INTERVIEW WITH PETE WATERMAN (MAY 2004)

Many thanks to all of the people who sent in questions to ask Pete. Sadly we can’t give credit to every individual who mailed a query to us, but we hope that getting your question directly answered by the man himself goes someway to compensate for this.

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Please Note: Questions may be edited and please be patient if your question requires a direct answer from Pete Waterman as these will take a little more time.

Q: 'Heaven & Earth' is the new single from Pop! What can you tell us about it?

A: I wanted to do something new. The time was right for us to launch another pop act, and it was only natural for us to gather together an experienced team. I’d enjoyed a lot of success with Steve Jenkins (Managing Director of Jive Records) through our partnership with Ebul, and Karl Twigg and Mark Topham had got a great tune. I had got a few ideas in my head and Tim Byrne had already got Jamie, who in actual fact had previously auditioned for Pop Idol. It’s funny, but I remember Simon Cowell once saying that he couldn’t sing; and that was the best incentive for me to sign him! Contrary to what he may have said, he has got an amazing voice…just wait till you hear the third single from them!

Q: You’ve kept quite a low profile over your connections with this single though, unlike the promotional appearances that you did with Duel and Lauren Waterworth. Was there a reason for this?

A: Yeah, totally. I want the act to stand on its own and I want the record to stand on its own, I didn’t think that it needs any help from me – not that I thought that Duel or Lauren needed help from me though, its just that they are totally different markets. Pop! don’t need me. I didn’t want people writing them off just because of their connections with me. Some are already saying that it’s another Steps, but I can honestly say that it is different. I know what I have changed, and I know that I’ve got it right. Some people may not be able to see that change, but I know it’s there if you look close enough. As a team we set out to make the best song we could, and I know that we’ve done that. To top it all, I thoroughly enjoyed making the record, and I think that it comes across in the finished product.

Q: Let’s talk a little bit about Duel. That certainly was a move away from what most people think of when they hear the words ‘A Pete Waterman Production’

A: Absolutely! It would be easy for me to say that’s one of the reasons I did it, but that’s not the case. As most people know, I discovered them busking on a street in Manchester outside Marks & Spencers! It was never my intention to actually get involved with the record itself though. I never intended producing them at all; instead I just saw them, thought they were fantastic and used my contacts to get them a deal. It was only by accident that I recorded the album with them! After Pop Idol I needed to get back into making music once more; Duel happened to be around at the time and the rest is history! I have to say though that I was thrilled at having a Number One album in the classical charts!

Q: And Lauren?

A: She is a joy! It’s hard to believe that she was only eleven when she started, and she isn’t phased by anything. TV appearances, radio interviews, photo shoots; she is just born to do this! Her young age makes me feel very protective of her. I think that’s why I accompanied her on so many personal appearances, I wanted to make sure that she was treated properly. And as for her talent? Well, the vocal speaks for itself!

Q: A lot of people contact the site and the studio asking for you to listen to them sing or look at a song they have written, yet PWE does not accept demo material of any kind. How then do you get to learn about new acts and potential hits?

A: My involvement with Pop Idol seems to have confused a lot of people. Many think that I am always on the look out for a new act, but that’s not the case. The TV show was totally separate from what I do on a day to day basis. Accepting demo material is a legal minefield. We simply can’t afford to take those risks. If you’ve got a good song you will find a way of getting it heard. The more imaginative the better! Of course large publishers work a bit differently. If they have faith in a song then they can bring it to me on the writer’s behalf. It’s all very complicated and hard to explain. Everyday I get people talking to me, telling me that they’ve got a great act, and yet sadly 99.9% of them aren’t! That’s not to say that they aren’t well meaning, it’s just that professionals are looking for something different. Right now I’m looking at 2005; trying to predict trends and think of something new. People may know me from the TV, but my company is small when you compare it to the majors. I may listen to a new act if it comes highly recommended from someone I trust and have worked with before, but even then it doesn’t always work.

Q: A lot of fans are very interested in the PWL/PWE back-catalogue. Who owns the rights to this material now and are there any plans to exploit it?

A: All I can say is ‘wait and see!’ (Pete laughs) Seriously, some of it is owned by Warners; the PWL International recordings for instance, but most of the hits I still own the rights to. Other stuff, like the recordings by 2 Unlimited and most of the PWL Continental stuff have reverted back to their original owners now. I want to assure the fans that we haven’t forgotten about them, at the moment we are trying to find ways of releasing the recordings that they want in limited collector’s editions or special compilations. The world is constantly changing, the Internet is revolutionising the way we get our music now. I know it’s easy for me to say, but just be patient, it is my aim to get a lot of PWL product out on the mass market by the end of this year.

Q: And will that include any unreleased Kylie Minogue material?

A: Everything that we (S/A/W) ever did with Kylie has been issued in some format or another. I’m saddened to say that there isn’t any unreleased Kylie material in the vaults.

Q: There have been queries about a track called ‘Kill or Cure’. This was supposedly recorded by Miss Minogue during her Angel K recording sessions. Do you have any recollections of this?

A: No, none at all. I do know that there are a couple of mixes that we did of some Kylie tracks that I can’t find. ‘What Do I Have To Do’ for instance originally had three mixes, one of which I played on my old radio show, but I can’t find that one now. Its no use anyone phoning me up asking me for a copy ‘cos sadly I aint got one myself! To be honest, I did do that a lot. I made mixes just to play on the Radio or the Hitman TV show I did for ITV. That was the biggest advantage of being a DJ, I got to play records I made and nobody could stop me! I’d see the reaction and tweak it a bit when I got back in the studio. I’m certain though that there aren’t any new Kylie songs in the PWL archives. I hope that doesn’t upset too many people!

Q: Anyone who has looked at your biography will see that you’ve had immense success in this industry, but there have also been some failures and disappointments. Which records are you most proud of, and which ones are you happiest to forget about?

A: I’m proud of them all, I don’t regret one single thing! If I was embarrassed by a record then I wouldn’t have put my name to it. At the time that they were made I believed totally in all of them, I thought that they were all good enough to be hits. If they failed, or they weren’t successful, it was my fault, not the artist or the song. It could have been the timing of the release, the mix I chose, any number of things. Hindsight is a great thing, but you can’t live your life with regrets. If I could change things, it would only be by adding a stronger bass-line or a different drum beat, not by erasing the song altogether. It’s very easy to doubt your own abilities when people all around you are questioning your judgements. I remember being very disillusioned with the whole music industry when I managed the Specials. I had a great act on my hands, a really talented bunch of lads, and yet no-one wanted to sign them. I began to think that maybe my gut instincts were wrong and reluctantly I had to let them go. Then whole 2Tone thing exploded and I wondered why I had ever let them beat me down. Over the years I have had quite a few times like that, and now I refer to my difficult periods as ‘Specials Situations’. Whenever I start to self-doubt, I just think of them and that soon puts me back to my normal self! (Pete laughs).

Q: You announced recently that you were taking a break from Pop Idol. Have you plans to appear in any more TV shows in the near future?

A: This year? No, I’m gonna be too busy with the music. The past few years of appearing on Pop Idol and Pop Rivals have been great, but I need a break from it. I turned down the X Factor, and American Idol too as I was tired of going through hours and hours of auditions, I was missing the recording studio too much! Right now I am concentrating on the music again. Of course I never say never, and if Simon Cowell is doing Pop Idol again in 2005 I may think about it, but it seems unlikely that I’ll do another show like that again.

Q: Your Autobiography was well received when it was published a few years ago. Your appearances on Pop Idol have renewed a lot of interest in it once more; do you have any plans to update and re-publish it?

A: There has been talk of me updating it, adding a few more chapters to the end, but I don’t want to do that just now. Instead I want to re-do it. It’s not that I wasn’t happy with the finished product; everyone who has ever read it has always commented positively on it, it’s just that it would feel wrong of me just to tag a couple of extra comments on the end. There’s the Steps story to put in, the whole Pop Idol thing too. If it’s to be done properly then it will take me some time, and sadly I won’t be able to do that this year.

Q: People are often surprised when they read the names of many of the artists that you have worked with, however one of the strangest collaborations must have been you and Judas Priest! What can you tell us about this?

A: (Pete laughs!) What can I tell you? Not much, I was drunk most of the time!

Q: All of the time?!?

A: Yeah! I know we recorded the songs in France; three of them I think – but like I say, I was drunk! (Pete laughs again!)

Q: Was there really talk of doing a full album with them?

A: Judas Priest only did albums, so naturally there was talk of recording one, but in the end we were too rock and roll even for them! The management weren’t ready for us and our (S/A/W’s) approach. I think Mike and Matt played most of the instruments on the final tracks, which wasn’t expected at all! They were lovely guys though. It seems a shame to shatter the illusion, but they were so nice and polite!

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