Now Yearbook Vault 1981

Welcome back to THE VAULT, the bolt on of the New Yearbook series that mixes singles that failed to trouble the top 30 but were really interesting with American hits that didn't do much over here in the U.K. and we're doing this vinyl style.

Part of that's a channelling of those tracks on our Ronco or KTel  albums that sandwiched between the surefire hits they added maybe thinking they'd do better than they did and anyway sometimes they interested us more  and part is music meant mainly vinyl for us back then.

Old rituals bring back memories. 

 It's three lps in one sleeve so as it's a bit thin be careful as it will soon crease or rip but at least the discs are polylined so they're well protected.

 

Time to open this bad boy up!

A year away from their Top 40 debut, record one opens with Simple Minds with ‘Sweat In Bullet’ from their ‘Sons And Fascination’ album and followed by Spandau Ballet with ‘Paint Me Down’ from their second album ‘Diamond’. Heaven 17 are up next with their debut single ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, alongside the debut from Eurythmics ‘Never Gonna Cry Again’. 

John Foxx released ‘Europe After The Rain’ as the lead single from ‘The Garden’, and Gary Numan reunited with his former band members, now called Dramatis on the superb ‘Love Needs No Disguise’. Closing the side, Altered Images feature with their debut ‘Dead Pop Stars’, along with the 1978 debut ‘Young Parisians’ from Adam & The Ants – re-released to become a hit in 1981. Flip the LP over to celebrate some of ‘81’s best soul and disco featuring Rick James, Sister Sledge and Chaka Khan, ahead of funk-pop genre melding from Freeez, Shakatak and Level 42 before this first disc closes with reggae artist Sheila Hylton who made the Top 40 with her cover of The Police track ‘The Bed’s Too Big Without You’.

Bruce Springsteen starts record two with the title track from his #2 album ‘The River’ which gave him his first UK Top 40 single, and John Mellencamp – who would have to wait another year for his UK chart debut – with ‘Ain’t Even Done With The Night’, his first Top 20 hit in the US. REO Speedwagon are up next with a track, ‘In Your Letter’ from the years’ biggest-selling album in America Hi Infidelity and a big seller here), and Billy Joel released a live version of ‘Say Goodbye To Hollywood’, giving him a Top 20 hit there. Great singles from Elton John and Joan Armatrading lead to the side finishing with The Alan Parsons Project and another US hit, ‘Time’.

Side B opens with the Pretenders from their second album, and a single ‘Louie Louie’ that got a US, but not a UK release. Pat Benatar led into her ‘Precious Time’ album with ‘Fire And Ice’, and Generation X released ‘Dancing With Myself’, a track that lead singer Billy Idol would revisit in his solo releases. Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, and Dexys Midnight Runners all feature ahead of Joe Jackson covering the jazz/blues/swing standard ‘Jumpin’ Jive’, and The Manhattan Transfer – who had a huge US hit with their cover of doo-wop classic ‘Boy From New York City’, which closes the second record.

Record 3 opens with an brilliant run of alt-pop: The Creatures - Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie from Siouxsie And The Banshees - released their debut ‘Mad Eyed Screamer’ along with ‘Primary’, the single from The Cure’s ‘Faith’ album, New Order with ‘Procession’, plus The Psychedelic Furs with ‘Dumb Waiters’. The Clash released the non-album single ‘This Is Radio Clash’, and reggae and new-wave fusion from Scritti Politti with the sublime ‘The “Sweetest Girl” to which we were to more of in later years. The side closes with two chart regulars The Undertones and Squeeze with ‘It’s Going To Happen’ and ‘Is That Love?’ and the final side kicks off with Debbie Harry, as 1981 saw her release her first solo album ‘KooKoo’, and from it here the second single ‘The Jam Was Moving’. Donna Summer released ‘Cold Love’ from her ‘The Wanderer’,( her first for Warners), and Commodores feature with ‘Lady (You Bring Me Up)’. Steve Winwood follows on with ‘While You See A Chance’, and the final three begin with Journey and their rock ballad ‘Who’s Crying Now’, Rush with the epic ‘Tom Sawyer’, and closing the collection, Meat Loaf with the lead single from his album ‘Dead Ringer For Love’, ‘I’m Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us’.

This selection works well bring  a mixture of memories to many of us especially those of us with more ecliptic tastes while sounding more fuller than those old K Tel and Ronco discs did back then.

 

Now Yearbook Vault 1980

We last tackled the new now yearbook Vault series in early October when we bought and reviewed the 1984 edition as I felt this by offering American only hits and Bubbling Under UK hits did offer something that would slot in with my original Now 2,3 and 4 and Hits and Hits II compilation albums bought back then.

Well they returned last Friday not with the previous two years but a three lp version of a set devoted to 1980 which is a under represented period with compilations here so looking at the tracklist, I decided to buy this one.
 

 

Record 1 kicks off with established superstars with big U.S, hits: Bruce Springsteen (with ‘Hungry Heart’ from the great The River album), Billy Joel (with ‘You May Be Right’) and Blondie with ‘The Hardest Part’ that was a single in the U.S. but not in the U.K. 

New-wave with a retro feel from The Ramones, The Revillos and The B-52’s lead into singles before the hits came for Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes.

Fipping over the side for disco-pop from Donna Summer with ‘Sunset People’ and Shalamar with ‘Right In The Socket’ ahead of the fusion of soul & jazz from The Manhattan Transfer, and the superb collaboration between Wilton Felder and Bobby Womack on ‘Inherit The Wind’. 

Jazz influenced pop from Level 42 who we were to hear more from in 1982 leads to chilled soul from Brenda Russell with her timeless track ‘In The Thick Of It’ and finishing with the unmistakable vocals of Joan Armatrading.

Synth-driven pop would become the dominant genre in the charts over 1981 which is featured on Record 2 celebrates some of the formative singles of the genre from Sparks and John Foxx alongside Ultravox, The Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark who would be among the most successful groups of the next five years. 

More synth-pop from The Buggles and New Musik follows whilst the disc draws to its close with The Tourists with ‘Don’t Say I Told You So’.

Turning over to the second side we open with ‘Dance Stance’ from Dexys Midnight Runners  that was the single that came a few months before ‘Geno’ took them to #1. 

Great guitar pop from Squeeze and XTC leads into The Clash, ahead of reggae and ska from Junior Murvin and The Bodysnatchers, and hugely influential early hip-hop from Kurtis Blow with ‘The Breaks’.

Record 3 begins with the ballad ‘Sartorial Eloquence’ from Elton John followed by more huge musical icons such as Paul Simon (‘Late In The Evening’), Linda Ronstadt (‘Hurt So Bad’) and Carly Simon (‘Jesse’). Robert Palmer, Bill Nelson and The Cars with Touch And Go complete the side with new-wave classics .

Turning the record over over on the flip side shows stellar vocals from Pat Benatar and Journey kick off an explosive line up of 1980’s rock from Saxon, Girlschool, UFO and the debut single from Iron Maiden. Phil Lynott features with his first solo hit ‘Dear Miss Lonely Hearts’, whilst the final word is given to the legendary ZZ Top – they were 4 years away from a U.K. chart single, but ‘Cheap Sunglasses’ hit the U.S. chart in 1980.

 Although we have the Now Yearbook 80 lp, two lps of Extras and a few original complations this brings otherwise missing American favourites and the early singles of acts we were to hear more of in one nice package. Recommended.

Now Yearbook Vault 1984

I did suggest it was going be a busy period on music releases last week and on Friday while sneezing my nosy off something a bit familar but also a bit different arrived.

Now Yearbooks, we covered them here looking from 1982 and before with 1977 due next month, rounding up on three very well filled lps the main hits of each year complement my original Now and Hits Lps from the 1983 and 4 respectively and then some older compilations.

In June Now launched a sub series VAULTS, which aims to cover minor hits of the sort that tended to pad out our Ronco and K Tel sets as much as we may of preferred some of them to the big hits back in the day and also American Hits which unless someone did a American Hit compilation you didn't get so I'd buy the 45's where available.

We didn't bother with 1983 as that was well covered on the vinyl front and I have many American and Canadian acts albums from that year I liked anyway so the initial title got a miss here.

Yesterday though they issued Vaults 1984 which although 1984 is well represented with a half of Now 2 and the whole of Now 3 and 4 plus the first Hits  did miss out a number of these min or hits and American hits that never were over here so I thought "What the heck!" and ordered it.

Like the regular Now Yearbooks on LP, these are coming out in three lp sets, three discs stuffed in a single sleeve which means we do miss some of the tracks from the 4 cd version in cheapskate wraparound card or fuller book forms but most of the essentials make it.

Record one  begins with some pop gems from established artists such as Heaven 17, ABC, and Scritti Politti ahead of Wild Life a U.S. single release from Bananarama followed by the solo debut from Helen Terry who had sung back-up vocals on the previous years’ massive seller ‘Colour By Numbers’ from Culture Club features along with Level 42, Soft Cell and Talk Talk who close the first side with ‘Such A Shame’. 

Flipping the record over we get to enjoy the sumptuous vocal pairings of Teddy Pendergrass and Whitney Houston, and Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett. The side also features the debut from the Colour Field, M+M’s ‘Black Stations/White Stations’, a commentary on racially defined radio in the States and established artists Tom Robinson and Marillion.

Record Two kicks off with a stunning collection of indie-pop, including Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Icicle Works and the Top 40 debut from Everything But The Girl… plus Malcolm McLaren, The Associates and Blancmange with their cover of ABBA’s ‘The Day Before You Came’, whilst the dance-floor beckons on the other side with electro-dance and Hi-NRG from Sheila E., Divine, Evelyn Thomas, Miquel Brown, and chart regulars Shalamar, Donna Summer and Sheena Easton – with Arrow closing the LP with carnival favourite ‘Hot Hot Hot’.

The final record focuses on singles that found chart success in the U.S. and opens with Culture Club’s ‘Miss Me Blind’, which didn’t get a single release in the U.K, alongside a selection of U.S. new-wave hits from The Fixx, a British group who found more success in the States, Go-Go’s and The Cars. Synth-led tracks from The Psychedelic Furs, Visage and Sparks close the side. 

The Pretenders open the final side with ‘Show Me’, which was a U.S. hit, but not issued as a single in the U.K. Daryl Hall & John Oates, and Rick Springfield continued their run of Stateside hits and Bon Jovi debuted with ‘Runaway’. Scorpions and Judas Priest are up next with rock classics ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’, and ‘Freewheel Burning’… and the concluding moment is given to ZZ Top with ‘TV Dinners’ one of four singles from their massive ‘Eliminator’ album.

It's a slightly off the beaten track musical overview of 1984 covering much that wasn't on those pioneering 1984 compilations regardless of quality and for those reasons gains a spot in my vinyl compilation collection

Now Millennium series part iv

It's all gonna be happening as the count down for the Christmas season record release schedule begins so batten your hatches, get the Winter Tires ready and let's resume from where we were in June this year with those Millennium compilations from Now That's What I Call Music.

We'd been going for a bit on this blog after everything in the adult world got so messed up I needed time out to recover which in part at least is where all else really fitted in so rather like in childhood the radio played a part with presenters playing hit tunes forming a part of those memories.

From the early nineteen-nineties though the chart moved more away from mainstream pop and rock to more club based sounds and various sub genres such as Grunge, "Shoegazing" etc so what I bought for myself typically on cd based albums was different which is really where a set like this fits in gathering enough of those other sounds you recall but didn't even bother with the four or more double cd Now numbered compilations back then as the misses to hits ratio with you would be rather high.

As mainstream chart as it got with me was a fully functioning reborn Take That and the North Wales retro fused female singer Duffy.

As is the standard in this series, each year has two distinct discs and my copy being the book form has short write ups about the songs and chart performance which all helps bring it all back.

Disc One kicks off with a run of pop gold, Take That’s triumphant #1 ‘Greatest Day’, the band’s 11th #1 single, starts the count for #1’s on this album followed by Girls Aloud’s BRIT Award winning homage to the sounds of the 60s, ‘The Promise’, another UK #1.  Britney leads a string of fabulous pop hits with the infectious ‘Womanizer’ before P!nk’s #1 ‘So What’ and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Wow’. 2008 Was a great year for new and breaking acts; Katy Perry announced herself to the world with the hit ‘I Kissed a Girl’, while The Saturday’s second single ‘Up’ shattered the high expectations set by their debut single. Duffy’s excellent  jazz-inflected smash ‘Mercy’ sits neatly alongside other jazz and swing-inspired hits on this disc with Alesha Dixon’s ‘The Boy Does Nothing’, Gabrielle Cilmi’s ‘Sweet About Me’, and Sam Sparro’s ‘Black and Gold’. Closing off Disc One are a pair of X-Factor superstars with Alexandra Burke’s debut UK #1, Xmas #1 and the best-selling single of 2008: ‘Hallelujah’, and Leona Lewis’ powerful cover of Snow Patrol’s ‘Run’.

Disc Two opens with the epic Coldplay’s  ‘Viva La Vida’ followed by The Killers’ indie dancefloor chart-topper ‘Human’. Back in 2008 we saw some huge trance-pop hits such as Basshunter kicking off a run of dance classics with their emphatic ‘Now You’re Gone’ before Scooter brings a similarly irresistible energy with ‘Jumping All Over The World’. Eric Prydz’s ‘Pjanoo’, Ultrabeat’s ‘Disco Lights’, and H Two O’s essential ‘Whats It Gonna Be?’ follow. Enduring playlist favourites from The Script (‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’), Kid Rock (‘All Summer Long’) and Nickelback (‘Rockstar’) lead into Oasis’ psychedelia-infused alt rock track ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’. To close this review of 2008, we have great bands including The Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol, and Radiohead with ‘Nude’.

Disc Three and our review of 2009 opens with the Black Eyed Peas’ global hit ‘I Gotta Feeling’.  This UK and US #1 is followed by a slew of similarly huge floor fillers including David Guetta and Kelly Rowland’s ‘When Love Takes Over’. Next up, synth pop smashes from La Roux’s ‘Bulletproof’ and The Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Love Etc.’.  Local lad Robbie Williams continued his stellar chart run with ‘Bodies’. Lily Allen’s #1 ‘The Fear’ is followed by Florence + The Machine’s debut top 20 hit ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’. This is followed by a run of RnB pop finishes the disc off with Ciara and Justin Timberlake’s ‘Love Sex Magic’ followed by Flo Rida featuring Kesha on ‘Right Round’, Taio Cruz’s ‘Break your Heart’, JLS’ ‘Beat Again’, and Jason Derulo’s breakout hit, ‘Whatcha Say’.

Massive pop superstars open the final disc; Britney Spears (‘Circus’), Miley Cyrus (‘Party In The USA’), and The Pussycat Dolls alongside A.R. Rahman (Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)’). #1 debuts are up next from Cheryl Cole with ‘Fight For This Love’ and Pixie Lott with ‘Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)’. Airplay favourites from Paolo Nutini (‘Pencil Full Of Lead’), James Morrison featuring Nelly Furtado (‘Broken Strings’) and Kelly Clarkson’s #1: ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’ feature alongside top 10 smashes from Metro Station (‘Shake It’), Sugababes (‘Get Sexy’) and Little Boots (‘Remedy’). Hip-Hop and Grime are represented here with Tinchy Stryder and Ironik featuring Chipmunk on their huge tracks ‘Number 1’ and ‘Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)’ (sampling Elton John’s classic that revived interest in that song). Our final disc closes with Westlife’s ‘What About Now’ – their 22nd Top 5 hit since their 1999 debut.

This is a great sampling of these two years before we started the twenty-tens.

Now Millennium series revisted Pt.III

 

The last time we looked at this twenty-first century series in in late March when we rediscovered Crazy Frog but this last week the next instalment came out during the period I didn't get any Now discs but did get single artist titles instead.

As ever there are two years to this set, 2006 and 2007 and I elected to get the four cd book form for the extra notes on each track.

2006 kicks off on disc 1  with the lead single from Amy Winehouse's defining 'Back To Black' album, 'Rehab', followed by Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' - the biggest selling single of 2006 and the first single to reach #1 on download only sales. I really like the vocal on that track.

Furtado collaborated with Timbaland with huge success and her #1 'Maneater' is up next. Christina Aguilera showcases powerhouse vocals on 'Ain't No Other Man', while Corinne Bailey Rae's 'Put Your Records On' relaxes the vibe. I loved her debut album that year.

Fergie turns up the temperature with her first solo hit 'London Bridge (Oh Shh)' before  collaborations from The Pussycat Dolls and Snoop Dogg with their sizzling smash 'Buttons', and LL COOL J and Jennifer Lopez on the beat-bumping 'Control Myself, whilst dancefloor smash 'Thunder In My Heart (Again)' by Meck feat. Leo Sayer is next. 

That helped to revive his career and spark interest in his back catalogue.

 The irresistible riff from Orson's #1'No Tomorrow' leads into hits from P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, James Morrison and The Feeling - before Pop ballads from Shayne Ward and Will Young, and hit cover versions from McFly, Emma Bunton, Ronan Keating and Westlife. 

The second disc opens with the huge track 'Patience' from Take That which returned them to #1 after a 10 year absence, and the contemporary classic 'Chasing Cars' from Snow Patrol, before big hits from Keane and Lily Allen with her debut and first #1 'Smile'. 

Scissor Sisters 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin'' was a massive hit, a personal fav too and leads to superstars Robbie Williams, Pet Shop Boys and The Killers. A great run of Indie-Pop is next, including hits from Fall Out Boy, The Zutons, The Fratellis, and the #1 'America' from Razorlight. Leona Lewis won the 'X-Factor' and features alongside crossover club smashes from Fedde Le Grand, Booty Luv, and Infernal. 

2007: Britney Spears announces her intention to be heard on disc 3 with 'Gimme More', followed by more huge giant Pop acts - Girls Aloud's with 'Call The Shots', Sugababes with 'About You Now', and MIKA dazzles with his infectious #1 'Grace Kelly'. 

He was much talked about that year.

The irresistible '2 Hearts' from Kylie Minogue gives way to two massive floor-fillers; 'Proper Education' from Eric Prydz vs. Floyd and Freemasons feat. Bailey Tzuke with 'Uninvited'. A stellar selection of some of the best R&B smashes of the decade follows, from Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo, Amerie, and Akon. Sean Kingston and Newton Faulkner both enjoyed debut success in 2007, while celebrated songwriters John Mayer, and Rufus Wainwright showcase their skills and lead into the closing tracks on the disc from legendary stars Céline Dion and Michael Bublé with their outstanding vocals. So good.

CD4 delivers hit after hit, starting with Leona Lewis's powerhouse ballad, 'Bleeding Love' - 2007's biggest selling single, before Fergie's global smash 'Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)'. OneRepublic's 'Apologize' and another timeless gem from Take That with 'Rule The World' and other brilliantly crafted tracks from singer-songwriters, lead by '1973' from James Blunt and 'Hey There Delilah' from The Plain White T's, alongside huge radio records from The Fray with 'How To Save A Life', and Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse on their version of 'Valerie'.

 Anthemic Alt-Rock hits from Kaiser Chiefs, The View and Scouting For Girls all feature, as do Top 40 debuts from Kate Nash, Just Jack, The Hoosiers and Peter, Bjorn and John, whilst the last word is given to Pop royalty the Spice Girls with 'Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)' - their first single to feature the original line-up in nearly ten years.

It was an interesting two years and it's been grear hearing  these tracks I recall from radio play again.

Updating The Nows - Now Yearbook 1974

Into May and the Now Yearbook return to the past gets back to those pages we favour on vinyl going back to a year that has some parallels, extreme economic and social disruption plus a general election (if you were around you might recall we had two) and while the grown ups were getting worried about the "State of the Nation" we were playing, reading our comics, playing our records and enjoying Vision On.

Getting back to this, we have a record with some 48 tracks, all but one a substantial hit almost the equivalent of four of those cheesy cover girl Top Of The Pops albums that had remakes of all the hits, pressed on three lumps of green vinyl but sadly lacking the informative booklet of the cd version

 

Record One opens with  ‘Killer Queen’ that was first Top 5 single for Queen, and followed by the classic ‘Jet’ by Paul McCartney & Wings the second second from his latest album, and the still breathtakingly original, and hugely influential ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us’ from Sparks. This is followed up by run of ‘glam rock" from Sweet and Roxy Music, and including #1s from Suzi Quatro, and the years’ biggest seller ‘Tiger Feet’ from Mud, before closing with Slade’s ‘Far Far Away’. 

Flipping over to side two we start with Elton John with ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, before some of the years biggest Rock hits, including ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’, ‘Radar Love’, ‘Dance With The Devil’ and the Faces ‘Pool Hall Richard’ before concluding with ‘Mike Oldfield’s Single’ – the ‘theme’ from his iconic album ‘Tubular Bells’. 

Record Two's first side is packed with huge hits including 6 #1’s - with chart-toppers from David Essex, The Rubettes, Alvin Stardust and Paper Lace, plus a huge hit from Pilot the Scottish group that promised much and the first Top 3 single for the Bay City Rollers with ‘Shang-A-Lang’. 

To my delight 1974’s biggest selling singles act were The Wombles, and their debut ‘The Wombling Song’ is up next along with the #1 global smash ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ from Carl Douglas inspired by the cult films and sport, before ending with the Reggae-Pop #1 ‘Everything I Own’ from Ken Boothe. 

1974 was a landmark year for Soul music, and it included the first global ‘Disco’ smashes and fittingly this is given a side to itself kicking off with with Barry White’s #1 ‘You’re The First, The Last, My Everything’ before a run of iconic floor-fillers from The Hues Corporation, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, and a further #1 ‘Rock Your Baby’ from George McCrae. 

We conclude this side with four of the greatest Soul ballads of all-time from The Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye and ‘You Make Me Feel Brand New’ from The Stylistics. 

Record Three kicks off with the title track from the year’s biggest selling album, ‘Band On The Run’ from Paul McCartney & Wings – followed by the iconic ‘Candle In The Wind’ from Elton John, ‘I Honestly Love You’ by Olivia Newton-John which was her first US #1, and the amazing ‘The Air That I Breathe’ from The Hollies, before a run of four songs: John Denver’s ‘Annie’s Song’, ‘She’ from Charles Aznavour’, ‘The Three Degrees with ‘When Will I See You Again’ and ‘Sad Sweet Dreamer’ from Sweet Sensation – all of which hit #1 in 1974. 

The final side of Record Three is an eclectic line-up of pure Pop heaven led by the number ones ‘Seasons In The Sun’ from Terry Jacks and ‘You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me’ from The New Seekers that charted in December of 1973, and including Stephanie De Sykes, 10cc, and Lulu with ‘The Man Who Sold The World’, featuring David Bowie on backing vocals, before a second appearance from Sparks with ‘Amateur Hour’, plus Cockney Rebel’s ‘Mr Soft’, and Leo Sayer closing out this collection with his debut hit ‘The Show Must Go On’.

As you can see this is a very comprehensive selection of hits, many of which I certainly recall gathered up from the original recordings in the media we were brought up on.

Recommended.

Now Millennium series revisited Pt.II

The Now Millennium series continues advancing from the original 1999 volume issued in 2000 and in most respects this series continues on from that and on March 1st the next volume was issued following on from 2002/3.

As with all of this series each volume covers two years with one year per two discs and in the book form version I bought you get some background notes on each song and act included not that in the passing years I've forgotten Crazy Frog!

CD1 is the first of two taht cover 2004 and begins with George Michael's top-5 smash ‘Amazing’, before Pop queens Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue feature with the sensational ‘Toxic’ and ‘I Believe In You’. As well as co-writing the Kylie smash, Jake Shears along with his band The Scissor Sisters had a fantastic year in 2004 with their self-titled album, showcased on this release with their massive hit ‘Laura’. Robbie Williams continued to enjoy massive success, Duran Duran returned and further cemented their legacy with ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’, plus Anastacia and Natasha Beddingfield both enjoyed huge hits with ‘Left Outside Alone’ and ‘These Words’. Will Young’s phenomenal achievements in 2003 spilled over into 2004 with the release of ‘Your Game’ and Maroon 5’s ‘This Love’ ended up at number 3 after their 2002 sleeper-hit album ‘Songs About Jane’ was re-released. Dancefloor favourites come in the form of legendary Hip-Hop / Pop from Outkast and Kelis, plus the Pop-Dance of The Shapeshifters, ‘Call On Me’ from Eric Prydz, and the fusion of LMC and U2. The disc cools down with the #1 from Eamon and the soulful vocals of Lemar.

CD2 kicks off with the undisputed classic ‘Mr. Brightside’ from The Killers before featuring other fantastic bands; Keane, Snow Patrol, R.E.M. and The Streets - all here. 2004 was a stellar year for Pop singles, and included here - Sugababes, Girls Aloud, band rivals Busted and McFly, plus Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne all experienced Chart success.

CD3 begins by highlighting amazing song writing, including ‘Speed Of Sound’ from Coldplay, James Blunt’s ‘You're Beautiful’, ‘Bad Day’ from Daniel Powter and the electrifying ‘Dakota’ from Stereophonics. New singles from New Order and Eurythmics come before Duran Duran, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams all make their second appearance. KT Tunstall’s massive ‘Suddenly I See’ leads to Chart favourites from Natalie Imbruglia and Simon Webbe. The huge ‘Caught Up’ from Usher and ‘1 Thing’ from Amerie come before the heavy beat of The Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Don't Phunk With My Heart’, and the disc closes with Akon’s flagship  number one smash ‘Lonely’.

CD4 leads with the irresistible ‘I Predict A Riot’ from the Kaiser Chiefs, followed by more great bands – The Bravery, Doves, Oasis and Bon Jovi all released unforgettable tracks in 2005. It was also the year that Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone’ dominated the Charts, as did the R&B / Hip-Hop / Pop hits of ‘Don't Cha’ from The Pussycat Dolls and ‘Candy Shop’ from 50 Cent and Olivia. Mario and John Legend proved that romance wasn’t dead, and Elton John and Westlife released uplifting songs ‘Electricity’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’. ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’ from Tony Christie charted in 2005 as the years Comic Relief track and the album ends with an early viral sensation – the undeniably catchy ‘Axel F’ from Crazy Frog.

This era was one i bought albums by artists I liked so a general resume of this period is really helpful in putting titles to songs heard on the radio or being played in HMV when buying Oasis albums.

Updating The Now's - Now Eighties Dancefloor Soul & Disco

A return to the series we commented upon on January 29th so near enough a month on we have another lp only selection that looks at Soul and Disco which was popular and with a number not on original now albums although these aren't the extended version these have some tracks that weren't on original now albums.

Released on Friday, as with the others we get two well packed discs on coloured vinyl at a discounted price the sleeve is nothing special lacking any kind of liner notes.

The first disc in this set kicks off with Tina Turner's iconic remake of 'Let's Stay Together' - a testament to her timeless vocal prowess. 

Jocelyn Brown's 'Somebody Else's Guy', brings a fabulous fusion of Funk and Soul that I originally bought on a 45, followed by Gwen Guthrie's anthem 'Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent' from 1986.

Womack & Womack's 'Teardrops' blend of captivating lyrics and rhythm, leads into Joyce Sims' 'Come Into My Life' from 1989 before the Stock Aitken Waterman written & produced 'Say I'm Your Number One' from Princess leads us to Loose Ends' 'Hangin' On A String' offering a smooth, jazz-infused sound, echoed by Will Downing's very first hit, 'A Love Supreme', which concludes that side.

The second side takes you on a whirlwind trip around the dancefloor with Whitney Houston's 'How Will I Know from 1985, Alexander O'Neal's 'Criticize' and Aretha Franklin's 'Who's Zoomin' Who?' bring a blend of irresistible beats. 

Lionel Richie's 'Dancing On The Ceiling' takes us to Laura Branigan's 'Self Control', alongside Imagination's debut single, 'Body Talk', offers a cross of Hi-NRG Disco with a sensual groove while Hi-Gloss's 'You'll Never Know' is a gem of smooth, elegant Soul to finish the first LP. 

The first side of the second disc begins with the iconic duo Ashford & Simpson's 'Solid,' a celebration of enduring love I originally bought the extended version of on 12" single.

This is followed by #1 Disco anthem 'Fame' from Irene Cara featured in the Tv show and Diana Ross's 'My Old Piano' that showcases her unique ability to blend Pop with Soul on this Chic-produced classic before we move on to Donna Summer's Grammy-nominated single 'Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)' fusing Disco with a Funk edge, while Odyssey's 'Inside Out' provides a smooth, and melody filled dance. 

Terri Wells's 'I'll Be Around' is a soulful delight, and Hall & Oates' 'I Can't Go For That (No Can't Do)' mixes Rock with Soul and was sampled ands  the side closes on a romantic note with Fat Larry's Band's 'Zoom' a personal favourite from 1982.

The final side opens by showcasing Rufus and Chaka Khan's 'Ain't Nobody,' a masterpiece of Funk and Soul synergy while Womack & Womack make their second appearance with 'Love Wars', followed by Steve Arrington's 'Feel So Real' - a true example of the era's crossover with Disco and Soul. 

Miami Sound Machine's 'Dr. Beat' injects Latin-infused Pop rhythms at the core of a cool sound , while Jermaine Stewart's biggest hit 'We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off' became a global dance-floor smash hit. 

Billy Ocean's Grammy award winner, 'Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)', blends Soul, Disco and Pop which I remember buying a special four mix cassette single of while Sister Sledge's 'Thinking Of You' is the perfect closer, uplifting and full of joy.

This is a great fun packed compilation that'll bring back many memories.

Updating the Now's - Now Yearbook 1990

Just before off if not frozen over by the Beast From Norway our favourite series makes a return.

We last touched base as the cool kids say with Now Yearbook last September with the 1973 issue as I missed off the 1992 issue on vinyl as by that point I'd stopped buying compilations like the Now's apart from the mid to late 90's Shine Indies ones.

1990 was a transitional year format wise was as I'd moved from lp with Early 1989 with Now 14 to cd by Summer's Now 15 and that was to run on 1991 and many of main trends of 1989 continued into 1990.

Although 1989 will need to be sorted out on vinyl at some point or other, this Now Yearbook does fit in well and makes for a good end chapter to those original numbered 1980's now's.

As with the other titles it is also available in deluxe 4 cd book form and cheaper fold round card cd versions with more tracks but sometimes less is more.

Starting the rewind back to 1990 are iconic legends George Michael with ‘Praying For Time’, and Elton John with his #1 single ‘Sacrifice’, followed by top 10 smashes from The B-52’s with ‘Love Shack, a personal favourite’ and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Better The Devil You Know’, plus timeless Pop from Belinda Carlisle, Kim Appleby and Roxette’s ‘It Must Have Been Love’ from the soundtrack to ‘Pretty Woman’. We then flip the first LP over for a stellar line-up featuring The KLF, New Order, Duran Duran, the theme from ‘Twin Peaks’, Julee Cruise’s ‘Falling’, Chris Isaak with ‘Wicked Game’ and Pet Shop Boys defining ‘Being Boring’.

Dance floor-fillers kick start record two from Deee-Lite with ‘Groove Is In The Heart’, and the #1 debut from SNAP! with ‘The Power’. Legendary names fill this side including Whitney Houston, Dusty Springfield, Paul Simon and the remixed version of ‘Englishman In New York’ from Sting.

Turning over the other side features club classics from Adamski & Seal and Bass-O-Matic, followed by a run of Indie-Alt legends including Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, and Candy Flip’s cover of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, before finishing with ‘Birdhouse In Your Soul’ from They Might Be Giants, and the #1 ‘A Little Time’ from The Beautiful South.

The tenth consecutive Top 10 hit for Pet Shop Boys ‘So Hard’ opens the final LP, followed by the superb cover of the Disco classic ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’ from Jimmy Somerville, before a second appearance from Kylie Minogue with her Disco anthem ‘Step Back In Time’ and one of Stock, Aitken & Waterman’s greatest dancefloor tracks ‘Happenin’ All Over Again’ from Lonnie Gordon. More dancefloor smashes follow from Adventures Of Stevie V, Blue Pearl, and the unexpected collaboration between DNA & Suzanne Vega, before closing with one of the biggest debut #1s of the year, ‘Ice Ice Baby’ from Vanilla Ice that sampled Under Pressure by Queen.

The collection’s final side opens with the still-breathtaking interpretation of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ from the late Sinéad O'Connor. Also included are film related hits; Maria McKee’s ‘Show Me Heaven’, from the ‘Days Of Thunder’ soundtrack, and the ‘Young Guns II’ track ‘Blaze Of Glory’ from Jon Bon Jovi. The Grammy Award-winning US #1 for Alannah Myles ‘Black Velvet’ appears alongside the smash ‘Just Like Jesse James’ from Che before closing this collection is a brilliant interpretation of the classic ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’ which gave Deacon Blue their highest singles chart position in a year filled with Pop highlights.

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1 George Michael - Praying For Time

2 Elton John - Sacrifice

3 The B-52's - Love Shack

4 Belinda Carlisle - (We Want) The Same Thing

5 Kylie Minogue - Better The Devil You Know

6 Kim Appleby - Don't Worry

7 Roxette - It Must Have Been Love

Disc: 1 Side 2

1 The KLF - What Time Is Love (Live At Trancentral)

2 New Order - World In Motion

3 Duran Duran - Violence Of Summer (Love's Taking Over)

4 Halo James - Could Have Told You So

5 Julee Cruise - Falling

6 Chris Isaak - Wicked Game

7 Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring

Disc: 2

1 Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart

2 SNAP! - The Power

3 Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight

4 Dusty Springfield - Reputation

5 Go West - The King Of Wishful Thinking

6 Paul Simon - The Obvious Child

7 Sting - Englishman In New York (The Ben Liebrand Mix)

Disc: 2 Side 2

1 Adamski & Seal - Killer

2 Bass-O-Matic - Fascinating Rhythm

3 Happy Mondays - Step On

4 The Stone Roses - One Love

5 The Charlatans - The Only One I Know

6 Candy Flip - Strawberry Fields Forever

7 They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul

8 The Beautiful South - A Little Time

Disc: 3

1 Pet Shop Boys – So Hard

2 Jimmy Somerville - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

3 Kylie Minogue - Step Back In Time

4 Lonnie Gordon - Happenin’ All Over Again (Hip House Radio Mix)

5 Adventures Of Stevie V - Dirty Cash (Money Talks)

6 Blue Pearl - Naked In The Rain

7 DNA & Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner

8 Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

Disc: 3 Side 2

1 Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

2 Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze Of Glory (From "Young Guns II" Soundtrack)

3 Tina Turner - Steamy Windows

4 Alannah Myles - Black Velvet

5 Cher - Just Like Jesse James

6 Maria McKee - Show Me Heaven (From "Days Of Thunder" Soundtrack)

7 Deacon Blue - I'll Never Fall In Love Again

Updating the NOW's - Now Eighties Dancefloor Disco & Electro

We've looked a bit a Now's, mainly from the Updating the Now's angle as the original Now That's What I Call Music series started in late 1983 so there was a period before of less good compilations and certainly a lack of Year based Greatest Hits sets so we've been going back so far in to 1973

The last Updating post was from June last year looking at Alt Rock.

Now these days is a massive brand when it comes to compilations so there are a few others on compact disc dotted about but one recently did come out on December 1st last year which does slot well within the vinyl Now collection here.

Now have a few vinyl only series releases and one series is Now Eighties Dancefloor which so far has two issues an another due at the end of February.

The main aim of the series is gather up 80's dance music within genre specific issues and for these they are either regular single or radio edits rather than 12" remixes.

This appealed as it has a high proportion of tracks I don't have on vinyl albums and covers a period where I used to make my own compilation tapes from singles.

Following the height of its’ popularity in the late 1970s, Disco in the early 1980s retained the irresistible melodies and beat but became primarily synth driven. 

The era saw some of the genres’ biggest hits including this collections’ opener ‘Flashdance…What A Feeling’ from Irene Cara – this theme from the film ‘Flashdance’ was not only a massive selling single, but the song also won multiple awards including an Academy Award. Lipps Inc. produced a timeless hit with ‘Funkytown’, and Shalamar with ‘A Night To Remember’, Odyssey with ‘Use It Up And Wear It Out’ and Indeep’s ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ were all huge commercial Disco hits.

Disco masters Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic feature here in their roles as producers and writers with Diana Ross’s massive hit ‘Upside Down’, ‘Why’ from Carly Simon, and the peerless ‘Spacer’ from Sheila & B. Devotion and in 1984 remixed Sister Sledge’s ‘Lost In Music’ which became a massive hit again and is included here in its full 12” version.

Amii Stewart’s classic version of ‘Knock On Wood’ was remixed too joining it, Donna Summer enjoyed huge success with ‘She Works Hard For The Money’ in 1983, and other established Disco superstars celebrated returns to the charts with an 80’s Disco sound including, and featured on this collection, KC & The Sunshine Band and Evelyn “Champagne” King.

The prevalence of the synth in the 1980s gave rise to new and exciting sounds and to tracks that were created with fusions of genres. 

One thing I liked about it was on this collection it celebrates ‘ELECTRO’ – a sub-genre of Electronic Dance music that combined elements of Disco, Funk and Hip-Hop and featuring a heavy synth backing, and the commercial Electro-Pop hits it produced. 

In 1984, Chaka Khan who had achieved huge success with the Disco classic ‘I’m Every Woman’, had a worldwide smash with a cover of Prince’s ‘I Feel For You’ which combined Disco, Funk, R&B, Synth-Pop and Hip-Hop – to stunning effect. 

In addition 1984 saw Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced a classic fusion of Disco, R&B, Funk and Synth-Pop for the S.O.S Band with ‘Just Be Good To Me’ and also included here are hugely influential Electro-Pop gems from Freeez, Rockers Revenge feat. Donnie Calvin, Malcolm McLaren, Break Machine, and Rock Steady Crew.

In the latter half of the 80s, Disco and Electro-Pop continued to evolve and fill dance-floors. Taking influences from both genres, Expose and Company B enjoyed ‘freestyle’ hits and DJ, remixer and producer Jellybean had a string of hits including ‘Just A Mirage’, and Whitney Houston became a global superstar. 

One of her signature tracks ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ serves as a stellar example of how Dance music had evolved through the decade and remained as vital and uplifting as ever.

This usefully expands upon my original NOW and HITS compilations and their Ronco and KTel predecessors.

Updating the NOWS - Now Yearbook 80-84 & 80-84 Extras

So we have had Christmas, wrote the New Year entry and now double back to something that made an appearance in the Christmas edition briefly.

We have made reference to the Now Yearbook series here, the concept of a series of releases by NOW that take a year and has a main Yearbook  on four cds and a matching three cd extra started in late 2021 and its vinyl counterpart starting with the 1982 volume.

Shortly after the release of the 1985 Yearbook, we were informed because of the unexpected popularity of this series and the interest shown in the vinyl editions a "Final Chapter" was to come out in December that added a number of tracks from 1980 through 1984 which had been missed off.

This the three lp vinyl edition was housed in a cover similar to the 1980 set on gold vinyl.

 

The track listing and running order is noticeably different from the cd version taking its cue from side length limits to maximize the number of tracks included.

An array of "New Romantic" hits from the likes of Japan, Ultravox, Simple Minds and Culture Club put in appearance while Soul is well represented by the likes of Lionel Richie, Kool & The Gang, the much missed Donna Summer, Jeffery Osbourne with his Stay With Me Tonight and Shalamar's Friends.

Rock is represented by Iron Maiden's Run To The Hills  from their Number Of The Beast album, The Jam and U2.

Shortly after this set appeared to pre-order, we were surprised to see another package connected this batch of releases.

The Extra volumes in the cd series had proven popular for expanding upon the main release but one irritant to some was that there was no lp equivalent something this packaged of five lps in a slim box attempts to put right with a single year per coloured vinyl disc per year.

Unlike any vinyl issue in this series, each individual lp has its own sleeve and for the first time the short "background capsule" that was always a feature of the original NOW albums and in the book edition of the cds was reproduced.

Although this set was per disc more expensive than the previous Yearbooks, I got it as while I had the 80's NOW and HITS, the 1982 disc builds on my original Ronco albums while the 1983 set covers tracks that for licensing reasons were not on the first NOW lp and didn't make the first HITS either.

It dovetails into my vinyl edition sets for 1980, 81 and 82 very well so all in spotted at a 20% discount the set made sense to pick up.

1980: The stellar track list kicks off with Blondie’s No. 1 ‘Call Me’, before a line-up including Madness, Kate Bush, Roxy Music, and Siouxsie And The Banshees. Classic Rock from Motörhead and Judas Priest, Soulful Disco from Diana Ross and Donna Summer, and a perennial Christmas favourite from Jona Lewie are all featured.

1981: Side A reflects the explosion of artists enjoying their huge early hits in this incredible year for Pop; Adam & The Ants, Toyah, Kim Wilde, The Human League, and Fun Boy Three are all included – and on the flip side, The Police open an equally dynamic listing featuring Pretenders, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Gary Numan, and closes with the Pop gem ‘Wired For Sound’ from Cliff Richard.

1982: Duran Duran, Haircut 100, Soft Cell, Japan, ABC, The Clash, and The Jam represent some of the greatest artists of all-time, as well as the era – plus pure pop heaven from Bucks Fizz, Tight Fit and Dollar.

1983: Opening with Wham! and featuring a run of huge hits from ‘83’s contemporary chart stars Spandau Ballet, Bananarama, Paul Young, Culture Club, The Cure and Tears For Fears – plus global smashes from long-established chart legends Elton John, Billy Joel, Robert Plant and ‘Say Say Say’, the collaboration between Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.

1984: An amazing year for pop is reflected here with a line-up that kicks off with Queen’s iconic ‘Radio Ga Ga’ and finishes with the biggest selling single of the decade, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ from Band Aid. Between these are massive hits from Lionel Richie, Rufus And Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Alison Moyet, Howard Jones and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

The unanswered question from this deluxe extra edition is will they be planning vinyl Extra editions for subsequent  years and what are they going to do for other Extras issued on cd such as the 1979 and upcoming 1985 ones?

Now Yearbook 1981

Various Artists hits compilations of sorts had been around for getting on for some sixty years from the days of "Sound alike" re-recordings of hits issued most famously by Hallmark in their Top Of The Pops series offering eleven or twelve hits of a four week period for little more than the price of a 45 rpm single with an eye catching cover to the first original artist sets in the early 1970's that might offer up to 24 hits on a single on tv advertised labels such as K Tel, Ronco and the like.

They were very popular although the sound wasn't too good for squashing the lowest and highest notes and chopping the songs to get it all to fit between two lp sides.

The scene changed in 1983 after a few better quality sets from Ronco when EMI and Virgin joined forces to start the iconic Now That's What I Call Music series and CBS and Warners got together in 1984 with the HITS series.

If you were around in the 1980's like me the chances are you have those NOW and HITS records still but there is a line between them and the less good sets we had before.

Now That's What I Call Music launched last year a deluxe series of albums that took hits, packaging them into four cds in main booklet styled set with short notes and a three cd Extra set which you may of collected.

That series had a vinyl version which saw a selection off the main four cd set issued on three records and with that I saw a place for this, the most recent version covering the year 1981 which was a massive one in UK Pop Music and to which I only had the Ronco Super Hits '81 double thin sounding set from Xmas that year.

There was on a little duplication and in any event this would sound much fuller than any number of K Tel and Ronco sets of that year so I bought it.

The record itself is pressed on quiet red coloured vinyl, three discs in a single pocket, a bit cheap but functional and was quite cheap allowing for inflation comparing with what I payed back then.

With hits from the Human League, Adam Ant, Madness, Queen, Reo Speedwagon and many others it certainly fills a hole in my vinyl hits collection all right.

Now That's What I Call Music!

Yes back in late 1983 this classic series of compilations started as I remember well seeing the ads on TV and in the record stores -remember them? with the bold idea of making good on the promise of earlier chart based compilations by labels such as Ronco and KTel by having less tracks, the full versions of songs (no more crude edits) and a nice short blurb about each track.

The blurbs are that good I keep going back to from for a background reminder!

As intimated I actually bought a good many of these during the 1980's for the simple reason they had all the chart songs I liked and what was more the sound quality was extremely good for the most part. If an album had more than four songs I liked it was often cheaper to by these albums for anything other than the artists I personally collected such Duran Duran where you'd want the picture sleeves and non album b sides.

You see in the 1980's a lot happened not least in how we listened to music starting with the lp record going through a period where the cassette was the hip thing and finally to where we're at today, the compact disc and in all this change sometimes it was hard to know what version to buy.

In the main I bought the lp versions having a decent phonograph based system by 1983 but by 1986 was spending quite a bit of time using cassette Walkman players and 'Brixton briefcases' aka portable stereo radio cassette recorders, so I did get Now 8 originally on pre-recorded cassette and had Now 3 on tape too as it was a freebie with a Walkman I bought.

Equally the arrival of Now '86 a special cd only compilation did result in me putting off getting Now7 on lp or tape and I bought Now 9 which was a single cd because it was felt a double like the lp version was too expensive for the usual buyers meaning I missed several tracks and Now 10 which was a double cd (the first).

Unfortunately the 'perfect sound forever' cd wasn't as my copies of Now '86 and Now 9 are very hard to play and with having a few of the original lps a bit the worse for wear, I'm replacing these cds and a couple of albums that are noisy
.
The Collection thus far:
Now 1
Issued 28 November 1983
The one that started it all off, it contained no less than 11 no 1 singles and almost all are memorable and issued on cassette and lp which I bought and countless thousands all did. This was released on cd eventually to mark 25 years of NOW being established.
Now2
Issued April 7 1984
Titled in roman numerals (II) the cover was plainer but it contains many of the best songs from the end of 1983 and early 1984 by the likes of Slade, Duran Duran, Rolling stones, Fiction Factory, Frankie goes to Hollywood and Queen.
My copy was very noisy with a slight skip on Radio Gaga and a scratch that runs thru the first four tracks on side two with a big skip on Undercover of the Night.I scored a mint copy for only £2 plus mailing!
Now3
Issued August 11 1984
This album launched the era of the Pig thanks to Danish Bacon which dominated the next few issues being on the front cover. I originally bought this on tape it had yet another mix of Two Tribes not otherwise on the 45 and have just gotten a acceptable play copy of it on album.
Now4
Issued December 8 1984 and the very first NOW to have CD issue - a single one - that outside the London area you just didn't see so I got the lp. This album has a special mix of Paul McCartney's No More Lonely Nights that didn't appear on vinyl!
Now5. I had this on vinyl but lost it! Too bad as it had the last classic Duran Duran single and Marillion's Kayleigh amongst others.I just got a good play copy of this very cheaply which was a relief as I was badly let down by one seller who sent me a Excellent copy that looked as if it had been used as a scratching post by a cat. There is a tiny scratch just at the start of side two but otherwise it is as new playing wise.
Now6
Issued December 7th 1985 and I brought this new that Christmas. Can anyone forget Baltimora's Tarzan Boy with that jungle call?
Now7
Issued August 23 1986 .
This one I missed out on as only just over an handful of the songs featured in cd only NOW '86 album that's a whole lot of missing hits such as Owen Paul's Your My Favourite Waste Of Time and Pete Wylie's Sinful.
hidden unlisted on side three at the end is 'hidden track' Queens A Kind Of Magic.
NOW '86. This was a cd only compilation a cross between Now7 with 5 songs from Now8 being the first NOW to have West End Girls on it but the cd ceased being playable several years back and I'm only left with a copy on MiniDisc although I still have the case and inserts.
I recently got a mint replacement copy.
Now8
Issued December 6 1986
That was the second Now album I had on cassette but when the tape got damaged I picked up okay copy of the record version that I've been able to replace for a mint one.. There was a 18 track single cd version of it issued at the time with the reason for being a single cd because cds were very expensive compared to records back then and it was felt the average NOW buyer wouldn't stump up over £20 for 2 cd set. I acquired the cd version, pressed in Germany recently.
Now9
Issued April 4 1987
From the year of the Yuppie with padded shoulders, braces, mobile phone like a brick with a big antenna sticking out and loadsa money, this one sold more on cd than the others did.Perhaps with the chart being a bit lame at the time the short playing time of the cd was more acceptable and with cds going more mainstream people wanted the singles on cd and this was good way of doing it.
I have the cd bought new but am looking for a replacement as the disc is deteriorating due a pressing problem although I have made a back up copy.I managed to get a copy in really good condition apart from a tiny indent on the out edge of one of the two discs on Monday (5/16/2011) for a very cheap price from the person I got the better Now 2 copy from. Just needed a clean to remove fingerprints. What surprised me is the LP seems to have been mastered separately and sounds fuller than the cd version and has 15 tracks missed of the cd although that only managed 61 minutes out of possible 74 back then. As we're talking about missing songs by acts like Erasure, Bon Jovi A-ha etc it's crazy!
Now10
issued December 5 1987 - The first NOW to go to 2 cds and at a discounted price too I got this on cd.Stylistically House Music was coming on and featured on the second disc.I recently got a copy of the lp version for comparison.
Now11
issued April 2 1988
Somewhat typically I drifted back to vinyl as most of the artists I like who issued singles during this period I already had the cds of and I was dropping off buying 45's so this was the cheaper option for pop and house music.
Now12
Issued July 23 1988 The Summer of 'Acid House' captured.
Now13
issued December 3 1988
Now14
Issued April 1 1989
The last new Now album I bought on lp as i was moving toward cd centred listening at the time making an edited version for replay on my Aiwa cassette walkman I used back then.
Now15
Issued August 26 1989 I remember making the cassette edit on a TDK AR 100 minute tape for my walkman
Now16
issued December 2 1989
Now17
Issued May 5 1990
By this point I was losing interest in chart music as had drifted mainly toward 'club' sounds such as House, Madchester and HipHop so this was the last album I bought new.
Smash Hits -Now that's what I call 80's
Issued August 1987
I originally had the cassette but that got mangled and was left with a copy on cassette a friend had copied from the lp before I got mine which I transferred to MiniDisc. Unfortunately the only machine that could play this tape right lacks the type of noise reduction he used back then so on the quiet parts the high notes are raised together with any crackles. I recently go the cd version but this misses off the Summer '81 #1 smash hits One Day In Your Life by the late Michael Jackson for some strange reason.
Now -The Christmas Album: a compilation of 18 songs with a Christmas theme such as I wish It would be Christmas everyday, Thank God it's Christmas, Last Christmas and Do they know it's Christmas time that came out on lp, cassette and cd in November 1985 as a single album.I have the lp version and have the 1989 near equivalent It's Christmas on cd.
Now 1983 (Millennium series) Bought to fill a few gaps apart from being a kind of cd equivalent to the original Now lp and part of Now 2.
Now 1984 (Millennium series) Ditto having material scattered across Now 2,3, and 4 with only a tiny selection from the third  making a period cd.
Now 1985 (Millennium series) - bought the 1999 2 cd set as it had most of hits from 1985 and being missing NOW5 it was a reasonable stop gap.

* Updated April 2011 by Jo