Back to NOW!

Can 1996 really be over a quarter of a century ago? Yes it can, and this is where we find the hot hits of summer as sizzlingly delivered in NOW34! The charts as ever, were serving up a veritable feast of genres, hits and headlines. The feelgood factor was in full swing, in part due to the excitement of Euro96 but also a UK culture scene that was embracing a vibrant period of creativity across musi...

Welcome and indeed the most festive of greetings, as the back to NOW podcast brings 2021 to a close.  And from a variously compiled world of pop viewpoint, what a fabulous year it has been! For this special end of year episode, like the most treasured of Christmas present annuals nestling under the Christmas tree, we unwrap the last twelve months of NOW – and indeed pop culture as a whole – t...

Welcome to summer 2006!  And things were, indeed, Crazy.  That  top selling nine-week run at No1 was significant for not just featuring (the not crime fighting rodent) Dangermouse but for being the first UK chart topper to make it there purely on downloads (remember them?) alone. But of course, you knew that chart fact already, didn’t you, pop pickers? But there is  so  mu...

So, where were you in 2004? The pop charts were as fast moving as Dame Kelly Holmes in Athens and every week brought another selection of shiny pop hits. 29 tracks topped the charts across the twelve months as pop buyers rushed to purchase the newest CD singles from their latest favourites. And unless you were the sparring, fall-out potty mouthed pair Eamon or Frankee , it was generally a one week...

Summer 1999. The End of the Century beckons. As we prepared to send the clocks back to zero, millennium bugs threatened our very existence. David Bowie foretold us (well Jeremy Paxman, at least ) that we were on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying and what this new Internet was going to do was unimaginable. Party over, oops out of time..? Not a bit of it, as the team at NOW That’s Wh...

The podcast that celebrates the variously compiled world of pop is one year old. Over the past twelve months, thirteen wonderful guests have joined me to open up gatefold sleeves, slip out cassette inlays and flick through CD booklets of their chosen compilation albums. And in doing so, we’ve not only shared some great musical memories, we’ve also explored the shifting pop cultures of the past fou...

It’s autumn 1989 and a decade where pop has transformed itself into an all encompassing mass culture is drawing to a spectacular close. Ten years have seen huge growth in music sales and an explosion of genres, with rock morphing through glam metal and beyond, disco had danced through electro towards a new house, and hip hop had grown from the streets of New York to become an emerging and exciting...

Autumn 1987 and the pop world is at a crossroads. Some of music’s Big Names are in need of some inspiration, trends were fast moving and the decade that brought us a plethora of pop glitz and glamour was looking for some direction to the next chapter. As always, the NOW! team were on hand to gather up all that was happening across the charts and NOW 10 provides a fascinating snapshot of a very dis...

It's November 1988, and the latest chapter in the successful NOW compilation series is launched - and looking at the cover, it really is heading out of this world!  And what an interesting period Autumn 1988 was! Shiny pop classics from the likes of Yazz, Erasure and Brother Beyond rubbing shoulders with seasoned artists rediscovering the glories of the charts - that's you Bryan Ferry, The Ho...

Every story has a beginning and in November 1983, EMI and Virgin came together to create their own piece of compilation history. And so it was, that a poster of a certain pig signalled a change in how various artists would be viewed and consumed from NOW on. As the first Now That’s What I Call Music LP curated thirty of the years biggest hits, the story of pop in 1983 was much more. Whilst the pop...

It’s Autumn 1986 and the charts are once again filled with a glittering array of colourful, confident pop. The post-Live Aid landscape of 1985 has enabled its stars and supporting cast to build their singles and album popularity. Shiny new CDs are ensuring an aspirational digital era is on the way. But the singles chart still manages to reign supreme with an exciting range of tastes and flavours -...

It’s Spring 1988 and pop music is BIG once again! And as always, NOW That’s What I Call Music is there to capture the charts in all of its late 80s bombast as symbolised by Volume 11 and THAT wonderful, mirrored skyscraper cover. The Pet Shop Boys are reigning supreme in their imperial phase, the girls are conquering the charts from Kylie to Belinda and Vanessa to Sinead. But change is in the air...

For this special episode, I am joined by musician, writer, DJ, and film producer Bob Stanley. Bob is a founder member of Saint Etienne, and a regular contributor to amongst others, The Guardian, The Times and Record Collector. Bob has compiled and produced an enviable collection of compilation albums for his own record label Croydon Municipal and with a host of collaborators for Ace records. Bob s...

It's Christmas!!!In this episode we shamelessly deck the halls, crack open the eggnog and pass around mince pies in honour of NOW - The Christmas Album. Cue, sleigh bells! Join pop pundit & musician Ian Wade and I as we celebrate the classic festive compilation. From Band Aid to Bing Crosby via Slade, Macca and a dazzling array of hits, the first off-shoot LP from the NOW brand set the tinsel-dren...

In 1984, it wasn't George Orwell's Big Brother that was beaming out of our TVs, it was (to quote Rick Astley), the Ruddy Big Pig. As the year began, the first NOW LP was dominating the charts, but its successor was not far behind. As sequels go Now, That's What I Call Music 2 was pretty spectacular, bagging the top spot in the LP charts for five weeks and proving that the most successful compilati...

Joining me for this episode is RTS Nominated TV Production Designer Richard Drew. As well as ‘creating the magic’ for, amongst many others, The Inbetweeners, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and most recently After Life, Richard describes himself as a self confessed Pop Fan since he can remember. Richard and I explore the pop landscape of autumn 1984 and whilst NOW 4 was gearing its assault of the...

1990 - A new decade dawns and with it comes a genre-bursting variety of pop opportunities. Dance, Indie....Indie dance! Whilst the top of the artist album charts celebrated classic artists such as Phil Collins, Elton John and the Carpenters, the first full year of the compilation chart was exploding with an eclectic mix of dance -and the Top 40 singles chart was becoming increasingly exciting, var...

1985 - a positive jamboree of pop and a fascinating year for the increasingly competitive compilation LPs. As NOW! faces stiff opposition from the record companies in the shape of HITS & OUT NOW! amongst others, the gloves were off for a slice of the various artists market. At the centre of the year sits the Big Pig and NOW 5. But how did this expanding market affect the tracklist for the UK's...

For this episode I had the great pleasure of chatting with author and publisher with Nine Eight Books Pete Selby. Amongst other accolades, Pete has co-authored two official books on the history of Now That’s What I Call Music", and as Head of Music for Sainsburys, launched the exclusive ‘Own Brand’ vinyl record label with Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley. Pete and I travelled back to the summer of 1986...

Welcome Back to NOW! A series of podcasts that celebrate all things related to the variously compiled world of pop. As we open up the gatefold vinyl sleeves, unfold the cassette inlays or slip out CD booklets, we will also consider the wider world of pop culture and how our favourite compilation albums shaped our lives at and now fondly stand as time capsules for our own musical journeys. The epis...