While I was a teenager in the latter half of the eighties, Stock, Aitken and Waterman totally dominated mainstream music on radio in Ireland (and presumably Bri

While I was a teenager in the latter half of the eighties, Stock, Aitken and Waterman totally dominated mainstream music on radio in Ireland (and presumably Britain). In the summer of ‘87, I spent a week painting an uncle’s house with only a battery-powered “transistor radio” for company. During this time, “Never Gonna Give You Up” was played about once every 90 minutes or so – and I grew to really hate it. I blame Stock, Aitken and Waterman for putting me off pop music and turning me into something of a music snob which lasted until well into my twenties. Having said that, I had a soft spot for Mel and Kim’s “Respectable” as a guilty pleasure and I thought “Roadblock” was a genuinely good tune (though I preferred “Pump up the volume” by MARRS).