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Karen tells tales from her Hit Factory days

NFSA sound curator Karen Hewitt… "I’m going to play 10 songs and talk about the making of them." Photo by Andrew Finch
NFSA sound curator Karen Hewitt… “I’m going to play 10 songs and talk about the making of them.” Photo by Andrew Finch

WHEN somebody came down with flu at Stock Aitken Waterman, Karen Hewitt was sent over to the trio’s songwriting and record producing company.

It was the mid-’80s and the budding Australian sound engineer was working in London on a visa.

And suddenly she found herself in her dream job working with all her favourite artists – such as Dead or Alive, Bananarama, Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Donna Summer and Paul McCartney.

Sound engineer Karen Hewitt in London with Paul McCartney.
Sound engineer Karen Hewitt in London with Paul McCartney.

She had decided to be a sound engineer before leaving school in Australia, inspired by the long-running music show “Countdown” on ABC TV.

“I was never a musician, being a sound engineer is my instrument,” Karen says.

These days Karen works at the National Film and Sound Archive as a sound curator, a long way from the 16-year-old who got a job at Albert Studios in Sydney as Australia’s first female sound engineering apprentice.

During her apprenticeship, she set up microphones.

“I learnt what the best microphones were for certain jobs,” she says.

“Some of this was taught to me and some of this I learnt by watching others.”

Karen worked in Australia for 10 years before moving to the UK, determined to contribute to the British ’80s music scene.

She certainly covered for the right sick person because the hit machine that was Stock Aitken Waterman was recording big-selling albums such as Karen’s personal favourite, Donna Summer’s “Another Place and Time”.

“Donna Summer was really interesting, she was a very positive person. She already had a career as a disco singer in the ‘70s and then came into SAW during the ‘80s to record.”

Summer was just one of the artists that Karen got the chance to know during production sessions.

“Recording is a very personal environment, it is done in short and intensive spurts,” says Karen.

“SAW could work really fast, a lot faster than other recording studios. They were pumping the stuff out and the whole team was on board.

“In my time at the Hit Factory, as it became known, Stock Aitken Waterman produced more than 100 top 40 songs and sold in excess of 40 million records.”

Karen left the studio in 1991, feeling she’d gone as far as she could.

“The whole music scene was starting to change then, home recording systems were becoming common and studios were dying,” she says.

When I left Stock Aitken Waterman, I no longer had a company sponsoring me with a full-time job, this made me an illegal citizen so I could not stay.”

With many studios closing, Karen struggled to make a living in Australia and ultimately completed a short course on archiving at Charles Sturt University.

“Archiving the change of music is such a great way to show our culture,” she says.

And she’ll be hosting an event at the NFSA at the end of November called “Right Round: Working with Pop Royalty”, where she will share behind-the-scene stories about 10 global hits.

“It’s going to be a fun and informal night. I’m going to play 10 songs and talk about the making of them. Anyone is welcome to come.”

“Right Round: Working with Pop Royalty”, at NFSA, 1 McCoy Circuit, Acton, 6pm, November 25. Bookings via nfsa.gov.au

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