Four Girls And a Guy

NOW Music is proud to present the newest addition to the ‘Yearbook’ series: NOW – Yearbook 1981. 4 CDs of 85 tracks that defined the charts in 1981. This special edition CD is housed in ‘hard-back book’ packaging, including a 28-page booklet with a summary of the year, a track-by-track guide, a quiz, and original singles artwork, and as a standard 4-CD package. Kicking off with legendary No. 1s from Queen and David Bowie (‘Under Pressure’), The Police (‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’), and The Specials (‘Ghost Town’), disc 1 is packed with classics that represent the influx of new artists that dominated the year, and would set the pop and fashion agenda for the next few years… with songs which sound as fresh and vital today as they did in 1981, from Ultravox, Visage, Duran Duran, Japan, the No. 1 ‘Tainted Love’ from Soft Cell, and the year’s biggest selling single (and Xmas No. 1) ‘Don’t You Want Me’ from The Human League. Adam & The Ants make three appearances on this Yearbook and actually had 5 huge hits this year, Toyah and Kim Wilde made huge chart debuts with ‘It’s A Mystery’ and ‘Kids In America’, and chart regulars Blondie, ABBA and Olivia Newton-John enjoyed continued success with massive singles. Shakin’ Stevens had two No. 1’s (both present here), and Madness produced a classic cover of ‘It Must Be Love’. Disc One closes with two more No. 1’s from soul legends Smokey Robinson with ‘Being With You’ and Michael Jackson, who enjoyed his first UK No. 1 with ‘One Day In Your Life’ a re-discovered track from his Motown recordings.

3CD box set spotlighting the pioneering movement that brought the world The Beatles but has been overshadowed by their success. Merseybeat was a brief phenomenon but hugely influential throughout the world. It blew up nationwide in 1963 before Merseybeat groups spearheaded the ‘British Invasion’ of the US charts. This box celebrates the scene on the first two discs, then on disc three presents some of the brilliant mod, freakbeat, psych and Mersey soul music that came from Liverpool when the Merseybeat bubble burst and press and public looked elsewhere. Inspired by US rock ‘n’ roll, R&B and Motown and the D.I.Y. attitude of skiffle, the Liverpool beat groups rocked clubs such as their hometown’s The Cavern and the Star-Club in Hamburg and larger ‘Big Beat’ sessions at The Tower Ballroom in New Brighton. The Searchers and Gerry And The Pacemakers achieved success on the world stage, others never made it out of their local area, made a couple of 45s or even demos and disappeared.

The History of Rhythm & Blues Volume Two investigates the transition from race music through sepia to Rhythm & Blues; the growing importance of radio; the rise of the independent record labels, the 45rpm record and the jukebox and looks at the rhythms behind the blues from shuffle and jump through rumba to rock’n’roll and beyond.

This exclusive video collection is jam-packed with the gritty best from noted New York filmmaker Richard Kern. His sexually-charged work has been alternately dismissed as “violent” and “offensive” by the mainstream press, but embraced by the underground as the perverse standard. Says Kern, “I've tried it all: crime thrills, drug thrills, sex thrills. Nowadays, I get most of my thrills by offending people with my films. I don't even have to be there. I can sit far away and think, “Someone's watching my video right now and thinking, Yeeughh!”

In the late 1950s and early 1960s the music charts were positively crammed with girl groups of a very different kind. These all consisted of three or four close-harmony singers, usually dressed in matching outfits, with high heels and even higher beehive hairdos. The songs they sang were largely pop rather than R&B or what would come to be called soul. They chronicled the ups and downs of teen romance as it existed in that era. There were jealous boys and jealous girls and rivalry aplenty, not to mention supportive friends and disapproving parents and teachers. Of course, there was also True Love among the 100 songs assembled here.

"VA - Twist And Shout (The $tateside Story)" (2013) is a compilation album that celebrates the vibrant music of the Stateside label, focusing on the doo-wop, R&B, and early rock and roll sounds of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The album features a collection of tracks from various artists who were part of the Stateside roster, showcasing the label's influence on the pop music scene during that era. The title track, "Twist and Shout," famously performed by The Isley Brothers, is emblematic of the energetic and danceable spirit of the time. The compilation likely includes other notable tracks that capture the essence of the rock and roll movement, characterized by catchy melodies, upbeat rhythms, and harmonized vocals.