STOCK, Aitken and Waterman, the world’s most successful songwriter-producer partnership, are reuniting to manufacture a new attempt for pop dominance.

The team that launched the careers of Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley notched up 150 hit singles and sold 35 million records with a simple formula of high-energy pop in the late 1980s. But critics dismissed them as “pop Antichrists” who flooded the charts with a production line of dummies mouthing anodyne melodies. Like all the most successful songwriting partnerships the Stock, Aitken and Waterman story ended in rancour and a High Court battle over royalties. But differences have been resolved and Pete Waterman will join Mike Stock and Matt Aitken in the studio this week for their first session in 14 years.

Can they reclaim their crown in a world of iPods and chart-topping Arctic Monkeys? “We won’t know until we try what is between us,” said Waterman, the Pop Idol judge who has earned £45 million from his musical endeavours.

DJ Waterman joined forces with his two colleagues in 1984 and first reached number one a year later with Dead or Alive’s You Spin Me Round. Their formula of dance beats, Motown-style melodies and malleable singers, often plucked from teen soaps, raked in the nation’s pocket money.

During 1989 their records accounted for 28 per cent of the total sales of the British music industry as established names, including Donna Summer and Cliff Richard, sought the “Hit Factory” magic touch. Shows such as X Factor and Pop Idol are inspired by the team’s philosophy — that anyone can be a star if moulded in the right way.

“People seem to be more honest now, saying they love the songs,” Waterman told Music Week. “We realised there is a legacy there.” Record companies are queuing up to offer wannabe pop idols to the team. The new SAW sound “won’t suddenly be hip-hop or thrash metal”, Waterman said. “If being stuck in a timen warp means selling 30 million records again, I won’t mind.”

Stock and Aitken sued Waterman in 1999 claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost earnings after alleging that he unilaterally sold the rights to their biggest hits. The court was told that Stock and Aitken were largely responsible for production and songwriting duties while Waterman took care of business matters and was the public face of the team. The case was thrown out, leaving Stock facing bankruptcy.

THE FLOPS

The Reynolds Girls Retread of Mel & Kim formula stalls after one single. Left SAW to set up own label. 150,000 sales

Boy Krazy All-girl group did not repeat boyband Big Fun’s success. Album sold 60,000 copies in Japan

Sigue Sigue Sputnik Single Success was only failure in SAW’s golden year of 1988. 20,000 sales

See also: Remember Sonia, Sinitta, Jason Donovan, Roland Rat?

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