Back to NOW‪!‬ Pop Rambler

It's November 2023, and the world's most successful compilation series is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Five decades of compiling the latest hits, the occasional miss, but always the songs that soundtracked our lives. Always there, always democratically and expertly sequencing the music that the UK buying (downloading/streaming/swiping) public were grooving to, laughing to, dancing along with, or crying about (add in your own band or artists here).
What else is still with us from 1983? And still having such an impact?
Breakfast Time? Well, certainly not Frank Bough.
The Ford Sierra? Taxi!
£1 coins? Down the back of the sofa.
Kajagoogoo? Hush hush, as they say. (One for the older listeners)
So, as our friends at NOW rightly celebrate the past through a stunning array of special albums and even see podcasters pop up across several TV programmes waxing lyrically about the famous compilation series (well, no-one else will talk about it, will they?) the numbered series that started it all in November 1983 continued to do exactly what it set out to do; bring together the songs of NOW.
Perhaps no longer just the Top Chart Hits, that tag line that emblazoned the front cover of earlier volumes, but now taking into account the various ways we actually DO consume music in the third decade of the 21st century.
NOW 116 - The Best of the Best.
47 tracks. Tik Tok stars, Film soundtrack anthems, legendary decade surviving artists. Pop, rock, dance, soul.
All present and correct, all breathlessly exciting, all taking that snapshot in time of pop culture. And as we know, an invaluable window into the soundtrack of our lives.
Where, indeed, Agnetha, do we go from here?
To understand the past and the future, we always need to be in the NOW. (Take a note of that line, its a good one: Ed)
And joining me to make sense of this dazzling volume of the world famous compilation series is award winning writer, journalist and NOW fan David Quantick.
David explains why he wanted to get in 'at the deep end' and why he thinks that NOW116 highlights that pop is in a fine healthy state in. We explore what actually is a 'hit' in 2023/24, why short songs are always an indication of great songs, why NOW continues to keep getting it right and how the compilation series is Top Of The Pops in exile.
Along the way, discover who David describes as 'the Dr. Who of Pop', who are 'The Strokes for Queen fans (or was that the other way around)' and what a bad AI version of George Michael may look (and sound) like. We also revisit why Pop continues to Eat Itself (yes, David came up with that one!), why the female artists are leaving the boys behind, who the 'ASDA Madonna' is and who the real Madonna is.
And did Chris Lowe really offer Tracey Chapman a lift in 1988?
We really do (watch what I do here) Paint The Town Red!
Jump in, buckle up and remind yourself why pop is still very, very important.


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Confidence, they say, is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as…
…1994, darlings! 
And of course, as perceived wisdom now dutifully dictates, we were all completely mad for it, lemon hooch in hand, union jacks draped around our football tops, waving two fingers to those damn yanks. Go home!
Except, of course, the truth couldn’t be further away from the, er truth. Whilst it definitely maybe was 1994, there was so much more than just cigarettes (and alcohol). And we were all the better for it, pop kids!
Our favourite compilation series was not only celebrating nearly turning 30, it was also sporting a new slimline 2CD cover - swanky, and soooo nineties! Goodbye fat boxes, this decade of NOW was neater, fitter and certainly in full swing.
So, what could you expect from this sparkly, starshaped selection of 38 Top Chart Hits?
Pure, glistening pop from the likes of Michelle Gayle and Sophie B Hawkins!
Boyband phoar-dom (is this a word?) from the top flight teams of FC Take That and East 17 United!
Swoonsome songstress Lia Loeb positively not missing the knocks of Ethan Hawke (reality will bite)!
And huge slices of europop at every provincial nightclub turn! Another Saturday (rhythm of the) Night folks! Mine’s a Pernod and blackcurrant and chip butty!
And of course we had a selection of those most poppy sounds of the Brit persuasion, courtesy of blur (no capital!) and Oasis. Swagger, confidence and NOW on the money as always. 
All of this and much, much more awaits - including SPARKS! Yes, actual Russell and Ron Mael on a NOW album!
Join Anna Doble - broadcaster, journalist and author of ‘Connection is a Song: Coming Up and Coming Out Through the Music of the 90s’ - as we head down some fascinating rabbit holes and unearth not just a year of memories, but a whole decade of emotional and personal stories, interwoven by the power of music. And as always, NOW serves as the perfect snapshot of pop bringing it all back home.
AND we pose some of 1994 biggest questions:
When did Britpop actually begin?
Which band followed Anna around Leeds on a bus? (well, not actually)
Is 2wo Third3 the first ever case sensitive password?
Are Shampoo the centre of the pop universe?
Ultimate KAOS - why?
Join us for NOW29 - it’s SO GOOD and INCREDIBLE! (Enough puns - Ed)

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Pop. The way that we process everything.
So, it's the summer of 1993. According to meteorological 'experts', the UK experienced its lowest maximum temperatures since 1972. Only 4 days were officially classified as 'HOT'.
Well, I would argue, pop fans, that is UNLESS you had a swingorilliant copy of NOW, That's What I Call Music 25!
(We'll take this quite frankly, cheesy line out in the edit - Ed.)
Yes, indeed, the blue sky and wistful clouds that adorned the glorious cover of the latest variously compiled snapshot of pop invited us into a summer spectacular of hits, Hits, HITS! Some of them even reaching as high as No69!
Actually, there were plenty of chart topping sounds. George and Queen were raising the (non roof) of Wem-ber-lee, Ace of Base were confusing us all about wanting babies (possibly), Gabrielle was setting chart records and certainly not mentioning fast cars and Freddie Mercury was rewizzled and jigging away. And outwith these HUGE No1s we had Tina Turner getting a leg up from Lulu, Sade not getting a leg up from Lulu, Louche Lou and Michie One channeling Lulu. Yes, the variety was indeed...(enough! Ed)
(Turns page)
Big IMPORTANT 90s acts such as REM (stuck in traffic), New Order (stuck in Baywatch), Duran Duran (stuck in, well, being bloody brilliant).
Big DANCE choons from Sybil, Robin S (not that one) and 2 Unlimited (diminishing returns ahoy!) were keeping the frugging youngsters (and those on revolving dancefloors on boats!) moving.
And Dannii and Kim were having a right old 70s revival karaoke style ding dong. Oo-er!
Oh, and the campaign to completely rediscover the utter brilliance of the No42 AMAZEBALL that is 'Somewhere' by Efua starts RIGHT HERE.
Join Scots pop superfan, Foyle's Bookstore's very own Niall McMurray (he's been waiting in reception) as he revisits an eventful and personal summer soundtrack; songs, music and memories that (in his own words) take him back to 'the year he will write a book about'.
Along the way discover the power of provincial (and often quite terrifying) Scottish night clubs, how music always sounds better in a Fiat Panda, the song that Niall most hates in the whole world, the allure of a sinister pop flute, which NOW25 pop star is immortalised as a cardboard cut out in Iain's attic.
And try to work out why it's impossible to remember the 90s when D:Ream are about!
Oh, and of course, why Linda Perry, Joey Lawrence and Richard Darbyshire (and, quite frankly a few others) absolutely won't be returning our calls.
(PS - the wonderful quote at the start - that's oor Niall X)



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Welcome to Spring 1993.
And, I’m sure you’ll all agree, there was only one phrase on everyone’s lips.
I lick-he boom, boom down.
(Checks notes)
Anyway, more of that later.
The legendary NOW compilation series has reached its twenty-fourth volume and is now standing proud as the finest collection of chart hits around.
HITS who?
And as the fourth year of that craziest of decades ‘The Nineties’ got underway, 37 of the finest top hits were vying for your pop attention. AND what a year it was shaping up to be!
The Bluebells were back from NOW3, promoting the cheeriest of car branded divorce!
Hue and Cry were back from NOW10, still not working for you No More (at No 25!)
Sister Sledge were back from the 70s, sure and as pure as the day is discotastic!
Ultravox were still finding no meaning in anything!
Lulu was, er, just back!
(Get to the NINETIES! - Ed.)
Yes, what a kaleidoscope of pop 1993 was pop kids! And OF COURSE there were plenty of tracks that signalled the decade was well and truly underway.
The dancefloor was burning up thanks to Sub Sub, Robin S and er, 2 Unlimited. 
Reggae was waving its flag with Shaggy, Snow and Shabba Ranks. 
The boybands were exploding into our living rooms with Take That covering Barry Manilow in a garage and East 17 stuck in a Swimming Pool at TOTP. 
And Duran Duran were quietly making THE comeback of the decade with something that certainly wasn’t ordinary AT ALL.
All of this before we mention some fabulous pop moments from the likes of World Party, The Beloved and Lenny Kravitz!
It was enough to make Radio One ‘legend’ DLT flip out live on air! No, really.
Join music journalist and blogger Sam Lidicott as we revisit these tracks and much more as we head back to NOW24. 
We explore why so many brilliant female vocalists were heading up the charts, which band Iain had breakfast with in 1993, and why NOW24 has not one but two exclusive bragging rights across the WHOLE series. 
Oh yes, there really were (wait for it) No Limits!
And without too many spoilers, find out why Ugly Kid Joe and (sorry Mick) Simply Red probably wont be returning our calls.

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Welcome, one and all, to the 3rd annual Back to NOW review! 
As is now tradition, this end of year episode of the variously compiled podcast provides us with a festive opportunity to glance back over our shoulders at the pop landscape of yet another 12 months.
Let’s celebrate a dazzling year of NOW compilations that in 2023 have included something for everyone - fabulous yearbooks scanning four decades, love songs, Eurovision, dance, alternative, hi NRG, 12” annuals, and of the course the ubiquitous, iconic numbered series - across a sparkling selection of CDs and vinyl that we love so much.
But wait! 
This year we have a bigger celebration than normal, as we say Happy 40th to NOW! Yes, a hastily approximated 14,600 days since EMI and Virgin records robbed those Raiders of the Pop Charts of their ‘buy one get one free’ title to claim the undisputed crown of compilations - and the rest, as Richard Branson would expect us to say, is pop history! 
So, join us as we indulge in our BIGGEST episode yet featuring pop rambles, self-referential blether, teary-eyed nostalgia, a few surprise guests - and general celebratory stuff and nonsense galore.
And fear not, our seasonal panel of angelic upstarts have all stepped back from the Christmas shopping and bitching about festive TV ads to be here just for you!
The Golden Mark Wood!
The Frankenscens-ical Ian Wade!
And the Myrrh-raculous Johnny Kalifornia!
And what can we expect from our guests, I hear you cry?
Without unwrapping the presents too much, discover who Johnny is getting to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him on New Year’s Eve, which track Mark came around to after his knee operation (THIS is what the kids want!) and why Ian is stuck between ‘Dystopia and Hazell Dean’. 
Yes, it’s THAT kind of party!
And everyone is welcome. X

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They all know it’s Dynamite, 
And the music went on and on and on…
The history books will tell us that, in theory, 1973 shouldn’t have worked.
Terrorist campaigns, oil shortages, petrol rations, power cuts. Peters and Lee.
However, as the saying goes from great adversity comes great art. Or was it great sitcoms? 
Either way, 1973 stands not just as one of the greatest pop years of the decade, one could argue of all time. 
Really, I hear you cry? Where is the evidence that a year that could see Donny Osmond hit the top spot twice needs to be elevated to such greatness? And we didn’t even win the Eurovision Song Contest? CONVINCE ME!
1973 was perhaps the year where the decade finally shook off the ghosts of the Sixties. The Seventies had arrived and with breathless confidence, swagger and a reclamation of joyful pop by ‘the kids’, the year provides an embarrassment of musical and cultural riches. 1973 had put on its best glam gladrags and was ready to light the fuse for the rest of the decade.
Colour had arrived across UK TV sets just in time for the like of Slade, Elton, Bowie, Roxy Music and a host of others to trailblaze a lightning streak of supercharged escapism across the charts and into our homes every Thursday evening on Tops of the Pops. 
Suzi Quatro, Alvin Stardust, Wizzard and Mud joined the glam trail with huge glittery doses of pop sensibility and killer choruses, that at times felt as if the centre couldn’t hold. David Essex provided one of the most memorable songs of the year as ‘Rock On’ also spearheaded 1973’s revival love affair with Rock and Roll as seen in the smash hit film ‘That’ll be The Day’. 
But this stellar year also gave us a wealth of classic soul and funk, many of which still soundtrack our lives 50 years later. Let’s celebrate the greats such as Diana Ross, The Temptations, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye. The list of highlights (just like the beat, pop pickers) goes on and on.
And in 2023, the team at NOW have proudly provided us with a Yearbook and extra volume that together curates over 140 hits and memories from 1973; a pop year like no other. A compilation that is worthy of the title A CLASSIC.
Joining me for this special episode is music consultant and Duckie legend Mark Wood and music journalist, author and cofounder of needle mythology records Pete Paphides. 
Discover why and how Mark has documented the whole year through his amazingly tireless, daily Facebook updates - and why 1973 is such an important year for him. Revisit Pete’s memories of growing up in a chip shop and the sights and sounds that triggered his own fascination with pop. 
Along the way, also share in some fabulous anecdotes and stories including the tale of Roy Wood’s lost man bag, Alvin Stardust’s minders, which 1973 topped Saint Etienne’s all time list, a plethora of Beatles related links and facts and how some Daytona divine intervention soundtracked a 21st century fairground ride for one of our guests. 
All of this and much, much more. Whether you were there first time around or are rediscovering the glam and excitement all over again, this is a very special episode that you’ll not want to miss!
Like Christmas, everyday baby.

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