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Set to be the ultimate Christmas party this once in a lifetime concert will take place at London’s O2 arena on December 21st.  Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk / www.livenation.co.uk

This unmissable show celebrates the legendary Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting and production team, the phenomenal success of Pete Waterman’s PWL label and, above all, the irresistible pop that came to define an era in British music history. Once called ‘The Sound of a Bright Young Britain’, it undoubtedly now stands as the soundtrack to a generation, with sales of over 500 million units worldwide.

Pete Waterman said: “Hit Factory Live - Christmas Cracker will be the biggest and best celebration of SAW and PWL ever. This will be the perfect party to commemorate our 25th anniversary. We were devastated when Hyde Park's Hit Factory Live had to be cancelled but now the party is back on with an epic line-up of our classic artists!".

Stock Aitken Waterman scored an unrivalled run of global hits in the 80s and 90s and are now acknowledged as one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time. 2012 also marks the 25^th anniversary of PWL Records, the legendary label originally set up as home for many Hit Factory artists.

Set to perform at this unique event are the classic artists from the PWL Hit Factory who will be performing on the same bill for the very first time. Rick Astley’s international success secures his place in the Hit Factory Live - Christmas Cracker line-up. Rick holds the record as the first British male artist to have his first eight solo singles reach the UK Top 10 – including the global No. 1 ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, ‘Whenever You Need Somebody’ and ‘Together Forever’. Entertainment megastar Jason Donovan takes his place on the bill following massive success with SAW in the late 80s. His hits include the No. 1s ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’, ‘Sealed with A Kiss’ and the bestselling SAW single ever with UK sales of over a million – ‘Especially For You’, an unforgettable duet with Neighbours co-star Kylie Minogue. (Who is now confirmed to be attending! Squeals...)

With such classic hits such as ‘Venus’, ‘Love In the First Degree’ and ‘I Want You Back’, the UK’s most-charted girl group Bananarama are an essential addition to the Hit Factory Christmas Cracker bill.  Dead Or Alive, fronted by the inimitable Pete Burns, also join the line-up, their timeless single ‘You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)’ was the first No. 1 for SAW in 1985.

Also appearing are Pepsi & Shirlie, Princess, Sinitta, Hazell Dean, Sonia, 2 Unlimited, Lonnie Gordon, Brother Beyond and Steps.  With such signature smash hits between them as ‘Heartache’, ‘Say I’m Your Number One’, ‘Toy Boy’, ‘Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)’, ‘You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You’, ‘No Limit’, ‘Happenin’ All Over Again’ ‘The Harder I Try’ and 'Tragedy'.  The Hit Factory Live - Christmas Cracker is set to be a truly unmissable spectacular event.

A proportion of proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Cancer Research UK. As a cause that is close to everyone’s hearts, Live Nation are proud supporters of Cancer Research UK and their life saving work.

Ticketing Information:

Tickets 49.50 (plus booking fee)

Show Starts: 7.30pm

Available at www.ticketmaster.co.uk / www.livenation.co.uk

For VIP packages please visit www.livenationexperience.co.uk , or phone 0207 009 3484

Everything 80s will see you there!! We also caught up with Pete Waterman to chat about the show, you can check out the interview over at Everything80s.co.uk 

My Tuesday began like this; butterflies filled my tummy from the excitement that The Hit Factory Live was nearly upon us, my Kylie and Jason T-Shirt was hanging proudly on my door along with my wellies underneath, my tickets were sealed safely in an envelope along with my train and hotel tickets, emergency poncho had been purchased there was only one thing left to do, go get the hubby some wellies!

So after traipsing through the 6^th shop to no avail we decided to go for a cuppa, I was on a high at the thought that there was only one more sleep and was literally driving my other half mad with questions such as ‘ooo do you think Big Fun will appear?’ What about good ole Cliff’, I hope Kylie does more songs… blah blah blah. Whilst sitting in the busy cafe I checked my phone, went on facebook and then my world collapsed (sounds dramatic but true). There was an update from others saying it had been cancelled! What!?? Everything went quiet as I tried to take it in, my hubby asked me what was wrong and I managed a croak of it's cancelled whilst trying not to sob and pull the mother of all tantrums! I couldn’t believe it and I think it's one of those moments that every true PWL fan will always remember where they were when they heard the sad news. So no wellies needed we headed off home just to be greeted by my T-Shirt that I was not going to get to wear. Yes I cried, how could you not, this was not just one dream but many dreams come true for me personally and many others, after getting tickets in March it was an event that had occupied my mind and heart ever since. I felt deflated, cheated, angry and overall just truly devastated that this once in a lifetime opportunity had been snatched away from us because of the bloody British weather.  Thanks Mother Nature NOT…

All was not lost however as we saw that there was an event being planned on facebook, a ‘Cheer Up’ PWL party in The City of Quebec pub in London. “That’s it we are going” I shouted to my partner, “lets pack and turn this into a positive”. Now I was excited that fans just like us were pulling together to make something happen in the name of PWL, what better way to drown your sorrows than with a bunch of people in the same boat as you to a whole host of awesome SAW tracks!?

On the Wednesday we headed off on the train to London, checked into our hotel and literally jogged straight to the pub, what we were in for we didn’t know. When we arrived we filled out our name tags and went inside to a quiet and almost sombre bar area, this can’t be right can it? Then we saw the sign that said the PWL Party was downstairs, so down we went. Opening the door at the bottom of the stairs into a dark, hot and sweaty basement was like opening the door to your dreams, with SAW tracks blasting, people dancing and singing along, Rick Astley, Sinitta, Kylie and Jason clothing staring at you along with plenty of neon, we knew we had made the right decision in coming. For hours we were in our own little heaven, we danced, laughed, sang loudly, met some amazing people and overall celebrated The Hit Factory Live in true fandom style! Special thanks go out to the legendary Lynne Cervi for doing an outstanding job in turning many frowns upside down and in organising this fantastic party within such a short space of time, for DJ Troy Turner for his marathon DJing session giving us tune after tune, to Chris Box for his awesome DJ set, to the Quebec for allowing it to happen and to all the people that attended, you are all amazing and I thank you for making this day so brilliant and one to remember!  

Everyone definitely had a ball and the music does indeed live on, here’s hoping to a rescheduling of the concert and also to another PWL Party in the future, you can’t keep us fans down! I still have party blues… Please check out the officialcharts.com pictures from the night on their facebook page! They are truly awesome!  

I would also like to add; this event that Lynne organised was to also help raise money for the MPS Society (the only UK charity supporting those affected by rare genetic disorder Hunter Syndrome, and other related conditions). You can donate online at www.mpssociety.co.uk or text an amount (any amount in full pounds will work) by texting MPSS01 £1/2/5/10 etc to 70070

Lots of Love Carli xoxo

www.everything80s.co.uk 

CHECK OUT THE REUNION PARTY DETAILS HERE!!

OK so we are officially starting the countdown to what is set to be one of the most retrotastic concerts EVER! Not just the pop spectacle of the summer but one of the biggest birthday parties this country has seen! Yes we’re talking about the legendary PWL Empire; Pete Waterman’s record label turns 25 and to celebrate PWL along with Live Nation are presenting The Hit Factory Live on 11^th July at Hyde Park, London! We can’t express our excitement on screen but believe me there were a few squeals along with some little jumps in the air, (OK maybe loud squeals and BIG jumps in the air) when this awesome show got announced. 

Towards the end of the 80s and throughout the 90s Stock Aitken Waterman and the PWL Empire produced classic global pop tunes that not only ruled the charts, defined an era in British music history but also launched icons such as Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Sinitta, Dead or Alive… the list goes on.  Now us fans have been offered something outstanding; an evening with classic artists singing their poptastic hits all on one bill!!!

This unbelievable concert is bringing some of the greatest PWL acts together; Jason Donovan, Bananarama, Steps, Rick Astley, Hazell Dean, Sinitta, Sonia, Sybil, Brother Beyond, Pepsi And Shirlie, Dead Or Alive, Princess, Lonnie Gordon, 2 Unlimited and wait for it Kylie Minogue, yes the pop princess has finally confirmed that she will be appearing to sing the one and only duet Especially For You with Jason Donovan (too exciting and we honestly can’t wait for this). There are more acts to follow and we’re sure there will be lots of surprises on the day and hopefully some tributes to the acts that are unfortunately no longer with us but still dearly loved.

Pete Waterman is the most successful British producer and songwriter in pop history and launched PWL in 1987. Together with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken the three formed a song writing and production team that gave us 14 UK No 1s, over 100 top 40 hits with more than 250 million single sales! Not only did they launch the careers of many acts but also collaborated with music legends, including Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney, Divine and the late Donna Summer. SAW gave us the music of our childhood and we are beyond happy with the thought that we can finally live many childhood dreams on the 11^th July! Superb, we will also review the concert so stay tuned for our reports!

To book tickets to this once in a lifetime event, visit www.livenation.co.uk. 

Also I recommend that you check out Pete Waterman’s site where there are lots of news updates as well as the track listing for the new 3 CD compilation album that will accompany the event www.pwl-empire.com

You can also follow for updates on twitter @PWLHitFactory & facebook www.facebook.com/PWLHitFactory

If you are going then ENJOY and Everything80s.co.uk will see you there!!

xoxo