Bit hypocritical, Pete! As pop mogul Waterman slams Sabrina Carpenter for her 'lazy' sexy stage outfits - a look at the raunchy looks his 80s acts were sporting while under his management

Pete Waterman and his recording buddies have hit out at Sabrina Carpenter for her racy looks - but many of their eighties artists used a similar tactic while working under their wing at their label.

Pete and his creative partners Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, the legendary Stock, Aitken and Waterman, were known in the 1980s as the Hit Factory, responsible for at least one record in the Top 40 every week for three-and-a-half years in a row. 

The label launched the careers of several singers, including Kylie Minogue, Sinitta and Sam Fox, who regularly took to the stage in skimpy looks while performing the hits penned by Pete, Mike and Matt.

At an unveiling of a blue plaque from the Southwark Heritage Association at Vine Yard Studios in London where the trio wrote many of their songs, they took aim at the modern music industry and stars who sexualise their image.

They specifically mentioned Sabrina, 25, who they branded 'lazy' for using sexed-up lyrics to promote her songs, after she wrote about sex positions in her song Juno and detailed having a connection in the bedroom in her song, Bed Chem.

In the scathing rant, Pete queried why anyone would 'respect singers' who come out on stage in next to nothing, telling The Sun: 'It's just crazy. If you're asking to be respected, don't come on in a G-string.'

The record producer insisted it wasn't the way things were done during their heyday, claiming he would have been 'killed' he had instructed artists to do the same thing.

While Pete and Mike may have struck out at Sabrina and other female stars in the industry, many of the artists who they've worked with over the years have also boasted a sexualised image in order to flog records.

Pete went on to be one of the music business's great success stories, and key to that was an 18-year-old named Kylie. He signed her on a five-album deal despite never having seen Neighbours, the Aussie soap that launched her. 

Kylie - famed for her sexy image - is the company's most famous export and joined the SAW label in 1987 for a four year period, where she released hits including Better The Devil You Know, Got To Be Certain and I Should Be So Lucky.

Despite turning her into an international star, Pete previously revealed that he had no idea who the Neighbours actress was when they first met.  

The producer of hit-makers Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) admitted he had actually forgotten, who shot to fame as Charlene on the soap, was arriving for a recording session at the studio in 1987. 

He told how he, Mike and Matt penned Kylie's mega-hit I Should Be So Lucky while she was stood out in the corridor waiting to sing.

As well as SAW's catchy songs and Kylie's killer vocals, there is no doubt that her jaw-dropping looks will also have added to her stratospheric success.

In 2019, Kylie shared a selection of photos from during her time with Pete and his cohorts, which included a selection of sizzling promotional looks.

She wrote alongside the photos: 'My dear friend Pete Waterman found a box full of old photos from my @pwlhitfactory days! I can't wait to go through them all and share with you.'

Another eighties act included glamour model and Page Three girl Sam Fox, who turned her hand to music with the help of SAW.

Sam began appearing age 16 as a topless model on Page 3 of The Sun, which continued for the next three years.

She became the most popular pin-up of her generation and following her huge success launched a music career at SAW.

Sam released her debut single Touch Me (I Want Your Body), before joining SAW and releasing two successful singles with the hitmakers.

The star's first single was Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now, recorded by SAW after her label lobbied them to record with the singer, who the trio had previously vowed not to work with due to her topless modelling past.

The music video sees Sam don a sexy black and white swimsuit as she lounges by the pool by diving into the water in sultry scenes.

Meanwhile, sex symbol Sinitta also launched her career with the help of SAW.

In 1987, Sinitta released the lead single from her upcoming debut album, after seeking the help of Pete, Mike and Matt.

The product of the collaboration - Toy Boy - was based on a tabloid headline about Sinitta's love life, and featured a rap written by the singer.

The singer regularly took to the stage in barely-there looks, showing off her athletic figure as she performed her hits penned by SAW.

Last year, Sinitta shared a cosy snap with Pete from back in the day where she was sporting a colourful crop top and tiny denim shorts.

Well Pete Waterman looks so young here, and I look like a complete child! It's the #HitManRoadShow or one of our under-16 afternoon disco parties!

'We used to do after-school shows in the Decca Nightclubs in the afternoons! Happy days, happy memories, happy childhood #80schild.' 

The brains behind SAW claimed artists such a Sabrina are 'too raunchy' and she is 'setting back women's rights' in scathing comments about the music industry.

Sabrina, 25, has become known for her cheeky lyrics and scantily-clad stage costumes but the music moguls have now hit out at her approach.

Pete claimed the star dresses as a little girl which he finds 'offensive' and believes she doesn't need to sexualise her image because she has raw talent.

The former Pop Idol judge claimed that he would have been 'killed' if he had instructed artists to do the same thing 30 years ago, saying that Madonna was the only performer who ever came close to doing the same thing.

Mike, 73, told the Sun: 'They've [women] won all of their freedoms and their rights, women. They fought for everything they've got and now they're throwing it away, is the way I would look at it.'

Pete added: 'It's just crazy. If you're asking to be respected, don't come on in a G-string.'

As well as her racy looks, the record producers also took aim at her steamy lyrics, after referring to sex positions in her songs Juno and Bed Chem, which is about being compatible with someone in the bedroom.

Branding them 'lazy', Mike said: 'I would never try to write a lyric that said anything specific on a sexual level. You'd always be allegorical or allude to it somehow. So I don't like that. I think it's a bad show and it's lazy. You're going to grab some form of attention by doing that.'

Their comments came as they attended an unveiling of a blue plaque from the  Southwark Heritage Association at Vine Yard Studios in London.

The studio is the location where the threesome created their innumerable pop anthems.

It was previously reported that Sabrina struggled to adjust to her current image and initially felt like she was 'playing a character,' after record bosses suggested she overhaul her look in a bid to achieve the same success as fellow artists Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.

Sabrina enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past year, with chart topping singles Espresso and Please Please Please finally cementing her status as a household name after years of trying to get her break.

But insiders claim her newfound popularity is a result of embracing a 'sexpot' image and extremely tongue-in-cheek demeanor after joining Island Records in 2021 - a move which has reportedly left some struggling to recognize the former Disney star.

'She didn't connect with a mass audience and drastic changes needed to be made,' a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.

'With a new record label [Island] and new management she was guided to ditch her everyday image and pivot 180 and sell herself as a 'sexpot'.'  

Despite appearing at ease with her racy songs lyrics and revealing ensembles - even going as far as hitting back at trolls who have slammed her sexy tour outfits - Sabrina initially struggled with her image overhaul.

'It made her very uncomfortable as behind closed doors she wears sweats, little make up, and likes to stay home and watch Netflix,' the insider continued. 

'She'd been a Disney girl and was told the importance of a wholesome image like Hilary Duff and Selena Gomez before her.

'To suddenly be showing skin and flaunting it while singing provocative lyrics was initially a challenge. She had to embrace her acting skills, but it worked.'

Despite her mainstream success, the source added that she sometimes feels like a 'fraud' who is 'playing a character.'

Another source claimed she was prepared to do 'whatever it took' after signing with Island Records.

'Sabrina knows she has to just let go and accept that she will have to become a commercial product to establish herself,' they said. 'It is no different to what Britney, Gaga or Katy Perry did. They know what will sell and she will do that until she is at a place where she is able to call the shots.

'She has always known that it was her voice that will make her famous. She has a sound not out there. She knows this.'

A third insider added: 'Producers presented a more grown-up version of her and put the rocket ship on her back and actually gave her good music and now she is more adult, more sexed up.

'If the talent wasn't there, she'd be forgotten, but she is now a bonafide pop star who is also being considered for roles in major movies.'

Sabrina started out on Disney, playing Maya Hart in Girl Meets World from 2014 until 2017. 

She also released four albums with the Disney-owned label Hollywood Records between 2015 and 2019, as well as acting in films including The Hate U Give, Tall Girl, Adventures In Babysitting and The Short History of the Long Road.

After her move to Island Records, she made headlines after fans claimed she was the mystery 'blonde girl' who Olivia Rodrigo was singing about in her heartbreak anthem, Driver's License.

The internet was flooded with articles, videos and social media posts as people tried desperately to work out if Sabrina had stolen her then-boyfriend, and fellow Disney star Joshua Bassett, from his High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costar Olivia.    

Sabrina and Joshua dated in 2020 and were spotted lunching together around LA. They also shared sweet snaps of them dressed up as Shark Boy and Lava Girl for Halloween that same year.

In her track, Olivia sang: 'And you're probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt. She's so much older than me / She's everything I'm insecure about.'

It didn't take long for fans to put two and two together as Sabrina is four years older and dated Joshua right after Olivia.

Sabrina dropped her first album with Island, Emails I Can't Send, the following year. 

The album featured Skin, a response track to Olivia's Driver's License, in which she sang: 'Maybe then we could pretend / There's no gravity in the words we write / Maybe you didn't mean it / Maybe blonde was the only rhyme...

'You can try/ To get under my, under my, under my skin/ While he's on mine/ Yeah, all on my, all on my, all on my skin.'

However it was her cheeky track, Nonsense which became a standout for the star.

In 2023 she was announced as the opening act for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour across dates in Latin America, Australia and Singapore. 

During the tour, she delighted fans with explicit outros for Nonsense - beginning her steady transition into pop's newest 'sexpot.'

During a performance in Dallas, she sang: 'I just wanna ride him like a rodeo/ but first, he gotta grow it like Pinocchio/ Sorry I'm so vulgar San Antonio.'

Last year she achieved her first number-one song on the UK Singles Chart with Espresso, which also dominated the airwaves in the US.

Her follow-up single Please Please Please now has the distinction of being her first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Her sixth and latest album Short n' Sweet topped the Billboard 200 and has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Of America (RIAA).

It features the single Taste which also topped the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. 

The track appears to reference Shawn Mendes and the love triangle she got into with his ex-girlfriend, Camila Cabello. 

She shared a steamy kiss with Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in the music video and copied the smooch with a backing dancer while performing the number at the 2024 Video Music Awards.

Sabrina kicked off her tour in support of her Short n' Sweet album on September 23 in Columbus, Ohio.

The singer stunned fans as she hit the stage wearing a number of racy outfits, showed off sexy dance moves, used a number of swear words and did shots on stage. 

She previously hit back at 'trolls' who have criticized her costumes, telling them: 'Don't come to the show.'

Speaking in her cover interview for TIME Magazine's TIME100 Next list, she said: 'It's unfortunate that it's ever been something to criticize, because truthfully, the scariest thing in the world is getting up on a stage in front of that many people and having to perform as if it's nothing.

'If the one thing that helps you do that is the way you feel comfortable dressing, then that's what you've got to do.'

The  star isn't scared to strip off having happily modeled Kim Kardashian's Skims brand for the Spring campaign back in May 2023.

She is also known to share a number of racy snaps with fans online, while her favored lingerie theme is also part of the design for her merch.