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40th Anniversary Audio Special - Insider's story of ‘The Hit Factory’, Stock Aitken Waterman & their base, PWL Studios - told by their chief mix-engineer, Phil Harding - who talks through their 1984-91 ‘rise & fall’ & plays key audio clips...

PWL Studios also worked on many other dance & pop hits (e.g. Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Five Star) beyond the output of Stock Aitken Waterman (e.g. Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Dead Or Alive, Bananarama), & was Pete Waterman's vision of a 'British Motown'. Using many pioneering techniques still used now via today's technology, PWL ‘The Hit Factory’ was one of the most fast-paced & successful music studios of all time...

This Audio Special ties in with Phil Harding's acclaimed book ‘PWL From The Factory Floor’... 2024 sees the continued success of the recently-launched SAW-Hits Musical (as seen on BBC Children In Need) and the 40th Anniversary of SAW's very first hits in 1984, spotted & championed from the start as stand-out by John Peel of BBC Radio 1...

Phil Harding moved on from PWL to produce a long list of hits for artists such as East 17 (e.g. Xmas No.1 ‘Stay Another Day’), Boyzone (No.1 ‘Words’), Let Loose, 911 and Deuce - all in partnership with long-standing collaborator & former PWL teammate, Ian Curnow...

Programme created by John Paul Palmer | Voice recording by Marc Mason | Special thanks to GEN X Radio.