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MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS, 1 JUNE 1998
THE HITMAN
Eighties starmaker Pete Waterman is back with a host of new talent.
HE may have built a multi-million pound personal fortune from hitting
the right note in the pop business but hitman Pete Waterman admits he
still gets nervous when plays his songs to people for the first time.
He has been behind an astonishing 165 hits as songwriter or producer but still
gets goosebumps when that old midas touch strikes gold and another chart-topper
rolls off the hitman's production line.
"I'm the luckiest man alive and I'm living in my own Walt Disney World," declares the
pop-picking train enthusiast, who is behind a strong of new chart-busting
stars. "But I still get terrified when I have to play someone one of my songs
for the first time. It's because I am more passionate about my music than
anything else. Pop music is not a matter of life or death - it is far more
important than that."
Important, yes. But Pete is convinced his success is because he realised early on
that, at its root, a pop record is entertainment - a three minute interlude in the
listener's life which is not intended to change the world or bring down governments. So he
writes songs about life's biggest common denominator; love.
He says: "I have said 'I Love You' 161 times and 'I Hate You' about four times. Life
is depressing enough without it dominating records too."
HIS philosophy, love it or loathe it, has served the hitman well. He lives
more than confortably in a mansion in the Cheshire countryside and chooses to
relax by fishing in his own lake or riding aboard a steam train belonging
to the railway company he also owns. Life's been good to our Pete.
Good indeed, and if recent pop success is any measure, things are about to
get even better. While the foundations of Pete's PWL empire were laid in the
eighties when a string of hits from the likes of Rick Astley, Mel and Kim,
Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and then 2 Unlimited bulged his company's coffers
and reputation to bursting point, his return with a new pool of pop talent in 1998
is shaping up to be even more lucrative. Among those who have helped
re-establish the profile of PWL as hitmakers are the new band Steps, whose
first couple of singles have already sold millions worldwide.
It was also the hitman's influence which helped secure Hollyoaks heart-throb Will Mellor a
lucrative record deal - a gamble which has paid off handsomely with a No 5 hit already
under Will's belt and his second single play-listed by Radio 1.
His latest "signing" is that one-time Newton-le-Willows superstar Rick Astley.
Pete is convinced Rick is about to make a comeback and re-establish his
reputation as one of the UK's finest pop singers.
He says: "I just bumped into Rick in the street the other day and he said 'have
a listen to this'. He played me some of his new stuff and it's great. We're getting
it back together again. As a singer, he is looking stronger than ever."
THE cynics, who blamed Pete for almost every pop and fashion disaster
is the eighties and gleefully scribbled obituaries when he seemed to disappear
from our lives as we turned the corner into the last decade of the century,
are wriggling nerviously. Waterman always has the last laugh.
While his 12 "phenomenal years" would be difficult to replicate, Pete
is already hard at work reshaping is recording empire on two sites - in London
and Manchester - and sharpening his pop armoury ready for a new assault on the nation.
His latest weapon comes in the form of teenage sensation Jeremy "Jez" Medcalf - winner
of the last M.E.N. Search For A Superstar Contest.
Pete says: "This kid is one of the most outstanding new talents I've heard
in 10 years. Just wait and see how big he'll be."
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