoke-contest-winner turned pop-star Nancy Davis was a real missed opportunity for Stock & Waterman and PWL; her strong soulful voice and striking looks made her a real candidate for a new star for the 90s, and her debut track If You Belonged To Me was a strong classy house/pop crossover. However, when this track missed the top 40, her follow-up (and sadly, final release) took safer ground with a cover of Jackie Wilson’s Higher and Higher; whilst a joyful take on that classic, it took Davis away from the credible house/soul path and towards pure pop. The B-side was more interesting; again, more pop than house, but Never Knew Love Like This Before at least went some way into creating a new style that could be Davis’ own. The arrangement is a strange brew of both the 80s and 90s S(A)W sound; the house piano and brass base the track in 1992, whilst the vocal locs and incidental chime sounds hark back to the producer’s golden period. The elasticity of Stock’s melody allows Davis’ voice to shine, with her tackling the almost conversational lyrics, which present Davis telling the world how happy her new relationship has made her. One striking element of this track is that Mike Stock is on solo backing vocals here, and you can hear his isolated vocals just after the instrumental break. As with Say The Word – I’ll Be There, Stock cites this as another favourite B side, classing it as a bit of an experiment. And I guess that’s a good description. It sounds like Stock trying to forge a new pop sound for the 90s; if anything, he was a bit early – whilst this sound would have played better later in the decade, it didn’t really fit with the chart fare of 1992. As such, I’m not sure Never Knew Love Like This Before would have been a hit at that time, but, as per the challenge I set myself with this article, I’d have chosen this as the A-side over Higher And Higher.

3) Made In Heaven – Kylie Minogue
[B-side to Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi]

You might say this is a slight cheat, as Made In Heaven was originally intended as a double A-side single with Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi. This French-styled classic track was the fourth single from the massive Kylie album, so there many have been concerns over its chart performance given that so many people already owned it on the album and that is why new track Made In Heaven was appended to the release. As it was, Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi was another smash hit, peaking at #2 in the UK Singles Chart – and as a result, the single was never “flipped” to make Made In Heaven the A-side. A great pity, cos this one’s a little gem that deserves to be better known. Heavy on plucked strings and luscious synth pads, this tale of a girl building up to a first kiss is brought alive by an irresistible melody. The verses and bridge are exquisite enough, but that chorus just knocks it out of the park. It just shows the confidence and the winning streak of SAW at that point that such a belter of a pop track could be consigned to the flipside of another bona fide hit. Most SAW fans will know this one, but well worth checking out if you don’t.



2) You Changed My Life – Mel & Kim
[B-side of That’s The Way It Is]

Back in 1988, there was a lot of anticipation regarding a second Mel & Kim album. Whilst there was talk of recording taking place with other producers (notably Prince alumni David Z), further recording with SAW was anticipated. Alas, Mel Appleby tragically lost her fight against cancer and the full potential of Mel & Kim was never realised. The only tantalising glimpses of that second album were the hit single, the bold, classy That’s The Way It Is, and its B-side, You Changed My Life. A co-write between SAW and the Appleby sisters, You Changed My Life is a full-on pop frenzy, yet still possessing the cool dance edge of previous material. The chorus is solid gold A-side material, whilst the verses are perhaps even better, with an intoxicating melody, moody synths and winning vocals. Lots of lovely incidental synth sounds make this a proposition that’s hard to turn down. It appears there are two mixes of this track; the sparse, funky version that was actually the B-side, and a warmer, poppier version that features on the 2010 Cherry Red Deluxe Edition of the FLM album.



And in pole position is…


1) She’s In Love With You – Jason Donovan
[B-side to Happy Together]

In many ways, this track was the last hurrah for Donovan’s work with the original SAW team; it featured on the B-side of the Stock & Waterman-produced Happy Together, which was Donovan’s final single release on PWL Records.  As good as the A-side was (a lovingly created take on The Turtles classic), few knew of the absolute belter that lay hidden on its B-side. You could almost class She’s In Love With You as the definitive Jason SAW track; it kicks off with a cracking electric guitar riff (a la Too Many Broken Hearts); it features soaring strings which evoke the emotion of Jason’s tale of thwarted love (“No matter what I planned / She never let me hold her hand”), and it has The Chorus To End All Choruses. Seriously, this chorus is WASTED on a B-side but then it’s so amazing that had the track been an A-side, it would have punched a hole through the universe. I can’t really find the words to describe how catchy the chorus is, but of particular note are the three last lines – “There’s nothing more to say / I’m gonna walk away / And live to love another day” – which are delivered in a breathless rhyming triplet and is yet further proof if any were needed) of Mike and Matt’s songwriting skills. It is a crime that this track was not an A-side; okay, I get that it was a nod back to Jason’s 1989 sound and may not have been deemed as truly contemporary in 1991, but this is a solid gold 24 carat pop smash that never got the chance to prove it.



+++++

Again, I stress this is my personal list and that, crucially, it is not necessarily a list of the best or my favourite B-sides -- this is a list of B-sides that I would have swapped with the A-side track for single release.

I'll be exploring the other SAW B-sides in a future article, as there are some fascinating tracks included in that canon.