LOVE THE 80’s: ‘PWL Extended Big Hits and Surprises’

It’s Stock Aitken Waterman extended with some rare recordings!

There have been a number of greatest hits packages from Stock Aitken Waterman over the years, but now, for the first time, we are being treated to a collection of 12inches, extended versions and songs that have not seen the light of day for over 35 years. This is a very much different compilation than the ones we have been used to. True, many of their greatest hits are here, “I Should Be So Lucky“, “Never Gonna Give You Up“, to name the two biggies outright, but what is fascinating are the songs that perhaps had been forgotten and now been dusted off for an airing for the very first time.

And that begins with their first effort, “The Upstroke”, from the group Agent’s Aren’t Aeroplanes – remember this from the Stock Aitken Waterman documentary recently? – it’s the one with the cover that looked like Frankie Goes To Hollywood. For the first time in more than 40 years, “The Upstroke” has been dusted off, in extended form, and opens this 26 track collection. PWL mixer Phil Harding is prolific here and he contributes mixes of The Blow Monkey‘s and forgotten duo Shooting Party early on, which are slipped in between Rick, Kylie and Sam Fox‘s big top ten hit from 1987, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now”. Carol Hitchcock featured on the first best of “The Hit Factory” album of 1987 and she’s back, also in extended form with her cover of “Get Ready“.

Another rare SAW/PWL song was Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s 1988 comeback single “Success”, which made the UK top 40 in the Autumn of that year. The song is featured here as a 12″ along with Jason’s debut single “Nothing Can Divide Us” from a few weeks earlier in 88 and Kylie’s first new single of 1989, “Hand On Your Heart” – hand hand, hand hand hand, etc…! Sonia‘s debut chart topper from 1989, “You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You” is present with an eight minute extended version as is the Mad March Hare Mix of Kylie’s greatest, “Better The Devil You Know” – one not to miss! Other SAW artists from Hazell Dean, Princess and Yell’s Paul Varney are also included as the album also slips into the 1990’s with Lonnie Gordon‘s smash “Happenin’ All Over Again” and Sybil’s “The Love I Lost“.

Remember the Neighbours twins Gail and Gillian? They recorded “All Mixed Up” with the studio in 1991 and although it was not a hit, the 12″ version of the single makes it here for the first time in 32 years. The album closes with two more chart floppers, all girl group Boy Krazy and Delage giving a showing along with the boys’ own “SS Paparazzi”, the follow up to their critically acclaimed single “Roadblock”, which is also here in extended form. There’s no Bananarama, Sinitta, Dead Or Alive or Donna Summer here, but perhaps they are being saved for another collection in the future(!) “PWL Extended Big Hits and Surprises” is offered in CD and LP form and is a must for any Stock Aitken Waterman fan to add to their collection, if only for the tracks that no one bought first time around or the ones you haven’t heard for decades.

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