Song 154 - Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley

I feel as though  I am going through the tapes I had as a kid as today's Stock,  Aitken & Waterman's (SAW) is the unforgettable Rick Astley with  Never gonna give you up. First noticed by Pete Waterman in 1985, when he took over as lead vocalist of his band FBI, he would eventually signed to the PWL record label along with the rest of his band.

Never gonna give you up was released from Astley's debut album, Whenever you need somebody, in August 1987 and was number one in the UK for five weeks making it the best selling single of 1987. The success in the UK was followed up throughout the world, as it reach the top of the charts in 25 different countries, including the United States and West Germany. Its success led to Astley winning a Brit Award for Best British Single. 

Due to the phenomenal success of his debut single, it is easy to forget about the other singles that came off his debut album, which was released in November 1987. In total Whenever you need somebody contained 5 hit singles that reached a top ten position in the country's chart they were released in. His fourth single Together Forever  helped gained him a Grammy nomination in 1989 for Best New Act, which he lost out to Tracy Chapman. 

You are probably asking yourself why is she telling me all this? My answer is I think acts belonging to SAW are given a certain label and almost sneered at by some music elite, where, although I probably do have my own musical scale worked out to my own taste, it is really important to recognise every genre and the role it has in the overall makeup of the music scene. In the first six months of his career, Astley never left the UK chart, which is no mean feet. 

I was a big Rick Astley fan and I do remember reading listening to interviews with Astley at the time of his second album when he felt he was struggling to emerge from the image of being a SAW creation even though he was writing his own material after the success of his first album. His portrayal in the British Press probably helped his decision to leave the SAW machine in 1990.  The media didn't want Astley to move away from his boy next door image, but Astley did, and in 1993, he  took a decade out to look after his family. In 2002, Astley returned with a new album and has continued to record and release material since then.

Astley will never escape the success of Never Gonna give you up and I hope that no matter how far his journey in music takes him, he will always be proud of his musical roots as for many people who grew up during the late 1980s, his biggest song will always have a place in our musical memories.

Hear an absolute classic:

Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley

Written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman

Released: August 1997

Album: Whenever you need someone

Song 152 - Kylie by Kylie Minogue

This week has been a bit of a muddle with the blog, as although I had tried to schedule posts, there has been a technical issue my end and it hasn't worked! My apologises for this, but lets get back to the music and I am going to jump straight into the 1980s and start with Stock, Aitken and  Waterman's acts. Although there are many iconic acts who signed with SAW in the 1980s, for me, I have to start with  Kylie Minogue, as I was a huge fan of Kylie when she first appeared in Neighbours and the British Charts. To give you an idea of how big a fan I was, I was a member of her fan club, posters all around my walls and I think I watched the Neighbours' episode, when Scott and Charlene married, about 100 times. I had taped it for my sister, who was on a cruise when it was broadcast.

Kylie's relationship with Britain and the pop scene exploded in 1986, when the BBC started showing the Australian soap, Neighbours, in the tea-time slot. Kylie was cast as Charlene Mitchell, who's on/off off love affair with Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan), gripped fans all over the world. When the online characters eventually married, there were 20 millions viewers in the UK alone watching Neighbours. Due to the fame of Neighbours,  Kylie had the opportunity to perform The Loco-motion by Little Eva at a Fitzroy Football benefit Concert. Off the back of one performance, Kylie was signed to Mushroom Records. The song was released in Australia and became the highest selling single of the 1980s in Australia. Due to the success, Kylie travelled to London to work with SAW, who knew very little about her and even forgot she was coming to record in their studio. When they did remember, Kylie recorded I should be so lucky in less than an hour. 

I should be so lucky was released in December 1987 in the UK, charting at number 90 but after 3 weeks, reached Number 1 and stayed there for five weeks. The single was certified Gold in the UK and became an instant hit around the world. The video of the song is as iconic as the song, with one scene of Kylie in the bath blowing bubbles.

Due to the success of her first hit, SAW never forgot about their Australian star again and Mike Stock went across to Melbourne to apologise to Kylie and record the second song Got to be so Certain. His words to Kylie must have been successful as she returned to record her debut album in early 1988 in London. 

Kylie was released in the UK in July 1988, and after 7 weeks in the album chart, it eventually reached the number 1 slot and remain there for 4 weeks. It was the biggest selling album of 1988, and by the start of 1989, it had been certified six times platinum. In the UK, Kylie became the first female singer to have their debut album sell in excess of 2 million copies in the UK (at that time). Avril Lavigne would beat the record in 2003.

For me, this album reminds me of friendship and a period in my life before everything changed and a certain innocent of childhood would be lost for ever. Kylie is an artist which I will happily listen to now and although at the time, I remember my Dad moaning about the bubble-gum pop music that I was listening to, the beats of Kylie's early work make up my own music footprint of life.

Listen to Kylie's first album here:

Kylie by Kylie Minogue

Written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, with the exception of The Loco-motion which was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.

Released: 1988