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Hit Factory Live - Christmas Cracker confirmed for O2 Arena in 2012

Posted: 11 years ago
Steps, Rick Astley, Jason Donovan, Dead or Alive, Bananarama and more PWL legends to play rescheduled festive concert, tickets on sale Friday 19th October
Rick Astley

Not surprisingly, this year's shonky summer washed out many outdoor events, although the Olympics escaped relatively unscathed. One such victim was (oh so aptly-named) Pete Waterman's Hit Factory Live, due to be held in London's Hyde Park with a much-publicised reunion duet to be performed by Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue.

Just a few days before the event was due to take place, every cloud in Britain had a party and emptied a lake-like quantity of rain on London's iconic green-space. Mudbath. Inspection. Axed. The good news for fans of PWL is that Mr Waterman doesn't give up that easily - he's announced an even better, DRIER concert for the festive season instead.

Hit Factory Live - Christmas Cracker will take place at London's O2 Arena on 21st December and will include pretty much the same planned line-up as before. The headliners are Steps, who need little introduction (but we'll mention "Tragedy" and that dance move, just to remind you) with Rick Astley ("Never Gonna Give You Up"), Jason Donovan ("Too Many Broken Hearts"), Dead or Alive, Bananarama ("Venus", "Love in the First degree"), Sinitta ("Toy Boy") and Pepsi & Shirlie, plus slots from Princess, Hazell Dean, Sonia, Lonnie Gordon, Brother Beyond. Even 2 Unlimited will appear proving that there really is 'no, no, no no no, no limit' to the entertainment. Proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK.

We will have tickets for this Christmas Cracker from 9am Friday 19th October, priced at £49.50.

Flying the flag for Britain's music industry in the latter half of the 1980's was a fledgling production team comprised of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman who had already scored a few hi-NRG club-hits with Divine, Hazell Dean and Dead or Alive, the latter notching up a #1 smash with "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)".

PWL literally became the Hit Factory, with a lucrative roster that featured two loved-up Australian soap-actors in Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan (several hits between them), cheeky cherub and dad-dancer and creator of the 'Rick-roll' shuffle, Rick Astley (eight straight Top 10s), Mel and Kim, Sonia and even disco-diva and Moroder matriarch Donna Summer. Loved, hated and parodied, PWL certainly stirred up a hornet's nest of opinion back in the '80s.

Paul Pledger