Back to NOW!

It's November 2023, and the world's most successful compilation series is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Five decades of compiling the latest hits, the occasional miss, but always the songs that soundtracked our lives. Always there, always democratically and expertly sequencing the music that the UK buying (downloading/streaming/swiping) public were grooving to, laughing to, dancing along with, or crying about (add in your own band or artists here).What else is still with us from 1983? And still having such an impact?Breakfast Time? Well, certainly not Frank Bough.The Ford Sierra? Taxi!£1 coins? Down the back of the sofa.Kajagoogoo? Hush hush, as they say. (One for the older listeners)So, as our friends at NOW rightly celebrate the past through a stunning array of special albums and even see podcasters pop up across several TV programmes waxing lyrically about the famous compilation series (well, no-one else will talk about it, will they?) the numbered series that started it all in November 1983 continued to do exactly what it set out to do; bring together the songs of NOW.Perhaps no longer just the Top Chart Hits, that tag line that emblazoned the front cover of earlier volumes, but now taking into account the various ways we actually DO consume music in the third decade of the 21st century.NOW 116 - The Best of the Best.47 tracks. Tik Tok stars, Film soundtrack anthems, legendary decade surviving artists. Pop, rock, dance, soul.All present and correct, all breathlessly exciting, all taking that snapshot in time of pop culture. And as we know, an invaluable window into the soundtrack of our lives.Where, indeed, Agnetha, do we go from here?To understand the past and the future, we always need to be in the NOW. (Take a note of that line, its a good one: Ed)And joining me to make sense of this dazzling volume of the world famous compilation series is award winning writer, journalist and NOW fan David Quantick.David explains why he wanted to get in 'at the deep end' and why he thinks that NOW116 highlights that pop is in a fine healthy state in. We explore what actually is a 'hit' in 2023/24, why short songs are always an indication of great songs, why NOW continues to keep getting it right and how the compilation series is Top Of The Pops in exile.Along the way, discover who David describes as 'the Dr. Who of Pop', who are 'The Strokes for Queen fans (or was that the other way around)' and what a bad AI version of George Michael may look (and sound) like. We also revisit why Pop continues to Eat Itself (yes, David came up with that one!), why the female artists are leaving the boys behind, who the 'ASDA Madonna' is and who the real Madonna is. And did Chris Lowe really offer Tracey Chapman a lift in 1988?We really do (watch what I do here) Paint The Town Red!Jump in, buckle up and remind yourself why pop is still very, very important. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Confidence, they say, is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as……1994, darlings! And of course, as perceived wisdom now dutifully dictates, we were all completely mad for it, lemon hooch in hand, union jacks draped around our football tops, waving two fingers to those damn yanks. Go home!Except, of course, the truth couldn’t be further away from the, er truth. Whilst it definitely maybe was 1994, there was so much more than just cigarettes (and alcohol). And we were all the better for it, pop kids!Our favourite compilation series was not only celebrating nearly turning 30, it was also sporting a new slimline 2CD cover - swanky, and soooo nineties! Goodbye fat boxes, this decade of NOW was neater, fitter and certainly in full swing.So, what could you expect from this sparkly, starshaped selection of 38 Top Chart Hits?Pure, glistening pop from the likes of Michelle Gayle and Sophie B Hawkins!Boyband phoar-dom (is this a word?) from the top flight teams of FC Take That and East 17 United!Swoonsome songstress Lia Loeb positively not missing the knocks of Ethan Hawke (reality will bite)!And huge slices of europop at every provincial nightclub turn! Another Saturday (rhythm of the) Night folks! Mine’s a Pernod and blackcurrant and chip butty!And of course we had a selection of those most poppy sounds of the Brit persuasion, courtesy of blur (no capital!) and Oasis. Swagger, confidence and NOW on the money as always. All of this and much, much more awaits - including SPARKS! Yes, actual Russell and Ron Mael on a NOW album!Join Anna Doble - broadcaster, journalist and author of ‘Connection is a Song: Coming Up and Coming Out Through the Music of the 90s’ - as we head down some fascinating rabbit holes and unearth not just a year of memories, but a whole decade of emotional and personal stories, interwoven by the power of music. And as always, NOW serves as the perfect snapshot of pop bringing it all back home.AND we pose some of 1994 biggest questions:When did Britpop actually begin?Which band followed Anna around Leeds on a bus? (well, not actually)Is 2wo Third3 the first ever case sensitive password?Are Shampoo the centre of the pop universe?Ultimate KAOS - why?Join us for NOW29 - it’s SO GOOD and INCREDIBLE! (Enough puns - Ed) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pop. The way that we process everything.So, it's the summer of 1993. According to meteorological 'experts', the UK experienced its lowest maximum temperatures since 1972. Only 4 days were officially classified as 'HOT'.Well, I would argue, pop fans, that is UNLESS you had a swingorilliant copy of NOW, That's What I Call Music 25!(We'll take this quite frankly, cheesy line out in the edit - Ed.)Yes, indeed, the blue sky and wistful clouds that adorned the glorious cover of the latest variously compiled snapshot of pop invited us into a summer spectacular of hits, Hits, HITS! Some of them even reaching as high as No69!Actually, there were plenty of chart topping sounds. George and Queen were raising the (non roof) of Wem-ber-lee, Ace of Base were confusing us all about wanting babies (possibly), Gabrielle was setting chart records and certainly not mentioning fast cars and Freddie Mercury was rewizzled and jigging away. And outwith these HUGE No1s we had Tina Turner getting a leg up from Lulu, Sade not getting a leg up from Lulu, Louche Lou and Michie One channeling Lulu. Yes, the variety was indeed...(enough! Ed)(Turns page)Big IMPORTANT 90s acts such as REM (stuck in traffic), New Order (stuck in Baywatch), Duran Duran (stuck in, well, being bloody brilliant).Big DANCE choons from Sybil, Robin S (not that one) and 2 Unlimited (diminishing returns ahoy!) were keeping the frugging youngsters (and those on revolving dancefloors on boats!) moving. And Dannii and Kim were having a right old 70s revival karaoke style ding dong. Oo-er!Oh, and the campaign to completely rediscover the utter brilliance of the No42 AMAZEBALL that is 'Somewhere' by Efua starts RIGHT HERE.Join Scots pop superfan, Foyle's Bookstore's very own Niall McMurray (he's been waiting in reception) as he revisits an eventful and personal summer soundtrack; songs, music and memories that (in his own words) take him back to 'the year he will write a book about'.Along the way discover the power of provincial (and often quite terrifying) Scottish night clubs, how music always sounds better in a Fiat Panda, the song that Niall most hates in the whole world, the allure of a sinister pop flute, which NOW25 pop star is immortalised as a cardboard cut out in Iain's attic. And try to work out why it's impossible to remember the 90s when D:Ream are about!Oh, and of course, why Linda Perry, Joey Lawrence and Richard Darbyshire (and, quite frankly a few others) absolutely won't be returning our calls.(PS - the wonderful quote at the start - that's oor Niall X) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Spring 1993.And, I’m sure you’ll all agree, there was only one phrase on everyone’s lips.I lick-he boom, boom down.(Checks notes)Anyway, more of that later.The legendary NOW compilation series has reached its twenty-fourth volume and is now standing proud as the finest collection of chart hits around.HITS who?And as the fourth year of that craziest of decades ‘The Nineties’ got underway, 37 of the finest top hits were vying for your pop attention. AND what a year it was shaping up to be!The Bluebells were back from NOW3, promoting the cheeriest of car branded divorce!Hue and Cry were back from NOW10, still not working for you No More (at No 25!)Sister Sledge were back from the 70s, sure and as pure as the day is discotastic!Ultravox were still finding no meaning in anything!Lulu was, er, just back!(Get to the NINETIES! - Ed.)Yes, what a kaleidoscope of pop 1993 was pop kids! And OF COURSE there were plenty of tracks that signalled the decade was well and truly underway.The dancefloor was burning up thanks to Sub Sub, Robin S and er, 2 Unlimited. Reggae was waving its flag with Shaggy, Snow and Shabba Ranks. The boybands were exploding into our living rooms with Take That covering Barry Manilow in a garage and East 17 stuck in a Swimming Pool at TOTP. And Duran Duran were quietly making THE comeback of the decade with something that certainly wasn’t ordinary AT ALL.All of this before we mention some fabulous pop moments from the likes of World Party, The Beloved and Lenny Kravitz!It was enough to make Radio One ‘legend’ DLT flip out live on air! No, really.Join music journalist and blogger Sam Lidicott as we revisit these tracks and much more as we head back to NOW24. We explore why so many brilliant female vocalists were heading up the charts, which band Iain had breakfast with in 1993, and why NOW24 has not one but two exclusive bragging rights across the WHOLE series. Oh yes, there really were (wait for it) No Limits!And without too many spoilers, find out why Ugly Kid Joe and (sorry Mick) Simply Red probably wont be returning our calls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome, one and all, to the 3rd annual Back to NOW review! As is now tradition, this end of year episode of the variously compiled podcast provides us with a festive opportunity to glance back over our shoulders at the pop landscape of yet another 12 months.Let’s celebrate a dazzling year of NOW compilations that in 2023 have included something for everyone - fabulous yearbooks scanning four decades, love songs, Eurovision, dance, alternative, hi NRG, 12” annuals, and of the course the ubiquitous, iconic numbered series - across a sparkling selection of CDs and vinyl that we love so much.But wait! This year we have a bigger celebration than normal, as we say Happy 40th to NOW! Yes, a hastily approximated 14,600 days since EMI and Virgin records robbed those Raiders of the Pop Charts of their ‘buy one get one free’ title to claim the undisputed crown of compilations - and the rest, as Richard Branson would expect us to say, is pop history! So, join us as we indulge in our BIGGEST episode yet featuring pop rambles, self-referential blether, teary-eyed nostalgia, a few surprise guests - and general celebratory stuff and nonsense galore.And fear not, our seasonal panel of angelic upstarts have all stepped back from the Christmas shopping and bitching about festive TV ads to be here just for you!The Golden Mark Wood!The Frankenscens-ical Ian Wade!And the Myrrh-raculous Johnny Kalifornia!And what can we expect from our guests, I hear you cry?Without unwrapping the presents too much, discover who Johnny is getting to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him on New Year’s Eve, which track Mark came around to after his knee operation (THIS is what the kids want!) and why Ian is stuck between ‘Dystopia and Hazell Dean’. Yes, it’s THAT kind of party!And everyone is welcome. X Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They all know it’s Dynamite, And the music went on and on and on…The history books will tell us that, in theory, 1973 shouldn’t have worked.Terrorist campaigns, oil shortages, petrol rations, power cuts. Peters and Lee.However, as the saying goes from great adversity comes great art. Or was it great sitcoms? Either way, 1973 stands not just as one of the greatest pop years of the decade, one could argue of all time. Really, I hear you cry? Where is the evidence that a year that could see Donny Osmond hit the top spot twice needs to be elevated to such greatness? And we didn’t even win the Eurovision Song Contest? CONVINCE ME!1973 was perhaps the year where the decade finally shook off the ghosts of the Sixties. The Seventies had arrived and with breathless confidence, swagger and a reclamation of joyful pop by ‘the kids’, the year provides an embarrassment of musical and cultural riches. 1973 had put on its best glam gladrags and was ready to light the fuse for the rest of the decade.Colour had arrived across UK TV sets just in time for the like of Slade, Elton, Bowie, Roxy Music and a host of others to trailblaze a lightning streak of supercharged escapism across the charts and into our homes every Thursday evening on Tops of the Pops. Suzi Quatro, Alvin Stardust, Wizzard and Mud joined the glam trail with huge glittery doses of pop sensibility and killer choruses, that at times felt as if the centre couldn’t hold. David Essex provided one of the most memorable songs of the year as ‘Rock On’ also spearheaded 1973’s revival love affair with Rock and Roll as seen in the smash hit film ‘That’ll be The Day’. But this stellar year also gave us a wealth of classic soul and funk, many of which still soundtrack our lives 50 years later. Let’s celebrate the greats such as Diana Ross, The Temptations, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye. The list of highlights (just like the beat, pop pickers) goes on and on.And in 2023, the team at NOW have proudly provided us with a Yearbook and extra volume that together curates over 140 hits and memories from 1973; a pop year like no other. A compilation that is worthy of the title A CLASSIC.Joining me for this special episode is music consultant and Duckie legend Mark Wood and music journalist, author and cofounder of needle mythology records Pete Paphides. Discover why and how Mark has documented the whole year through his amazingly tireless, daily Facebook updates - and why 1973 is such an important year for him. Revisit Pete’s memories of growing up in a chip shop and the sights and sounds that triggered his own fascination with pop. Along the way, also share in some fabulous anecdotes and stories including the tale of Roy Wood’s lost man bag, Alvin Stardust’s minders, which 1973 topped Saint Etienne’s all time list, a plethora of Beatles related links and facts and how some Daytona divine intervention soundtracked a 21st century fairground ride for one of our guests. All of this and much, much more. Whether you were there first time around or are rediscovering the glam and excitement all over again, this is a very special episode that you’ll not want to miss!Like Christmas, everyday baby. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

La, La, La.Autumn 2001. In many ways, it has been a challenging year. 5ive and Steps split, Hearsay don’t.Pop, just like the most boybandish of the latest boybands, Blue is (all) on the rise. The new millennium has most definitely set up its shiny new stall and is fully decked out in its cargo pants, vest tops - and that is just the boys. Mobile phone ringtones were being catapulted into polyphonic ringtones thanks to those boffins at Nokia (who?) so that our train journeys became even more annoying.And a significant cultural milestone was met. No, not the 1000th episode of Family Affairs on Channel 5 or the return of Crossroads (really?). November 2001 saw the release of the 50th volume of NOW! A half century of celebrating the variously compiled world of pop since 1983 and showing no signs of slipping away. In fact, NOW 50 was positively flying out of your local supermarket as the wonderful UK music buying public couldn’t get enough of the year’s biggest hits (and Victoria Beckham) as the album rocketed its way to a six times platinum No1 position as the 2nd biggest selling NOW EVER!And was it any wonder? 44 Top Chart Hits from Kylie, Westlife, Britney, Destiny’s Child. 8 Number Ones, pop, rock, dance, animated building contractors, Austrian Schlager - this had it all! The singles chart was moving faster than a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire audience coughing fit with artists catapulting into (and often back out of) the Top 40 within minutes. 31 number ones in 12 months, with Ms Minogue coming out on top with the years biggest track and FOUR whole weeks at the top. How did we cope?Joining me for this rollercoaster return to 2001 is music compiler, curator and author Lee Thompson. As the head of The Box music channel in 2001 he was instrumental in making and breaking many of these hits - yes he is to BLAME for the likes of DJ Otzi amongst others and openly admits it here!Along the way we discover what was really going on at the HQ of The Box/Smash Hits in 2001, whose Smash Hits award turned up on Lee’s desk, Halloween School Discos(!) with Allstars, how Geri and Robbie channelled Led Zeppelin (possibly), how to pronounce ‘iio’ (probably) and some of those dazzling sales figures from the latest chart war between Kylie and Victoria (you may want to look away now listeners!)As the latest NOW Millennium Yearbook testifies, 2001 was quite a year - and this ‘flawless’ (you’re welcome) episode for NOW 50 is a wonderful reminder of some fabulous pop times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a Saturday night in April 1985 and a queue is gathering outside Raffles nightclub in, well pretty much every town and city across this sceptred isle. Feverishly excited boys and girls wait and dream of Malibu and coke, Quatro and ice, whilst expectant beams of pink neon shoot out from beyond the velvet rope and the intimidating bouncers (possibly both called Dave). Through the door, past the cloakroom, up the stairs and then it happens - the anthems of Saturday night come together with the vibrant buzz, dry ice and positively sticky underfloor carpet to create the magic of the weekend. This is CLUB CULTURE and the beats are going to hit you!However, if you were too young to experience this evangelical experience of mid 80s provincial nightclubbing, then you needed a guiding hand to take you onto the metaphorical dancefloor. And in 1985, there was only one team that us teens would trust to keep us moving all night long (as long as it wasn’t too late and didn’t impact on a school night or watching The Tube.)Step forward, NOW Dance - The 12” Mixes!Following four genre defining compilation albums, 1985 saw the release of the first ever non-numbered NOW and it shone a disco filtered light across the club anthems of the mid 80s. And importantly, presented them in extended, longer, remixed and - yes - 12” form. Pop! Soul! Funk! Disco! Go-Go! Belouis Some! If they were big on the dancefloor, they were here!The big chart names like Phil Collins, The Power Station and Eurythmics flexed their beats and rhythms alongside era defining club tracks by the like of Loose Ends, The Cool Notes and more. Here was a snapshot of a defining moment in club culture - as the UK charts were only months away from the coming of House in the form of Colonel Abrams, Farley Jackmaster Funk, the beat was still going on, but would probably never be the same again.Join writer, broadcaster and Clangers expert, Tim Worthington as we revisit NOW Dance - The 12” Mixes. Along the way also discover what pop tracks frightened Tim as a child, the connection between Channel 4’s animation Pob and dance culture, which NOW album caused him to spill Dr Pepper all over a brand new sofa and why TV themes of the 80s are more closely linked to this album than you may think!And also discover why remixer and producer Ben Liebrand will probably not be re-re-returning our big, chunky 80s mobile phone calls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s summer 1991 and school’s out which means it’s time for your latest compilation! It was probably on cassette, possibly from your local high street and most definitely slotted straight into your parent’s car stereo for that sweet-fuelled, motorway exodus to the sun!But WAIT!After NOW 19’s release in the spring, the horizon isn’t delivering the nation’s favourite 20th variously compiled selection until NOVEMBER!As the young set frantically scan the racks of Woolworths, Dad point-blankly refuses entry to the big cassette box entitled Deep Heat (turn that racket off!). However all is not lost - ladies, gentlemen, girl behind the counter - we give you AWESOME!20 Massive Hits from the team at EMI that looks, very familiar indeed. Some may even say NOW-adjacent! Kerrr-ching! £6.99! A Snip!Join friends of the show, Johnny Kalifornia and Ian Wade in this special summer edition of Back to Now. We explore the frankly bonkers compilation landscape of summer 1991 that gave us not one but TWO Awesome compilations (well, one came out in November too, but lets not split comp hairs) from our fab friends at NOW. But what was going on, I hear you ask?Well, who knows? Ian, Johnny and I ruminate on the dance, indie, pop landscape of season 1990/91 and how the compilation market was reacting to the dayglo wonders such as Soho, PWEI, EMF, KLF. Could it be that our favourite compilation album was facing some ‘young scene’ competition? Were there wobbles at NOW HQ? Was it time for a rethink? Can I ask anymore questions?As this is a summer ‘spesh’ expect much end of term chaos, diversions, and plenty of fun pop memories with Kalifornia and Wade as we weave our way among 40 ‘devastatin’ choons across two Awesome albums! And along the way we also share our favourites summer songs past and present, reveal some all-time favourite compilations, discover what ‘regional dance’ is and, AND, there’s a free poster included too! Dive into the Back to NOW Awesome summer supplement at your local newsagent now!(poster offer ends 31 August 1991) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WARNING!This episode contains scenes of graphic and often gratuitous pop perfection. Listener discretion is advised.Summer 2004. The wettest summer in the UK for fifty years, and with it being another three years before Rihanna invents the umbrella, there is a need for something more drastic to help dodge the dampness. So where does one shelter from the storm? Well, certainly not the World Cup, at the cinema it’s a web-spinning yawn with Spider-Man 2 and TV offers up the first Strictly winning couple….who were of course…erm…shuffles notes…any-way…Of course, the real protection from a soggy summer is always POP and who better to serve up a slice of the latest and greatest top chart hits, than the ever resplendent NOW, Thats What I Call Music team, with it’s 58th wonderful offering of 42 tracks. Phew, what a scorcher!(Adopts serious journalistic look) But what was the state of the pop landscape in the year 2004?Actually, let’s not beat about the proverbial bush, Smash Hits would have confirmed at the top of its glittery lungs, Very Healthy Indeed, thankyouverymuch.The wizardry of pop’s perfect professors such as Richard X and Xenomania were dazzling us with their weird and wonderful masterpieces as served up deliciously by the likes of Rachel (it’s not anything like Goldfrapp) Stevens, Girls (who sang that line, Miranda?) Aloud and Sugababes version 2.0 (or was it 3.4?). Jamelia, Kelis and Christina Millian were proving that the girls could indeed more than hold their own with their ‘flavas’ (really - ED?) of r’n’b. And ver lads McFly and Busted (only slightly conjoined, obviously) were reclaiming power pop, silly hairstyles, big eyebrows and reinventing the boyband in the process - again, with full apologies to anyone who was on ‘that’ Air France flight (yeuch!)And of course there was SO much more! Franz Ferdinand and Scissor Sisters continuing to sell supermarket CDs to everyone, George Michael flying a flawless flag, Britney being weird, delicate and dead all at once and some couple called Eamon and Frankee, who weren’t a couple at all, were very potty mouthed and (checks notes) WON STRICTLY! Possibly.So, who better to steer us through this spectacular summer of sonic supremacy than writer, journalist and tall person Michael Cragg. In celebration of Michael’s utterly smashing book Reach For The Stars, Fame, Fallout and Pop’s Final Party 1996-2006, we explore the stories behind many of the tracks on NOW58, a time of pop perfection but as always much, much more behind the curtain. Michael also reveals his first (king of) pop passions, how he escaped a shoe shop to discover his own musical journey and why Louis Walsh (and not for the first time) was very wrong about pop indeed!Along the way expect memorable and possibly even knowing nods towards Popjustice, MySpace, CDUK, Geri Halliwells’s dogs, Kimberley the BOSS and absolutely nothing about The Rasmus, O-Zone or Fatman Scoop. Was it all a sugar-induced, pop fever dream? Possibly, but isn’t it fun after all these years later heading back for one more bite…?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the middle of ‘the nineties’! Sort of! Spring 1994, to be exact. And indeed, the popworld is revelling in the ‘seed of the new breed’.Again, sort of…You know the drill by now, the glorious NOW, That’s What I Call Music 27 steers you though the wonderfully choppy waters of the UK charts. Sometimes the shore is graced with the wonders of perfect pop from the likes of Swedish Global grabbers Ace of Base. Life can indeed be demanding, without - who knows - understanding.Further along the journey we find Eternal being fabulous and poppy, still as a classic foursome, and - wait - can it be Peter Cunnah and D:ream celebrating all things positive and possible, whilst popping in for a cuppa in Derry?You’ll need to listen in for THAT one.Leaving the shoreline/boat analogy behind (running out of examples, sorry), you’ll find Meat Loaf with THREE choruses, Primal Scream stuck between two rocks (you’re welcome) and Gin Blossoms having just the one. (Can you remember anymore of their songs?)And of course, as it’s the 90s, NOW27 moves into dance Maximum Overdrive (wrong volume, that was 26!) with the likes of Culture Beat, Capella, Reel ‘2’ Real and everyone’s favourite Charleston aping techno Dutch duo Smashing Pumpkins DOOP!And there’s much, much more across these 38 Top (mostly) chart hits!Join award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster John Aizlewood as we head back, Back, BACK to 1994 for stories aplenty of pop adventures from his days with the doorstop music authority magazine that was Q (RIP), including how he attempted to stop Ace of Base leave a room, ordered everything on the menu with Jim Steinman and tried to find Tony Mortimer’s imaginary record collection.Also, discover which record started it all for John (clue, it’s not on NOW27) and which group has captured his heart more than any other (clue, it’s not Doop).And find out which acts on the album could (possibly) provide the perfect Pointless answers and which track almost (well, not really) brought our blossoming podcast friendship to a violent end! Yes, it’s that dramatic (again, really not).In the words of the Urban Cookie Collective, let’s Sail Away folks! (Another boat analogy - REALLY?) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the summer of 1992!The UK had accidentally voted in the Conservative government again but to make amends wins lots of medals at the Freddie and Monserrat Olympic Festival Sporting thingy in Barcelona, so everyone forgets for a while.Alan Shearer becomes the most expensive soccer star in the whole of history and the English FA celebrate their winning bid for Euro96 - spoiler, it still doesn’t come home.And, AND, everyone was glued to the BBC’s newest and sauciest soap opera Eldorado - what we all now recognise as the greatest TV turning point of the century. Must we throw this telly filth at our kids, said absolutely no-one.The new pop decade was coming of age as the third year of, what some called ‘the nineties’ was providing yet another glittering array of….(checks notes)….erm, we’re not really sure.But wait, this is not a problem! NOW, That’s What I Call Music 22 was on hand and available in all formats to bring you 34 (yes, 34!) toppermost chartiest hits that would make sense of everything we needed to know!Coming at you like an overexcited ministerial briefing from Maastricht, every conceivable genre of music reminded you that there was indeed no genre whatsoever in 1992. Erasure dug up the Blue Peter-esque garden and found ABBA in a biscuit box, Utah Saints dug behind the sofa and found Kate Bush raving in a sweater, Electronic continued to be the best supergroup since forever and, ha, ‘disappointed’ no-one (too cheesy, take this out in final draft) and whilst the Orb played chess on TOTP (checkmate, Alex!) a huge shoulderpad of serious adult rock from the likes of Cocker, Stigers and Marx was selling bucket loads of expensive CDs and trying their hardest to overshadow the pop kids (they’ll never get away with it!).Join podcaster, writer and promoter Catrin Lowe as we head back to this crazy summer of 1992 to revisit the hits, headlines and otherwise that make up the gloriously non genre-specific volume 22 of the world famous NOW series!Along the way discover which band Catrin wrote a poem about on Teletext, how Turbo B infiltrated a fireworks display in Cheshire, which NOW22 act pretended to be farm animals on a recent TV talent show and why gravy is so important when considering your power ballad.To quote Simon Bates - 1992: Sexual Crusader or just a Big Girl’s Blouse? You decide! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexa, show me 1984.If you were to ask a certain searchable device (others are, obviously available), there’s a high probability that the year George Orwell predicted would see us living in a terrifying future nightmare would instead be adorned with a wash of neon, colour and an array of sunshine pop. And the character staring back at us wouldn’t be Big Brother, it was a pig in shades. Of course!(And is there anything cooler?)Yes, it’s here! July 1984, and the third volume of the world famous NOW That’s What I Call Music series had arrived and quite literally rocketed - locomotion style - to the top of the charts. And for sure, the compilation album was back, Back, BACK!A glittering selection of the pop’s finest (and The Art Company) lined up to highlight why 1984 is often (argue with us here) cited as one of the greatest music years. From Duran Duran’s worldwide fl-fl-flexing monster smash, to Wham! shining brighter than Doris Day, NOW3 features some of the decades biggest hits. Take a look at Phil Collins, wait for pizza (talking some Italian, probably) with Bananarama, even stay up way beyond bedtime to catch falling men with The Weather Girls. Wow!But WAIT!Underneath the streamers and balloons of summer 1984, wasn’t there just a hint of darkness?Of course there was! Global annihilation never looked or sounded so fabulous (and we’re not talking Threads, thanks again BBC)! Nik Kershaw wasn’t letting the sun (or his snood) go down, Ultravox had tears in their eyes (shortly before humanity was vaporised) and of course Frankie Goes To Hollywood were on top of the whole mushroom cloud as Two Tribes (and just a smidgeon of Trevor) ruled the airwaves, charts and the 12” mixes whilst we listened to Patrick Allen’s public information messages. Chilling? Yes it was, and we haven’t even got to The Art Company yet! Brrr! So, let’s jump back to summer 1984 with the BBC’s music correspondent, Mark Savage to explore the many faceted pop kaleidoscope of 30 Top Chart hits that is Now Music 3. Along the way also find out how Mark discovered pop growing up in Northern Ireland, memories of sun kissed holidays and which record had the neighbours banging on the wall.Plus, the mystery of a very strange cassette tone is - after 30 years - revealed! Geeky? Us? Of course we are!As Cyndi Lauper said, we all have a suitcase of memories - time after time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to 1993. Autumn, to be exact. And how was it all looking?Well, it wasn’t really baggy like 1990, or rave-y like 1991, but it wasn’t Britpoppy like 1995. It was all a bit…well, who knows? Can we say, a bit of a pop hinterland?And were there any clues across our ever reliant pop culture landscape for how ‘93 had shaped up? Well in a year that saw the launch of two modern icons - the Vauxhall Corsa and QVC - actually, perhaps, we’ll come back to them later. Not!Back to the hinterland then. We had the ever reliant and still relatively imperial Neil and Chris, resplendent in their dayglo uniforms marching to the Village People in Moscow. Or perhaps your CD single (with 6 extra dance mixes) was celebrating the glorious invasion of Europop of Culture Beat, 2 Unlimited and Haddaway. Or maybe you were, frankly too cool for school and had bunked off to the shimmering r’n’b from SWV, Janet and Eternal.And where was Indie? What even was indie in 1993?One thing is for certain, your musical tribe in 1993 was considerably, undeniably, very untribal. But isn’t waiting for the Next Big Thing - and spotting the red herrings along the way - so terribly exciting?So if it’s autumn ‘93, it’s definitely time for NOW That’s What I Call Music 26! And joining us for this excursion back 30 (!) years, none other than author and chief rock & pop critic for The Times Will Hodgkinson. Will selects his highlights from the wonderfully packaged 40 Top Chart Hits as well exploring the wider pop culture landscape of 1993. Along the way, we discover Will’s inspiration for his, quite frankly wonderful exploration of 1970’s pop ‘In Perfect Harmony’ and how 1973 and 1993 really had a lot more in common than you may think.We also take excursions into some of 1993’s other memorable musical moments, courtesy of Bjork, London’s eclectic club scene and (unashamedly) Bowie’s Buddha of Suburbia (with a real cameo from Will, no less!)Expect starring (and a few understudy) roles from Meat Loaf, The Shamen, Lawrence from Denim, Stakka Bo (only a bit Stereo MCs), Crustys, Frank Farian, Hacky sacks(!) and some illicit colour photocopying - you will be shocked!All of this and much, much more!And find out why the Spin Doctors (amongst a few others) will not be returning our calls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this bonus edition of Back to Now!A small but perfectly formed bite-size extra serving of Festive Pop!To compliment the end of year review of 2022, enjoy a collection of previous lovely guests as they revisit some memorable Christmas hits.Or should that be December hits? Or Christmas adjacent pop?You decide, wonderful listeners!Indeed, in the true sense of pop memorabilia, consider this a free gift flexidisc stuck to the front cover of your double edition festive Smash Hits, back in the day - without the need to remove the sellotape and damage the cover - isn't the 21st century brilliant?So for 20 minutes - less than the time taken to baste your turkey - enjoy some facts and memories on hits by the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, The KLF (and Tammy!), The Housemartins, Culture Club, Girls Aloud, Sugababes, The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl and Band Aid.Merry Christmas Back to Now listeners, have a good one and we'll see you bright and early on the other side! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Festive greetings and welcome to what all of the Pop Kids are rightly calling the 2nd annual Back to Now review for 2022!Can it really be a whole 12 months since we last pulled up a cosy chair, poured ourselves a large creme de menthe and ruminated on the variously compiled world of pop? Well, yes indeed and so much has happened since! We don’t talk about politics here, no, no no - it’s all about the music. And whilst 2022 saw some genuinely big passings, we also saw some spectacular pop moments! Harry (Styles not the other one) and Kate (Bush, not the other one) ruled the charts over the spring, LF system begged the rather confusing question were we ‘afraid to feel’ for the whole summer and the autumn and quite probably the winter belongs to Taylor and her many clock face guises! But whilst volumes 111-113 expertly guided us expertly through the official singles chart, the story of NOW again has been much, much MORE!Electronic, Punk, 80s dance, 90s dance, Pride - compilation fans you have been spoilt! And of course, let’s bow in reverence for the ongoing blistering success story that is the NOW Yearbooks! Feel the Quality indeed!With so much to explore we implore you to put down the decorations, chase away the carol singers and enjoy a romp through the pop wonderland of 2022 with our very three wise special guests. Sounds of the 80s producer and chairperson for the ‘get all madonna remixes on Spotify Now’ campaign - Johnny Kalifornia.Pop journalist and chairperson for ‘The Human league are for life not just Christmas’ campaign - Ian Wade.And the man who can either be found lunching with xPropaganda, sipping cocktails with Bryan Ferry or entertaining the masses on a Saturday afternoon at the world famous Duckies nightclub, Mark Wood.And as it is that special time of the year, expect some fabulous extra guests too!So gather around, get festive and join us for a memorable twelve months in the world of pop and NOW. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack, jack, jack….wait? What? Who is this Jack?It’s 1987, and the future has arrived in the shape of the first No1 of the year courtesy of Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley - House Music is here!Hold up, wait a minute!As the ninth edition of the famous Now, That’s What I Call Music testified from within it’s (so 80s!) Ring binder cover, the charts were much more varied. Whilst dance music was loading up its record box and turning up the BPMs for the coming 12 months, the 30 top chart hits across the four sides of the latest compilation was telling a whole different story. Those big jeans adverts (or was that River Phoenix?) were bringing a spritely 48 (!) Year old Ben E. King back to the top, Jackie Wilson was r-r-r-r-esplendent in plasticine all over again and even Freddie Mercury was camping up The Platters smash from 1956 with The Great Pretender. What decade are we in again?Fear not, as 1987 was definitely serving up its fair share of blistering singles from the likes of Robbie Nevil, The Blow Monkeys, a-Ha, Westworld and many others! Bright new things like Erasure, Curiosity Killed The Cat and Simply Red were rubbing shoulders with more experienced chart names like The Pretenders and Genesis whilst a swingorilliasnt smattering of one-off acts like Mental As Anything and Taffy were providing some shiny, memorable pop memories.And Hot Chocolate were back, Back, BACK and testing our knowledge of which Greatest Hits they were promoting this time (clue - not the Malteser one).So much to unpick, and who better to do it with than pop fan and Needle Mythology records’ Will Harris. Find out how Will passed his Elvis impersonator test (and which song he chose), how he championed the store racks (and West London's soul boys) of the 80s Our Price stores, and how the Finn Brother’s dad provided some much loved appreciation for his sons’ demo tracks.And discover Will’s big 1987 favourites from NOW9 and what was missing (spoiler - they were all on HITS6!)Let's fly high (like a rocket in the sky) back to a pop year like no other, and get ready for some great (BIG HAIR) memories!Altogether now, woooahh, we're half way there.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1991.It was the first palindromic year since 1881, and to be honest I’m not really up on the hits of that particular Victorian number. (Newsflash: Bruckner’s 6th Symphony was pretty hot that year)Fast forward to the 2nd year of the ‘nineties’ as we called it, and there are plenty of other newsflashes abound. War in the Gulf dominated the spring (news and charts, but more of that later), Eastern Europe was reshaping, and on TV it was either Springfield or a cup of damn fine coffee. So what was taking up the prime positions on the nation’s favourite compilation series in March 1991?Well, you actually may have been wondering what year it actually was. 1982? 1987? 1965? 1970? They were all here (you know which songs were which, don’t you? Of course you do.)Yes pop fans, TV, film, and TV films amongst other factors (chewing gum, jeans, Patrick Swayze) were all leaving quite a mark on the topper most region of the charts. However fear not! The story of NOW, That’s What I Call Music 19 is much, much more - resplendent in it’s purple and yellow (ahem!) gatefold cover. The biggest number of tracks to date (34!), encompassing the blossoming decade’s many exciting genres (and Stevie B).And so we throw open the doors and welcome (amongst others) The KLF broadcasting loud and proud on Radio Freedom, Massive (yes, no Attack during this war period) providing a bona fide Unfinished classic, Kylie being totally imperial, Seal being totally everything and Chris Rea being like a pub (we believe) and providing youngsters up and down the country with the perfect CD for Dad this Christmas.Elsewhere there were big ballads (Oleta and long haired ‘serious’ Rick), big dance (The Source and Nomad) big pop (Belinda, her wonderful hair and INXS) and a majestic (if not entirely singable) ending from Steve Howe (and Queen).And yes, alright, seeing as you ask the totally amazing Banderas. One hit wonder or not? You decide.And indeed our guest does! Into the PopVoid blogger (he says it’s coming BACK, possibly) and all round Scots pop super fan Niall McMurray steers us expertly and enthusiastically across the hits, headlines (and Stevie B) from volume 1991. He also provides some great stories about growing up and branching out as a student in Glasgow (I was there too!), suggests some amazing (and they are AMAZING) missing tracks and we both, quite frankly, gush justifiably about ABBA Voyage. All of this and much more (it says in my notes) - and find out why EMF, Hale and Pace and probably several others won’t be returning our calls anytime soon. 1991 - Awesome! (As a few other similar looking compilations told us.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1990. Well it certainly was time for the guru, but as the first year of the new decade was drawing to a close, it was time - a little time, if you will - for so much more. And as always, our favourite compilation series was there to capture it all.So volume 18 provided us with the NOW albums second numbered album of 1990 in the shape of big ballads, bigger ballads, pop, rock, dance, indie and even Timmy Mallet. Yes, all life forms were present and correct! Elton was BACK and, with Bernie Taupin, scoring his biggest hit in years (and a first solo No1!). Sinead was rewriting the Prince songbook and music video like no one else could, William Orbit was quietly ushering in the rest of the decade with some fascinating rhythms and Kylie was not only sidling nicely alongside her then boyfriend Michael in INXS, she was riding on the love train somewhere back in time.There were remixes and reissues aplenty too; best of albums for PiL and Talk Talk alongside (are we allowed to say indie dance?) excursions from The Cure, Sting and Suzanne vega were reminding us that the 80s were still a force to be remixed with.And so to step back in time to NOW18 in this episode we are joined by film and TV music supervisor Lucy Bright. Lucy started out at Mute Records working with artists such as Nick Cave and Depeche Mode, she then moved to Warner Classics for six years before leaving to manage composer Michael Nyman.In 2020 Lucy launched her own music publishing company, Bright Notion Music, which currently represents and nurtures some of the world’s most influential artists and composers working today. And Lucy has music supervised some of the most critically-acclaimed British films and TV series of recent years: Samantha Morton’s directorial debut The Unloved, Charlotte Wells’ Cannes winning After Sun and both Shane Meadows’s This is England ‘90 and The Virtues.So we can think of no one better to navigate us through an album chock filled with film and TV related tracks! Jeans! Pottery Wheels! Julia Roberts! Bridesmaids! Julian Temple in the desert! Tim Pope in a wardrobe! As well as deciphering these conundrums, Lucy also joyfully revisits her first (and only?) NOW album whilst delighting us with some wonderful and personal stories including guest appearances from Youth, James Mason, Prince (and a chocolate milkshake), Michael Hutchence, Shane Meadows and Holly Knight (she wrote some big songs, oh yes) to name but a few! 1990 - who has time for the guru with all of this going on?Jump straight back in to the wonderfully eclectic and memory packed NOW18! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘One goal, one mission…one vision!’.November 1985, and the latest poptastic edition of NOW kicks off with the unifying cry from Freddie and the boys, after an unforgettable summer when music really did seem to change the world from London to Philadelphia and beyond. But how representative of those wonderful UK charts is Now, That’s What I Call Music 6?Well, the events of Live Aid had certainly worked some magic for the chart placings for some with such luminaries as Queen, Elton, Phil and Tina all checking in across this double album. Elsewhere, some of the decades greatest pop stars where reinventing their sound as the second half of the 80s required some image and sound makeovers. Level 42, Eurythmics and Simple Minds were powering on, whilst new acts such as Fine Young Cannibals and The Communards were emerging and looking forwards to their own future decade success.Dance music was certainly evolving and while the DJs in Chicago were beginning to plug in their 808s, the dancefloor hits of NOW6 had a distinctive Europop feel, thanks to the Tarzan inspired Baltimora, Mai Tai and Maria Vidal’s evergreen body rocking workout. Elsewhere, three fifths of Duran Duran were looking for your votes (mark x next to Arcadia for that particular side project), some 80s alternative greats were still providing memorable hits and Paul Hardcastle was switching his focus from Vietnam to The Great Train Robbery with the help of Bob Hoskins and Laurence Olivier. Yes, it was indeed the 80s!And of course, we can’t revisit this compilation without mentioning THAT first Deal with God. Stranger Things indeed!Join Complete Control PR Madam and Popmaster champion Polly Birkbeck as we head back to Now, That’s What I Call Music 6 and the rest of autumn 1985.And if all of this wasn’t enough, discover Polly’s first musical glam and punk loves, which bands she followed around the country in ‘85 (do fans still even do this outwith TikTok?), what was the best year for pop and why she doesn’t really want to talk about Live Aid.As the tagline on the album instructed us, Feel The Quality indeed! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.