Compilation glory: 40 years of ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’

The UK’s Now That’s What I Call Music series was launched on 28 November 1983. Since then, the compilations have served as a musical snapshot of passing eras, charting every music trend from the early days of hip-hop to Britpop, the indie rock of the early ‘00s and the current boom of K-pop. 

And Peter Andre.

Pre-Spotify and playlist era, the compilations were a must-have to keep up to date with the latest tunes and trends, as well as discovering new acts.

There have been 116 instalments so far, with the last one released in November, featuring Sam Smith, Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, and the latest The Rolling Stones single. 

Something for everyone. Always.

And in case you were wondering, the artist that has appeared the most times in Now compilations has been Robbie Williams – 38 spots, including both his solo songs and his Take That days.

The albums are still going strong in the UK, and only the US have continued releasing them since 1998. 

New Zealand gave the Now compilations a good go (1985 – 2020), followed by valiant efforts from Australia (1987 – 2019), Canada (1988 – 2017) and Japan (1988 – 2014). Denmark and Finland did alright (1999 – 2009 and 2003 – 2013 respectively), Italy managed 14 years of Now – All the Hits (2000 – 2014) and France only had its variant from 2002 to 2006 with Now! Hits Référence.

Everybody has their favourite Now album, and I still remember buying my first one on audio cassette in August 1996: Now 34.

To this day, it remains not only my most treasured Now compilation, but also the one to beat when it comes to music compendiums.

I know every song by heart – a sad badge of honour I wear with pride. It’s a Proustian madeleine that reminds me of happy, simpler times. Diana finally divorced Charles; Fargo and Independence Day were in theatres; Friends and The X Files were in full swing and all the rage; the Chicago Bulls were crowned NBA champions; a strange little site called Ebay had just emerged; Dolly the sheep was cloned – leading me to hope that Gillian Anderson could one day be duplicated and accept me as her one true love; it was acceptable (and even cool) to say “Booyah!”; and unbeknownst to the world, one of its finest actresses had just started her oxygen habit.

Florence Pugh, in case you were wondering.

What a time to be alive. 

But back to the music. 

Let me take you on the sonic highway of 90s eargasms.

We start – how else? – with Spice Girls’ ‘Wannabe’, which catapulted the band to global stardom and pioneered the teen pop boom of the late 1990s.

The aforementioned Robbie Williams gives us ‘Freedom’ next, followed by Peter Andre and Bubbler Ranx’s breakthrough single ‘Mysterious Girl’. The indie rock part comes next, with Dodgy’s ‘Good Enough’ and the terrific ‘The Day We Caught The Train’ by the oft-overlooked Ocean Colour Scene.

Time for soundtracks, with ‘Theme from Mission: Impossible’ by U2 members Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton (as we were only on Chapter 1 in the Tom Cruise led series in 1996), and the song made famous by Trainspotting – ‘Born Slippy’ by Underworld.

This is all done from memory, by the way. 

That’s how damn effective Now 34 was and remains.

The genre-hopping continues. Dance tunes are next, with JX’s ‘There’s Nothing I Won’t Do’; Gina G’s peerless ‘Ooh Aah… Just a Little Bit’ (whose sexual subtext was a complete mystery to me at the time); Pianoman’s ‘Blurred’ – which heavily sampled Blur’s ‘Girls & Boys’; and ending the dancefloor section with Louise’s ‘Naked’ (whose cryptic implications I fully understood when the compilation was released).

Hip-hop follows, with Mark Morrison (‘Return of the Mac’) and 2Pac (‘California Love’), while some international leanings were satisfied with Los del Mar’s ‘Macarena’.

Let’s not mince words though. A woman named Macarena cheats on her military boyfriend with two of his mates, while he’s getting deployed. AND YOU EXPECT ME TO DANCE?? I did not endorse the behaviour at the time, and it shall not be endorsed now.

That minor slip up aside, the electro persuasions kick in with the triple-tap of Wink’s ‘Higher State of Consciousness’, Todd Terry’s terrific ‘Keep On Jumpin’, and Robert Miles’ ‘Children’ – which continues to sound more like The X Files theme than the actual The X Files theme.

And that’s only Side One.

The second continued – in no particular order this time – with hits from Oasis (‘Wonderwall’), Bon Jovi (‘Hey God’), Blur (‘Charmless Man’), Suede (‘Trash’), Joan Osborne (‘One of Us’), Tina Turner (‘On Silent Wings’), the confusingly curated back-to-back anthems ‘How Bizarre’ and ‘Walking on the Milky Way’ from OMC and OMD. I get both bands confused to this day, not only because of their names but due to this bafflingly cheeky track order.

The last three songs were the perfect send-off: ‘Female of the Species’ by Space; forgotten indie darlings Cast and their hit ‘Walkaway’; and finally, some boyband musings from Boyzone (‘Coming Home Now’), just to loop the loop considering we’d started with the girls on Side One.

From 1996 to 2023, Now 34 has accompanied me everywhere – parties, road trips, holidays, exam revision, walks to work…

I have treasured the AC version, subsequently splashed out on the CD version, and you can bet that if they ever release a vinyl pressing, I will be the first in line to acquire a third copy.

I strongly urge you, dear reader, to investigate the eclectic joys of Now 34 – and the Now compilations in general. 

Spotify is probably your best bet, before you marvel at its greatness and decide a physical copy of this 1996 monument to music is nothing short of a necessity. 

And do share with us which is your favourite Now compilation.

Happy listening.

And no, Macarena, you and your bewitching dance moves still don’t excuse a damn thing.