Yearbook 74

NOW is proud to present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series – and looks back to 37 years ago – with 80 tracks on 4 CDs, to celebrate an incredible year of Pop singles… NOW – Yearbook 1987.

NOW Music proudly presents 57 more essential singles from the iconic year of Pop that was 1993.
CD1 sets the stage with a blend of classic hits across multiple genres. Pet Shop Boys kick off with "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing," followed by New Order with "Ruined In A Day" and Duran Duran’s "Too Much Information." Next come the powerful vocals of Annie Lennox with "Little Bird" followed by classics from defining albums: Sting with "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” from ‘Ten Summoner’s Tales’ and R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming" from ‘Automatic For The People’. Up next are a stellar run of beautiful songs from Saint Etienne, Sade, Go West and Sananda Maitreya. SNAP! and M People scored huge Pop-Dance hits, and Heaven 17 and Visage saw remixed versions of their classics become hits once again. The first disc draws to a close with a great collaboration between David Sylvian and Robert Fripp plus Suzanne Vega, Chris Rea, and finishing with Elton John’s “Simple Life”.

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.

The year that NOW’s story began, and where we started our ‘Yearbook’ series back in 2021. An incredible year in Pop music, and between that first ‘Yearbook’, it’s ‘Extra’, and more of the year’s hits featuring on the ‘80-84 Final’ and it’s ‘Extra’ we have featured over 150 tracks on CD so far in our appreciation of 1983. Those tracks were generally the bigger hits of the year with their Chart achievement a factor in their inclusion - however – that’s not the whole story, and our celebration of 1983 wouldn’t be complete without shining a light on some of the year’s singles that have been compiled much less frequently over the past 40 years… Welcome to the THE VAULT for 1983…Some of the tracks were Top 40 hits, some missed the Chart completely, and some were huge in the U.S. and not in the U.K. – but all are part of the wonderful Pop story of 1983.

Following the recent release of ‘NOW – Yearbook 1982’, we are continuing the celebration of that phenomenal year of pop with ‘Now – Yearbook Extra 1982’; a limited edition 3CD.
62 essential tracks that we couldn’t fit on ‘Yearbook 1982’ include smash hits from The Jam, Soft Cell, Madness, Monsoon, Trio, Simple Minds, Japan, The Stranglers and Dexys Midnight Runners.
1982 saw a huge influx of new synth and pop bands in the charts – with many finding worldwide success complimented by the rise of MTV. Duran Duran cemented their success with the release of their ‘Rio’ album, and its title track is the perfect first track here. ABC, Adam Ant, Spandau Ballet and Culture Club with their Top 3 ‘Time (Clock Of The Heart)’ all follow, as do ABBA with ‘Head Over Heels’, the second single released from ‘The Visitors’ – the last studio album from the band for nearly 40 years. Disc 1 signs off with Captain Sensible’s No. 1 cover of ‘Happy Talk’, and Chas & Dave’s biggest ‘Ain’t No Pleasing You’.

NOW Music proudly presents 57 more essential singles from the iconic year of Pop that was 1993.
CD1 sets the stage with a blend of classic hits across multiple genres. Pet Shop Boys kick off with "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing," followed by New Order with "Ruined In A Day" and Duran Duran’s "Too Much Information." Next come the powerful vocals of Annie Lennox with "Little Bird" followed by classics from defining albums: Sting with "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” from ‘Ten Summoner’s Tales’ and R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming" from ‘Automatic For The People’. Up next are a stellar run of beautiful songs from Saint Etienne, Sade, Go West and Sananda Maitreya. SNAP! and M People scored huge Pop-Dance hits, and Heaven 17 and Visage saw remixed versions of their classics become hits once again. The first disc draws to a close with a great collaboration between David Sylvian and Robert Fripp plus Suzanne Vega, Chris Rea, and finishing with Elton John’s “Simple Life”.

The Now That’s What I Call Music team are effectively issuing a companion 3CD set to Now Yearbook 1980-1984: The Final Chapter, itself a companion to the ten previous Yearbook releases covering those five years.The ‘Extra’ version of Yearbook 1980-1984 is, as usual, a 3CD set in a card sleeve and this one features 63 “essential hits” from the period. Remarkably, the early 1980s can handle what is in effect a ‘fourth level’ of examination (Yearbook > Yearbook Extra > Final Chapter > Final Chapter Extra) and this is far from ‘the dregs’ of the era with loads of classic pop hits from Queen, Eurythmics, Pretenders, Elvis Costello, The Smiths, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Japan, Heaven 17, Level 42, Nik Kershaw, XTC, Elton John and more.

The year that NOW’s story began, and where we started our ‘Yearbook’ series back in 2021. An incredible year in Pop music, and between that first ‘Yearbook’, it’s ‘Extra’, and more of the year’s hits featuring on the ‘80-84 Final’ and it’s ‘Extra’ we have featured over 150 tracks on CD so far in our appreciation of 1983. Those tracks were generally the bigger hits of the year with their Chart achievement a factor in their inclusion - however – that’s not the whole story, and our celebration of 1983 wouldn’t be complete without shining a light on some of the year’s singles that have been compiled much less frequently over the past 40 years… Welcome to the THE VAULT for 1983…Some of the tracks were Top 40 hits, some missed the Chart completely, and some were huge in the U.S. and not in the U.K. – but all are part of the wonderful Pop story of 1983.

NOW Music is proud to present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series, NOW – Yearbook 1986; 80 tracks from a fantastic year in pop! This special edition CD is housed in ‘hard-back-book’ packaging, including a 28-page booklet featuring a summary of the year, a track-by-track guide, a quiz, and original singles artwork.
Opening with two stellar #1s, ‘A Different Corner’ from George Michael and ‘The Sun Always Shines On T.V.’ from a-ha, before leading into huge hits from Duran Duran (‘Notorious’), Kate Bush (‘Hounds Of Love’) and ‘Thorn In My Side’ from Eurythmics. A top year for pure Pop magic is showcased in the next run of hits, including the #1 from Falco, plus Level 42, Kim Wilde, Nick Kamen, Owen Paul, and The Bangles, before timeless radio friendly Pop from the Pretenders, and the lead single from one of the year’s biggest albums (‘Graceland’) from Paul Simon with ‘You Can Call Me Al’. Reggae-Pop from UB40 and another #1 from Boris Gardiner give way to two of the year’s most enduring ballads from Simply Red and Spandau Ballet.

NOW Music is proud to present 60 more essential gems from the incredible year in Pop that was 1992 with NOW – Yearbook Extra 1992. The first disc opens with giants of their genres - Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé and their incredible collaboration ‘Barcelona’ - which reached its peak No. 2 position in 1992. Alt Rock from R.E.M. and Crowded House follow, together with the Gary Barlow-written ‘A Million Love Songs’ from Take That and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Finer Feelings’ remixed for single release by Brothers In Rhythm. ‘Connected’ gave Stereo MC’s their first top 20 hit, while The Temptations’ ‘My Girl’ enjoyed a resurgence upon its re-release.