IT’S two decades since svengali Pete Waterman – along with a little-known Simon Cowell – became judges on a TV talent contest, ushering in a new era of pop music.
Pop Idol began in the autumn of 2001 and, after making stars of Gareth Gates and winner Will Young, led to the creation of a host of acts from One Direction to Little Mix on the show’s successor, The X Factor.
Now Pete, 74, believes the axing of the hit ITV series is another symptom of an industry so reliant on making music through the internet that it is terrified of woke politics and cancel culture.
He said: “We’ve gone too politically correct. I think that was a problem for the show. I thought we lost a lot of the excitement and honesty we had with Pop Idol.
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