So it began... the first steps into compilation adulthood. Something more substantial and appealing than the Roncos and K-Tels of the past. EMI and Virgin teamed up to drop Now That's What I Call Music into the sweaty hands of gleeful British teenagers on November 28, 1983. It was an immediate success, shooting to number one on the UK album charts on December 17 and staying there for four weeks.
Legend has it that the series' name came from a 1920's poster featuring a pig advertising Danish bacon that Richard Branson purchased for his cousin, Simon Draper, who worked at Virgin Records. Branson would later say, "He was notoriously grumpy before breakfast and loved his eggs in the morning, so I bought him the poster, framed it and had it hung behind his desk." The pig would soon surface with alarming regularity in future Now albums but more on that in future posts.
In comparison with the single disc, muddy sounding affairs usually on offer from the aforementioned Ronco and K-Tel, Now That's What I Call Music - which we'll call Now 1 from here onwards - was a revelation. It was a 30 track double album, the gatefold containing tidbits of information about each song, and actually sounded half decent. Furthermore, it contained a massive (for the time) 11 number ones alongside a plethora of other top ten hits.
Unlike subsequent Now albums, Now 1 had an entire year of hits to choose from. And unlike Ronco and K-Tel which were, by comparison, much smaller companies, EMI and Virgin were heavyweights in the music publishing business. This meant that not only could they easily secure licensing for most of the major artists of the day but they even owned many of the licenses themselves.
Side 1 starts off with 1980s stalwart Phil Collins and his cover of The Supremes' You Can't Hurry Love, a slightly odd choice for the lead track. An 80s classic, of course, and it had been a number one hit but that was ten months before Now 1's release. Legendary compiler Ashley Abram wouldn't join the Now team until the following year so perhaps the sequencing wasn't as tight as it would later become.
Following on from Phil Collins we get Duran Duran's massive Is There Something I Should Know? which had hit top spot in Spring that year. It's not among their very best but still pleases today.
UB40 comes next with the Marmite of all songs and Red Red Wine. It somehow teeters on the edge of genius and insanity and how I feel about it can vary from one listen to the next. Still, it was a huge hit and reached number one in the summer of '83 so was relatively fresh at the time.
Limahl is next, having recently departed Kajagoogoo (but more on them later), with the slightly lacklustre Only For Love. It only hit #16 in the charts and hasn't aged particularly well. Much better is to follow with Heaven 17's superb Temptation, a big #2 hit from April and a synthpop classic.
KC and the Sunshine Band were enjoying something of a renaissance and surprisingly bagged a number one with Give It Up. It's catchy enough but a far cry from Boogie Shoes and their mid-70s heyday. Malcolm McLaren is next, kicking off his solo career with bizarre Double Dutch. A big #3 hit, I never quite understood the appeal.
Rounding off side 1 is the classic but overwrought Total Eclipse of the Heart from Bonnie Tyler. It was a number one so no qualms about its inclusion here. I liked it more in the 80s but didn't we all?
Side 2 kicks off with the essential Karma Chameleon from Culture Club, who would be one of the biggest acts on the planet in the next 12 months. It still sounds good and is one of the best songs on Now 1.
Men Without Hats follows with The Safety Dance and it hasn't aged well. I didn't care for it back in the 80s either. Things get back on track with the amazing Too Shy from Kajagoogoo, a song that just sounds like the entire early 80s wrapped up in a glorious 3 minutes 41 seconds.
Next it's Mike Oldfield and his Moonlight Shadow. It's okay but it's no Tubular Bells. Time to exorcise those demons and move swiftly on to the wonderful Down Under from Men at Work. It's quirky and brilliant, almost an alternative Talking Heads.
(Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew from, erm, the Rock Steady Crew is a delicious slice of old school hip hop. It's definitely dated but, when you listen to it, it's almost like that's the whole point.
We finish off the second side with two more number ones, the by-the-numbers Baby Jane from Rod Stewart (honestly, this had no business even being a top 10 let alone a number one) and Paul Young's terrific cover of Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home). The former is uninspired 80s pop trash but the latter is a wonderful reminder of what Paul Young sounded like before his vocals crashed and burned in the late 90s.
Now 1 is unusual in that almost all of the heavy hitters are on disc 1. Ten of the eleven number ones are on there, leaving just New Edition's Candy Girl as the sole pole setter to get us started on the second disc. It's aged horribly, full of fake 80s synth noises and sound effects.
Things get even worse with Kajagoogoo's second outing on the album and the poor Big Apple. It's not a patch on the peachy Too Shy. Not sure how Limahl got three tracks on here (two from Kajagoogoo and one solo offering) when two thirds of them are so poor. Maybe to sell more albums... his face was plastered all over every teenage music magazine at the time.
Fortunately, we get a 1-2-3 punch from Tina Turner, Human League and Howard Jones to bring us all to our senses. Let's Stay Together is glorious with Tina's steamy vocals shining through. (Keep Feeling) Fascination is pure new wave goodness, one of those songs you don't think you like until you find your head nodding along to it and a grin on your face. New Song from Howard Jones has a fantastic beat and offered a glimpse into Jones' superb songwriting.
UB40's second offering is Please Don't Make Me Cry, a song I honestly couldn't remember until I played it again. While Red Red Wine is up front and begs to be cranked up, Please Don't Make Me Cry is laid back and mellow. It's not great but it doesn't offend either.
Unfortunately, side 3 finishes with the dreadful Tonight, I Celebrate My Love from Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack. There must be some kind of contractual requirement to include this turgid mess on every single love compilation because that's all it's good for.
Side 4 gives us a mixed bag, starting off with Tracey Ullman and They Don't Know. The kind of sound Cyndi Lauper would put to good effect less than a year later, I could take it or leave it. Usually, I leave it.
Will Powers - not to be confused with Will 2 Power who will feature on The Hits Album 10 in a later post - is up next and he's Kissing With Confidence, a weapon every 80's male pop singer needed in his arsenal. This run of the mill pop song only made #17 and Will never had a UK top 40 again. Probably for the best.
Things get back on track with Genesis and the fantastic That's All. Whether you liked the Phil Collins era Genesis or not, there's no denying he was a terrific writer of melodic pop songs. I prefer the Collins era to the Peter Gabriel one, probably a controversial opinion.
The Love Cats from The Cure brings us back to new wave. Not my favorite of theirs but the chorus is catchy enough. Simple Minds are up next with Waterfront, probably the closest thing to a rock song on the whole album and it's remained a firm fan favorite ever since.
The penultimate track is Madness' top 5 hit, The Sun and the Rain. It's no Our House but still holds up. Now 1 closes with Culture Club's second appearance and Victims which the liner notes proudly proclaim will a sure fire number one. It actually got to #3, which I think is higher than it deserved anyway.
The Hip
Heaven 17 - Temptation Culture Club - Karma Chameleon Kajagoogoo - Too Shy Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) Genesis - That's All
The Tragic
Limahl - Only For Love
Rod Stewart - Baby Jane Kajagoogoo - Big Apple Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack - Tonight, I Celebrate My Love
Will Powers - Kissing With Confidence
The Missing
There's going to be a lot of top tracks missing out when you've got the whole of 1983 to choose from. Here are some big ones that didn't make the cut.
Billy Joel - Uptown Girl Spandau Ballet - True Wham! - Bad Boys/Club Tropicana
David Bowie - Let's Dance
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Review Breakdown
Music - 9/10 There's no doubting the number of hits on Now 1. With a massive 11 number ones and no songs that didn't at least make the top 20, it gives most other Now albums a serious run for their money. There are some notable tracks missing, including a few huge number ones from earlier in the year, but there's no way the compilers could have included everything with an entire year of tracks to choose from. Highlights include Phil Collins, Heaven 17, Culture Club, Paul Young, Kajagoogoo, Bonnie Tyler, Genesis and Tina Turner. Definitely a few 80s classics on here. Unfortunately, there are a few duds as well but the good far outweighs the bad.
Cover Art - 5/10 It's the first in a brand new series so I'll cut it some slack. The artwork isn't great but is also typical of the time period. It's also likely that the designers had no idea whether this would become a long running series or, if it sold poorly, would be simply a one off. The branding would be haphazard for Now 1 and 2 but would snap into shape from Now 3.
Sequencing - 6/10 It's not bad but would improve once legendary compiler Ashley Abrams would join the fold in 1984. The opening track was a number one hit but was ten months old when Now 1 was released. A more recent number one may have been more prudent. Now 1 is also very lopsided with ten of the number ones on the first disc and only one on the second. It makes for a slightly uneven listening experience. Overall Score - 8/10
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