Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman were a musical powerhouse from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s - although that’s not to say they stopped working then, nor hat their influence is confined to decades past.
Today, a blue plaque is being unveiled at the Vine Yard Studios in Borough, south London, which the trio built in 1985. It became dubbed The Hit Factory as Stock Aitken and Waterman-produced tunes began to take up residence in the upper echelons of the UK charts.
Bananarama, Cliff Richard and Donna Summer all saw success with SAW, but what people mostly remember from that era is the powerhour pop of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Sonia, Hazell Dean, Rick Astley, Brother Beyond, Sabrina, Big Fun, Sinitta, Samantha Fox - and even Roland Rat and the England football team, whose ill-fated 1988 Euros tournament was soundtracked by a SAW song, All the Way.
SAW is one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time, with more than 100 UK Top 40 hits to their name. It’s thought the songs have earned about £60m in royalties.
1. Rick Astley
Well before he became a national treasure, long before Rickrolling was a thing, Rick Astley was a slightly annoying mega-lunged youngster. Never Gonna Give You Up was a number one on both sides of the Atlantic. Here Astley is performing at the BPI Awards in 1986 | Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
2. Kylie Minogue
Possibly THE archetypal SAW signing. Few few would have predicted Kylie's longevity - nor her assuming a position of cool tastemaker towards the end of the 1990s - when she jumped from Neighbours soap stardom to pop. The big permed hair bounced and bounced as she took up almost permanent residence in the UK top 10, starting with I Should Be So Lucky, then the Locomotion, Hands on Your Heart and Tears on My Pillow. | Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
3. Kylie and Jason
Cashing in on their on-screen marriage in Neighbours, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan also provided SAW with a huge and rather soppy hit, Especially For You. Released at Christmas in 1988, it was at number two for four weeks and number one for three weeks - and remains SAW's biggest-selling hit | - Photo: -
4. Sonia
Pint-sized bubbly Scouser Sonia Evans was signed up by Peter Waterman, and scored a debut number one with You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You in 1989. She'd go on to be the first female artist to have five top 20 hit singles, coming second with Better the Devil You Know. Here she is performing at the Smash Hits Awards in 1989 | Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images