I was commissioned by Simon Cowell of Fanfare Records to produce a
2-hour radio show to tie in with the release of Hit Factory 2 (to which
I also wrote the liner notes). It would then be syndicated to
Independent Local Radio as a sort of 2 hour "infomercial". I did all the
research and interviews, and wrote and produced the programme. Veteran
DJ Alan Freeman was brought in to present.
The first hour began with Freeman doing a Top 20 rundown, featuring the
Top 20 hits of SAW at that time (Winter 1988). Then there was the story
of how Matt, Mike and Pete met, and interviews with Bananarama, Mel &
Kim and Rick Astley.
The second hour had interviews with Matt, Mike and Pete, Sinitta, Hazell
Dean, Jason, Sabrina, Brother Beyond, Pat & Mick and Kylie. There was
also (rather bizarrely for a radio show) a tour by Pete Waterman of PWL
studios.
Although I had been a DJ on Radio Caroline, and had written several
articles on SAW and their artists for Record Mirror, "The Hit Factory"
was my first radio programme as a producer, and there were some problems
with the sound/technical aspect of the SAW interviews (I didn't mike
them individually so Pete dominated the sound, making Matt and Mike too
quiet!) The show was re-produced and re-edited by someone else and I'm
not sure what happened to it after that.
I really, really enjoyed doing the show, and was, of course, rather
disillusioned when it was taken from me and re-worked because of the
sound problem. I never heard the re-worked version, nor do I even know
if the show ever actually aired, where or when.
And so there's good news and bad news regarding my original programme.
The good news is that I found my original recording, the bad news is
that it is only the second hour of the show. Goodness knows where the
other tape is - I've moved many times since 1988 (including Continents!)
so it could be anywhere. However, the second hour is substantial, and I
hope entertaining, enough to provide lots of info for the SAW fan.
Enjoy!
