Stock Aitken Waterman’s 15 greatest songs, ranked
18 December 2025, 11:16
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They were called 'The Hit Factory' for good reason.
In fact, the powerhouse pop production trio of Stock Aitken Waterman helped define what a hit factory even meant.
When Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman banded together, they went on to achieve pop chart domination – three heads are evidently better than one.
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As verified by the Guinness World Records, they've sold over 500 million units worldwide which makes them one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships in the history of popular music.
No mean feat, especially when you consider that they launched the careers of countless icons we've known and loved for many years.
Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Mel & Kim, and Dead Or Alive were all propelled to chart success by the trio.
With their trademark sound which combined Eurobeat and hi-NRG production with pop-timistic lyrics, even established stars like Cliff Richard and Donna Summer wanted to work with them – and Paul McCartney of all people.
Between the years of 1985 and 1993, their glory years, Stock Aitken Waterman scored thirteen No.1 singles on the UK charts, having at least one record in the top 100 every week between 1986 and 1990.
So why were they so good? Here's the evidence with the 15 best Stock Aitken Waterman songs, ranked.
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Pepsi & Shirlie – ‘Heartache’
Pepsi and Shirlie - Heartache (Official Video)
Pepsi & Shirlie are mostly known for dancing behind George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley during the days when they accompanied Wham!.
But after the pop idols split, Pepsi & Shirlie pursued their own careers in music thanks to Stock Aitken Waterman who took the girls under their wings.
With soulful synth-pop bop 'Heartache' in 1987, Pepsi & Shirlie scored a No.2 hit in the UK charts – though their success waned with subsequent releases.
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Cliff Richard – 'Just Don't Have The Heart'
Cliff Richard - I Just Don't Have The Heart (Official Video)
After bumping into the trio at an industry lunch, Cliff claimed he admired Stock Aitken Waterman and wanted to work with them. The result of which was 1989 single 'I Just Don't Have The Heart'.
The dance-pop number showed Cliff at his energetic best, taking a confident stride into the present.
Peaking at No.3 in the UK charts, Cliff himself wasn't convinced it'd be a hit so sought the advice of his milkman, which was the case with the majority of his single releases.
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Sonia – ‘You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You’
Sonia - You'll Never Stop Me Loving You (Official HD Video)
Scouse teen pop sensation Sonia stormed the charts in 1989 with the release of No.1 smash hit 'You'll Never Stop Me Loving You', the perfect mix of cutesy image, cheesy lyrics and upbeat pop beats.
The industrious young singer snatched her chance to perform in front of Waterman at a radio road show in Liverpool, who took a punt on Sonia and transformed her into a bonafide star.
She became the first female artist to score five top 20 singles from the same album, with her 1990 debut full-length Everybody Knows.
Sonia went on to perform at Eurovision in 1993 where she finished as the runner-up in second place.
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Rick Astley – ‘Together Forever’
Rick Astley - Together Forever (Official Video) [4K Remaster]
The man, the quiff, the legend that is Rick Astley was also a product of the Stock Aitken Waterman conveyor belt of pop stars.
After the success of his smash debut hit (you know the one), the songwriting producers wanted to solidify Astley's pop presence as a lovely loyal lad with the voice to match that would never do a woman any harm.
"What else is there [on the album] that really does compare? We thought we needed 'Together Forever' to get home to people what Rick could be."
The general public loved it, with 'Together Forever' peaking at number two in the UK charts and going one better in the US by reaching the coveted top spot.
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Donna Summer – ‘This Time I Know It’s For Real'
Donna Summer - This Time I Know It's For Real (Official HD Music Video)
Renowned as the 'Queen Of Disco', Donna Summer's songs were more often than not sexually charged. But not 'This Time I Know It's For Real'.
Summer had clearly changed tack over the five years she was without a mega hit, so by 1989 she'd write about her more hopeful stance on love.
To hammer her wholesome sentiment home, she enlisted Stock Aitken Waterman as co-songwriters and producers to provide 'This Time I Know It's For Real' with a contemporary edge.
Reaching No.3 in the UK charts, the song that shouts loud about the love of her life became Summer's final charting song in the US too.
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Samantha Fox – ‘Nothing’s Going To Stop Me Now’
Samantha Fox - Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now (Official 4K Video)
After her days as Britain's ultimate sex symbol occupying the newspaper's Page 3, Samantha Fox pursued a career in music, and achieved considerable success.
Her raunchy debut album made waves on charts both at home and abroad, so Fox dialled down the sexiness for sassiness on her self-titled 1987 follow-up album, getting Stock Aitken Waterman to produce.
The album's first single 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now' was a fierce, fist-pumping anthem about chasing your dreams.
Unfortunately for Samantha, it was the third and final time she'd achieved a Top 10 chart hit.
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Hazell Dean – 'Who's Leaving Who'
Hazell Dean - Who's Leaving Who • TopPop
Originally recorded by Canadian country singer Anne Murray in 1986, 'Who's Leaving Who' was transformed into a hit song for Hazell Dean in 1988, by (you guessed it) Stock Aitken Waterman.
Dean was already a reputable pop singer by that point, previously achieving hit singles with the likes of 'Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)' and 'Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go).
'Who's Leaving Who' blew those out of the water though, as it peaked at number four in the UK.
She was effusive in her praise about the 'Hit Factory' producers, telling Melody Maker: "They're just down-to-earth blokes and bloody good musicians making good records which I personally think will last."
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Mel & Kim – ‘Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend)’
Mel & Kim - Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend) • TopPop
Mel & Kim truly burst onto the pop scene with 'Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend)' in 1986, becoming the hottest duo in British pop.
Stock Aitken Waterman saw potential in the pair, and were influenced by the Chicago garage house sound when writing for Mel & Kim.
"It became very clear that the tracks were being written around us, for us, and they were feeding off us," Kim Appleby later said.
After cancelling their first single 'System' and replacing it with 'Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend)' which was more reflective of their personalities, Stock Aitken Waterman ensured Mel & Kim blew up after the song reached No.3 in the UK charts.
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Kylie Minogue – ‘I Should Be So Lucky’
Kylie Minogue - I Should Be So Lucky (Official Video 1987) [16:9 Full HD]
From soap starlet to pop princess: this was the song that started it all for Kylie Minogue.
After rising to fame as Charlene Robinson on legendary Aussie soap Neighbours, Stock Aitken Waterman helped rocket Kylie to the top of the charts.
Her debut single 'I Should Be So Lucky' ensured she got off to a racing start, almost as fast as the 'Hit Factory' wrote the song for her – it was reportedly penned in 10 minutes, and recorded just 2 hours later. That was because they'd forgot Kylie was in town to record, and hadn't prepared a song for her whilst she sat in the recording studio's reception.
Still, it was huge hit, reaching No.1 in the UK and numerous countries around Europe.
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Bananarama – ‘Venus'
Bananarama - Venus (Official Video)
Bananarama had a relationship with 'Venus' long before they topped the charts with the song, with the help of Stock Aitken Waterman, of course.
They used to perform the song (by Dutch hippie rock band Shocking Blue) when they formed in 1979, but wanted to prioritise original material so people would take them seriously.
Once they'd become one of the country's biggest acts, they turned to Stock Aitken Waterman to help make 'Venus' a hit – and they did.
'Venus' reached No.1 in the US in 1986, just like Shocking Blue did back in 1969. Oddly enough, both band's versions of 'Venus' coincidentally only peaked at No.8 in the UK.
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Mel & Kim – 'Respectable'
Mel & Kim - Respectable (Official Video), Full HD (Digitally Remastered and Upscaled)
Mel & Kim were never keen to be 'Respectable' as their chart-topping anthem about independence and rebellion states emphatically.
The former models, who were discovered by Stock Aitken Waterman, ended up being figureheads for the production house.
Pete Waterman later revealed: "'Respectable' became an anthem, not just for them and their image, but also for the company itself. The lyrics came from an ad we took out in the trade press that used the lines, 'You can love or hate us, you ain't gonna change us we ain't ever going to be respectable.'"
'Respectable' was the first No.1 hit Stock Aitken Waterman both wrote and produced, becoming the first of many.
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Kylie Minogue – ‘Better The Devil You Know’
Kylie Minogue - Better The Devil You Know (Official Remastered HD Video)
By 1990, Kylie Minogue's career had skyrocketed, and she was on the hunt for a mature new sound which Stock Aitken Waterman weren't providing for her as they didn't want to mess with a winning formula.
After she met producers in LA however, the 'Hit Factory' penned 'Better The Devil You Know' in retaliation.
Kylie's longtime manager Terry Blamey revealed that courting other producers threatened Stock Aitken Waterman and made them up their game, saying in 2023: "It was a very successful strategy. They really knuckled down and wrote amazing songs on that album."
Case and point with 'Better The Devil You Know' which was a commercial and critical success, peaking at No.2 in the UK charts. It's still widely considered as one of Kylie's greatest songs.
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Dead Or Alive – 'You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)'
Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (Official Video)
Wow. Where do you start with Dead Or Alive's era-defining, dancefloor-filling 'You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)'?
It was also the starting point for Stock Aitken Waterman, at least in terms of genuine chart success, after it reached the top of the UK charts in 1985.
Inspired by Luther Vandross, outlandish singer Pete Burns wrote the song, and after hearing their handiwork on Hazell Dean's 'Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)' reached out to Stock Aitken Waterman about producing.
Clashing personalities created "quite a bad vibe" during production according to Burns however, who called it "a time of intense friction". No pain, no gain.
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Rick Astley – 'Never Gonna Give You Up'
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)
There's one thing that Rick Astley will never do: he's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'.
It's a pop hit that's taken on many lives over the course of it's near-40 year history, be it internet trends or featuring in numerous kids films like Happy Feet Two and The Angry Birds Movie. It's all thanks to Stock Aitken Waterman.
The velvet voiced pop crooner worked with the producers making teas and tidying until it was his time to shine in the recording studio – and oh boy did he shine.
Inspired by a shaky relationship Pete Waterman was in for three years, 'Never Gonna Give You Up' became the biggest-selling single of 1987 and established Rick Astley as a superstar.
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Jason Donovan & Kylie Minogue – 'Especially For You’
Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan - Especially For You (Official HD Video)
It was a song that put together the on-screen romance of Neighbours' favourite couple Charlene Mitchell and Scott Robinson, and turned it into pop chart domination.
Classic pop duet 'Especially For You' would become Stock Aitken Waterman's biggest ever selling single.
Due to the public's fascination with Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan (who were dating in real life too), Stock Aitken Waterman wrote the duet in 1988 to give people what they wanted, despite previously suggesting that wouldn't be the case.
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Pete Waterman later revealed: "Because we were working with both Kylie and Jason, who were romantically linked, there was inevitably a feeling amongst the public that we'd have them do a romantic duet together. We'd known from the beginning that they were going out, but the idea seemed a sickly proposition."
Charlene and Scott's on-screen marriage was one of the most watched moments in soap history. Waterman changed his mind knowing that they could create a cultural phenomenon by releasing a duet between the two starlets at the same time as the episode aired.
'Especially For You' was sweet and schmaltzy, but after reaching the top spot in the UK charts, etched (then) star-kissed couple Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan into the hearts of millions.
