Welcome back to part four and the final chapter of Stock Aiken and Waterman's Hit Factory.

Oh, hello, come on in. Welcome to the Hit Factory in London. This is where a host of stars come every week to make their records.

And for the last three years, a record from this building has been in the top 40 every single week.

When we left them, the trio were at the height of their success.

Multiple Ivor Novello awards, more hit songs than the Beatles, and yet despite all this, the cracks had appeared as unbelievably they were losing money at an alarming rate.

And like many artists and bands before them, creative differences meant that they were heading for an inevitable fall. And so we come to the fall of Stock Echkin and Waterman.

Sad. It is sad. We spent a lot of time with them. We have. And I do like them.

I consider them friends. But not with

each other, obviously. Yeah, that's what we can find out. Eighty-nine is their peak. We've discussed

27% of the whole of the UK recording industry. You know, they're winning all these awards.

Kylie, Jason, etc., etc. Band-Aid 2. It always ends badly. And I suppose the way to think of it is of Stock Aiken and Mortman as a band. Bands so often end up in court. Why don't we start with a couple of examples of big 80s bands that ended up in court?

Because that's where we're going.

Okay. Spandau Ballet.

Spandau was going to be my first, yeah, of course Spandau Ballet.

And Smiths?

That's another one.

Okay.

Who would you like to hear about first?

Let's do Spandau.

Spandau Ballet, one of the two big new romantic groups of the 80s, who are still, I think, altogether full lineup, which is an incredible achievement.

What a feat of longevity.

Yeah.

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