Top of The Pops New Wave

In celebration of one of the most dynamic and diverse periods ever in the singles charts, NOW are proud to present ‘NOW That’s What I Call An Era: The Sound Of The Suburbs’ – this special edition 4-CD features 80 tracks, spanning multiple genres that contributed to the rich diversity of the era – including punk, new wave, reggae, ska, mod and electronic – between 1977 and the end of 1980, and all of which would inspire the wave of new art and club influenced pop that would come to define the musical landscape of the early 80s….

In celebration of one of the most dynamic and diverse periods ever in the singles charts, NOW are proud to present ‘NOW That’s What I Call An Era: The Sound Of The Suburbs’ – this special edition 4-CD features 80 tracks, spanning multiple genres that contributed to the rich diversity of the era – including punk, new wave, reggae, ska, mod and electronic – between 1977 and the end of 1980, and all of which would inspire the wave of new art and club influenced pop that would come to define the musical landscape of the early 80s….

Amazon Review by David Sheridan
Lots of good new wave era chestnuts on this compilation. I wonder where perhaps Talking Heads, Echo & the Bunnymen or Graham Parker are, why no Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds/Rockpile, why no "Girl of My Dreams" by Bram Tchaikovsky, and they definitely seemed to put this together having drawn a somewhat arbitrary line in the sand somewhere between punk and new wave (no Pistols, no Clash, but the Ramones and Sham 69 are here). And then we get the Tubes (almost more musical theatre than new wave) and Hazel O'Connor (wtf?). And they also include whatever a Jilted John is. There's more than a little overlap with some other compilations and box sets out there (although I still know of no proper full sized new wave box set, Rhino, where are you?), but this will send those of us of a certain age nostalgically back to the days of Jimmy Carter in the White House, lining up for 79 cent gallons of gas and skinny ties with the knot a few inches below your collar…remember the first time you heard My Sharona? Maybe in your Ford Maverick while sitting in one of those gas lines…

Parlophone Presents Smash Hits Punk And New Wave album 58 original hits by the original artists. Includes tracks by the Stooges, Ramones, Buzzcocks, Dead Boys, MC5, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, The Velvet Underground, and more.

Including a great selection of bona-fide New Wave & Punk Classics along with a few more unusual but equally entertaining selections and a couple of surprisingly hard-to-find on CD selections this is a double album that works well as a listening experience and provides something a bit different. Sure, tracks like 'Teenage Kicks' by The Undertones, the title track song by The Stranglers and Ian Dury's 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' are on virtually every similar compilation but songs like 'Blank Generation' by Richard Hell and the Voidoids. These minor quibbles aside, 'No More Heroes' delivers what it says on the tin and provides its listeners with plenty of great tunes to inspire and bring back happy memories.

Across 3CDs comes an incredibly unique and comprehensive introduction to the finest aspects of the New Wave genre. With repertoire drawn from the biggest and best music catalogues, this collection brings together all the heavyweights from the alternative world of New Wave and post-punk and across the 66 tracks, features hits from the likes of The Jam, Blondie, Adam & The Ants, Joy Division, The Clash, Ramones and many more.

BBC Radio legend John Peel has long cited The Undertones "Teenage Kicks" as his favorite song of all time. In this documentary, Peel takes a trip to Derry in Northern Ireland, tracing the history and evolution of the city by drawing on the influences, upbringings, and ultimate successes of The Undertones. Teenage Kicks on disc includes 45 minutes of additional interviews, along with exclusive live footage, photo gallery of rare memorabilia & archive images plus reunion footage from 1999 and beyond. Like a lot of the material included in the main feature, the extra interview footage is only likely to appeal to die-hard fans. Seven promos (restored and mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound) are also featured, including the recently discovered video for "There Goes Norman".

Next month, Now That’s What I Call Music will release a genre-spanning ‘Era’ release called The Sound of the Suburbs 1977-1980. In 4CD form, this set offers 80 tracks encompassing punk, new wave, reggae, ska, mod, post-punk and electronic. They were all initially released between 1977 and the end of 1980, and artists include The Undertones, The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Boomtown Rats, The Jam, The Cure, The Police, The Specials, The Beat, Japan, Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, PIL, Devo, Skids, The Vibrators, XTC, John Foxx, The B-52s and many more. Full tracklistings for the formats are listed below. Whether this ‘Era’ release is the start of a new series or a one-off remains to be seen.