MarketPete Waterman Entertainment
Company Profile

Pete Waterman Entertainment

Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL, is most famous for being the home of hit record producers Stock Aitken Waterman.

History
After producing many hits for other record companies, PWL launched its own label in 1987 (PWL Records) with the single "I Just Can't Wait" by Mandy Smith. After several promos that were eventually licensed to other labels, the next single commercially released on PWL Records (PWL8) was the biggest selling single of 1988: "I Should Be So Lucky" by Kylie Minogue. Stock Aitken Waterman also used the label to release material under their own name, including top twenty hit, "Roadblock". As an independent record label, PWL enjoyed number ones with Australian artists Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, as well as top ten hits with British artists, such as Pat and Mick, The Reynolds Girls, American singer Sybil Lynch, and Dutch dance group, 2 Unlimited. As a production house, they produced hits for English artists including, Hazell Dean, Rick Astley, Dead or Alive, Bananarama, Sonia, Brother Beyond, Samantha Fox and Mel and Kim, all licensed to other record labels. In the US, PWL America was established in 1989 and specialized primarily in hip-hop music, launching the careers of MCs Ed O.G. and Diamond D. In 1992, it was renamed Chemistry Records Ltd., but it shut its doors in 1993. It was distributed in that territory by Mercury/PolyGram Records. In the early 1990s, Pete Waterman formed a new label called PWL International in partnership with Warner Music; one of the artists that recorded for the label, Opus III, scored two number ones on Billboards Dance Club Songs Chart through a US deal with Warner's EastWest Records. However, with other projects taking up Waterman's time, his involvement in the label decreased, and PWL International Ltd. became the Warner label Coalition. After PWL International, the record label side of PWE was in operation until the mid 2000s as the label EBUL, run through former labels Jive Records and Zomba (now part of Sony Music Entertainment). EBUL stood for Eastern Bloc Unity Label with Eastern Bloc and Unity being two north west record shops that PWL had taken over. One of the last records that EBUL/PWE released was "Teenage Life", the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, sung by Daz Sampson. As of March 2017, most of the PWL/PWE catalogue is now distributed by BMG Rights Management. In November 2023, BMG Rights Management and PWE released a triple CD and two double vinyl LPs, PWL Extended: Big Hits and Surprises, containing 24 12" PWL remixes of primarily Stock Aitken Waterman productions, which was well received. No tracks were licensed from other record companies though acts like Sigue Sigue Sputnik, The Blow Monkeys and Agents Aren't Aeroplanes were released on other labels before becoming part of BMG's catalogue. An exclusive Blu-ray edition was also released via the Super Deluxe Edition website. ==Notable former PWL artists==
Notable former PWL artists
Some of these acts were produced at the PWL Hit Factory and were signed to PWL Records, whilst others were licensed to PWL from other European independent dance labels (e.g. Media or Byte): • AnticapellaJason Donovan (left in 1991) • KakkoKylie Minogue (left in 1992) • Lonnie GordonLovelandMandy SmithMel & KimNiki EvansOne True VoiceOpus IIIPop!The Reynolds GirlsStepsStrange Nature (left in 1995) • SybilTina Cousins2 UnlimitedUndercover Acts produced by Stock Aitken Waterman These acts were produced at the PWL Hit Factory, but were not signed directly to PWL Records: • Bananarama (signed to London Records) • Big Fun (left in 1991) • Bobby Farrell, Maizie Williams and Marcia Barrett of Boney M. for the unauthorised single "Everybody Wants to Dance Like Josephine Baker" • Boy KrazyBrother Beyond (signed to EMI's Parlophone label) • Cliff RichardDead or Alive (left in 1988) (signed to CBS' Epic Records, now Sony Music) • DivineDonna SummerHazell DeanLondon BoysPrincessRick Astley (left in 1990) • Sabrina SalernoSamantha FoxSame DifferenceThe SheilasSinittaSonia (left in 1991) ==Chemistry/PWL America artists==
Chemistry/PWL America artists
Kim Appleby • B.O.X. • Diamond and the Psychotic NeuroticsEd O.G. & da Bulldogs • Poizon Posse • Sylk Smoov ==See also==
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