NUMBER ONE SUMMER SPECIAL 1990

'Hitman is just a name ... like Shakespeare!'

PETE WATERMAN

Jaqui Carter didn't but still got an earful ...

Where did the term 'Hitman' come from?

Originally it was a radio charachter I dreamt up. The boss at Radio City in Liverpool always reffered to me as 'The Hitman' and he gave me a show on a Saturday morning. I came home one night and it was just before night-time television started and I thought Christ, why don't they have a show that starts at two 'o' clock live from a club. Just let the music speak for itself.

Do you feel that you've earned the title 'Hitman'?

I don't think anybody deserves the title 'Hitman'. It's just a name ... Like Shakespeare. I don't take it seriously. I'm proud that I can spot talent. My hobby has been spotting hit records and it earns me a fortune.

When was your first true success?

I'm still not happy. We havn't got where we wan't to go yet. I feel successful, but it's not a five minute race - success is a race for the rest of your life. Too many people have one hit and think they're successful. We've had lots and still don't think we're successful.

Do you work with people for the money?

We've never worked with anybody for the money. We've never made a record for money. We work with people 'cos we want to do it. And we'd rather work with young people than established artists. Established artists on the whole, are very difficult to work with 'cos they're set in their ways and not always in touch with reality.

Who would you dearly love to produce?

Paul McCartney. He's still our hero. Both Mike Stock and I are dotty on Beatle's songs and he is, in my eyes, the greatest songwriter of all time. But he's lost a discipline and I would love to see what would happen if somebody stood up and said "That's a pile of crap!" I'm sure that Lennon and Epstein used to be those people, I mean, Lennon argued. I think now, because he is who he is, everyone says "That's wonderful Paul".

Is there anything of McCartney's in particular, that you think is crap?

No there isn't. I just don't think that some of the stuff he's done is as good as some of the stuff he could have done.

Is there anybody you regret working with?

I've never regretted working with anybody. If we hadn't made so many mistakes in the first ten years or so, before we met each other, we might be making mistakes now. The biggest catastrophe we ever had was when we worked with an American girl called Tiffany Time. It was the only time I actually thought "That's it, I'm going to pack it all in!". The girl was seriously mentally ill, as we found out later. At the time we were at PWL Studios trying to get hits and what we didn't need was a raving lunatic and what we had was a raving lunatic.

Which hat do you prefer wearing: writer, DJ, producer or TV Star?

DJ, because, and this is going to sound ridiculous, I like playing Stock, Aitken & Waterman records. People say "Of course he's going to bleedin' well play 'em - he's Peter Waterman". But I'm Mike Stock and Matt Aitken's biggest fan. They are among the top 5 talents I've ever seen. They keep coming up with new ideas. I just change the plot every week. They never complain, they just get on and write another hit. I'll go in with another set of daft lyrics like 'I should be so lucky' and they don't get thrown - they just write a song. I think I'm honoured to be able to sit in and mix their records 'cos when I push the faders up on 'This Time I know it's for real' or 'I don't wanna get hurt' your willy tingles like nothing else! When you achieve what you always wanted, it gives you the most amazing buzz.

What do you think of the music played on Radio One?

Not everyone at Radio One 'cos that's a generalisation, but a certain radio programme controller at radio one, from a part of britain that has got a leek as it's national emblem, hasn't got a f***ing clue what day of the week it is.

He has changed the station to aim at 25-35 year olds. That's not the Radio One audience and it never will be. All he's doing is giving the independant local stations the best present ever. I work for a station that has killed radio one in our area. It's dead! We're way above it. Dance music is the music of the people, real people. The Beatles were a f***ing dance band. The Rolling stones were yuppies. The Beatles were an honest to goodness working class dance band. Their songs were about human relationships. They made you feel sad, but they always kept you dancing.

It was only when the Rolling Stones made that wonderful word 'The Album' that people sat down and smoked huge joints and got out of their heads on flower power. Then music went off in a totally strange direction. What they would like to do at Radio One is preach to us that you shouldn't enjoy music - it should be an artform.

How do you feel when people slate SAW?

Indifferent. It's never worried me. I haven't heard anybody with any sense slag us and I've never seen anybody make a point that's valid. Sometimes there's a backlash. Kids write us letters and ask "Why do people hate you?". How do you answer a 16 year old girl who writes to you and says "I've bought every one of your records, I love Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Rick Astley. But why does everybody hate you?". You can't answer it. I feel like writing back and saying "They hate me 'cos you bought all those records!" I guess that's why I did The Hitman & Her. It gets up people's noses. All those intellectuals who write about what television should be. This show's all about working class people enjoying themselves. The people who pay to watch television become the stars. Michaela and I aren't the stars.

Do you get hassled in the streets?

No, no, not at all. I get kids coming up to me with cassettes and asking for autographs, but that's all.

Can you make anybody a pop star?

No, absolutely not. They've got to have talent. I've known great singers who have no soul and it shows on the groove. If someone's got feeling, it shows.

Has the business changed you?

My friends who know me say it hasn't and my family say it hasn't. The only thing that's changed is my life style. Instead of living in a council house, I've got a Porshe but, then again, I went through 10 years of my life when I didn't have a shirt button. Five years ago, we sat in a pub, three weeks before christmas, and we didn't have enough money for a pint. Mike Stock and I both made our kids Christmas presents from scraps of wood from a bin. I made my little one a farm with sheep, shed, pigs and horses and he still treasures that.

Which record would you loved to have had the SAW stamp on?

'Heard it through the grapevine' by Marvin Gaye. It's one of those great great records. And 'she loves you' by the Beatles. Perfect. You could hang them up on the wall and say they're pop records. Truthful honest-to-goodness pop records.

How important are videos?

They're not. I think they're misleading. They give a record company and artist the idea that if they make a video, they'll have a hit.

Of the artists you have worked with, who has been the most affected by fame?

Rick Astley. I havn't seen him for ages. The last time I saw him he didn't look a happy lad at all. He's never been a noisy sort of guy, but he just seems to have the troubles of the world on his shoulders and that's sad. In some ways, I wish he'd never become a pop star 'cos he obviously hasn't enjoyed it. He's a very quiet guy and fame is too much for him. The press hit him so hard they crushed the lad. They totally buried him by calling him a wimp. I think there's only so much a lad can take. The press have damaged one of the greatest voices Britain has ever seen. His voice is a phenomenon. They never left him alone and that really really changed him.

What do you listen to at home?

Wagner. I love Wagner. Headphones on, maximum volume, lights off. Brilliant. But I would never get involved with classical music. I wouldn't want Wagner to get involved with Stock Aitken & Waterman.

Will SAW be around as a team in 10 years' time?

I hope not. I hope there will be 10 other SAW's by then, if we're not setting an example for kids to follow and beat, then we're not doing the job we should be.

What are your views on the new BPI 'Fame school'?

It's the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever heard in my life. I wouldn't put four pence into it. I've got a school. It's called PWL and, if anybody wants a job, they can queue up. You get paid 40 quid a week and, if you stick to it, you could become a star.

You can't serve an apprenticeship. There's no apprenticehip! What are they going to learn? They're going to learn somebody elses version of what they should be. It doesn't work like that. John Lennon wasn't taught in a school. I don't know anybody who was taught in a school! Why are the BPI pontificating about a school!? They can't even run the bloody record industry. It's a bloody shambles. It's full of idiots.

Schools are utter nonsense and there will always be fiddling going on. Places won't go to talented kids. Who knows they're talented? Take the record industry- you know how big CBS or Warner Bros are. Well, I get five records in the top 10 at a time and that's more than the majors, and these are trained people! They've got to train themselves first. The BPI school is a load of nonsense!