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 Taupi...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 8
‘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...
Jul 30, 2022•55 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Welcome to the end of the eighties! Pop’s greatest (it was, wasn’t it?) decade was getting ready to pack away it’s shoulder pads, leg warmers and Rubik’s cubes (not being too stereotypical are we?) and was heading at breakneck speed towards the nineties, and the latest edition of the Now series absolutely represented the change ahead! Well, sort of. As ever the democratic forces behind the UK charts (e.g. the record buying public and more likely the producers of wonderful ‘One’ FM) had different...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Welcome to Autumn 1996. Royal divorce, Mad Cow disease, Take That helplines, TFI Friday. But it wasn’t all bad news, oh no – the pop charts were continuing to dazzle and amaze the CD buying public! Indeed, if we weren’t snapping up those hits on £5 CD singles (both one and two, to complete the set) we were most definitely picking up a copy of the latest volume of everyone’s favourite compilation series, NOW35. And what delights across the forty tracks would you find? Girl Power taking over the w...
Jun 09, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 5
It's Autumn 1992! Damn, Would I Lie To You ? What an interesting time for the UK singles charts. Is it fair to say the decade was at some sort of apex point? Well, the tracklist for November’s NOW, That’s What I Call Music 23 album was certainly not giving us a clear a view of what the next big thing was going to be. Or was it? Whilst the start of the 90s had exploded with a colourful wave (or should that be rave?) of indie & dance, and very soon Britpop would take a steely and sneering guit...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Enjoy this trip. And it is a trip! What a poptastic year 1988 was turning out to be at NOW HQ! As the 80s were speeding their way towards a dayglo regeneration into the 90s, the charts were chock full of a glittering arrays of sensational delights and 7” wonders! The first instalment of NOW That’s What I Call Music – Volume 11 in April – had delivered a chart topping selection of skyscraping hits, and most importantly for many, had brought the unadulterated excitement of the UK dancefloor into o...
Mar 03, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 3
For this episode I am joined by award winning film director Grant McPhee. Amongst Grant’s films are Big Gold Dream, which tells the story of FAST Product and Postcard Records, two of Scotland’s most loved independent record labels and Teenage Superstars the story of what happened next in the uncompromising world of Scottish indie music, featuring music and interviews from the likes of The Vaselines, BMX Bandits, Primal Scream and Teenage Fanclub. Grant heads back to 1996 to consider his musical ...
Feb 03, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 2
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 music, cinema and the arts. ‘Britpop’ was still very much the ‘thing’of 1996 and this edition of NOW ful...
Jan 01, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 1
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 – to see what has tickled our fancy and sparked our collective curiosities! Consumers of fine compilations ha...
Nov 26, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 11
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 much more to rediscover on NOW 64, as we dive back amongst those shiny cover surf boards to ride the crest of this noughties pop wav...
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 10
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 reign at No.1! Phew! The airwaves and TV reigned supreme in making and breaking the big hits of the...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 9
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 What I Call Music activate their latest release and it’s a hot one! The Popworld was in overdrive and ...
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 8
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 four decades and have recognised how these various artists collections do indeed stand as fond time capsu...
Jul 29, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 7
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 influence on global pop culture. The nineties are almost here, but first the Now That’s What I Call...
Jul 08, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 6
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 distinctive moment in time – both in the world of culture and beyond.From Freddie Mercury’s grandiose op...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 5
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 Hollies and Tom Jones! Meanwhile new and exciting dance acts were looking to the next decade with Inner City...
Apr 27, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 4
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 popstars of the 80s were either splitting up, missing the chart mark or simply going stratospheric in t...
Mar 19, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 3
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 - from the Nile Rodgers produced funk of returning popsters Duran Duran, to the polished, sharp R’n’B...
Feb 22, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 2
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 as the decade draws to a close and as the BPM increase so does the excitement – a whole side of House s...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 1
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 shares his love for 70s compilations albums, library culture, the joy of discovering forgotten tracks ...
Dec 13, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 7
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-drenched tone for all Christmas compilations that came afterwards.And of course, as it's Christmas, w...
Nov 19, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 6
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 compilation series in history was well and truly here to stay.To explore the album, I'm joined by Simon Philo,...
Oct 23, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 5
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 album charts, a new compilation LP was preparing to HIT back.Richard also shares some of his persona...
Oct 02, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 4
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, varied and fast moving as the decade took shape - and NOW17 took a great snapshot of it all!Joining me f...
Sep 10, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 3
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 leading compilation summer offering? And how did NOW! regain it's place as the nation's favourite c...
Aug 20, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 2
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 to discuss NOW 7. Along the way we also chatted about musical memories growing up, influences and t...
Jul 29, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 1
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 episodes will invite a range of guests to share their memories, stories and insights. Along the way we w...
Jul 24, 2020•48 sec
