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The plethora of talent shows such as Pop Idol and Fame Academy, which create overnight stars out of 'ordinary' young people - shooting them into the public eye and the Top Ten within a matter of weeks - is one of the obsessions of our age. However, this phenomenon is not an entirely new one and it arguably may not have happened without the incredible successes of one particular hit-making trio during the 1980s. Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman notched up over 60 UK Top Ten singles, including 13 UK Number Ones, and this book celebrates the 20th anniversary of their first major hit. Their winning formula of glossy pop, tailored to an array of young, pretty singers including the likes of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Rick Astley and Bananarama, spawned many memorable songs. However, as is the way with popular culture, the bubble eventually burst. The Hit Factory is an account of this exciting journey from the perspective of Mike Stock, one third of the hit-making triumvirate. From his early life to the early days of SAW, writing for the Eurovision Song contest and their first hit with Dead Or Alive in 1984, through to that fateful first meeting with Kylie and the halcyon days