“We managed to get David Bowie and Eurythmics who’d refused permission for the first one and ended up striking a deal with Queen on the agreement that they would appear in the TV ad and be the first track on the album. Now 1 had cleared big names like Rod Stewart and Genesis and coupled them successfully with current pop acts and we felt it was important to do this for the follow-up. He remembers those early 1984 days: “The first Now album had the whole year to choose from but there was only a limited period of time to compile Now 2 and a more limited pool of tracks. The person responsible for this was Ashley Abram, who in 1983 was creating compilations for Ronco, and joined the Now team just before the second volume. They represent the building blocks of a record collection with their contents exposing young listeners to a wide variety of music hanging together in a logical sequence. Right from the beginning, Now… looked different to other compilations with its liner notes, artist photographs and generally luxurious feel.įor many people, these releases are totally tied to nostalgia.
#NOW THATS WHAT I CALL MUSIC 100 UK SERIES#
Initially launched by EMI and Virgin in November 1983, it’s currently now at volume 109 with spin-offs and other series bringing the total number of releases well past the 250 mark. The Now That’s What I Call Music! brand is quite simply a phenomenon. Classic Pop traces the story of the big daddy of all compilation series… By Paul English Now That’s What I Call Music! was many people’s introduction to chart music when they were young.