It was the wise prophet and occasional flower impersonator Peter Gabriel that said,

‘I don’t remember, I don’t recall,

I have no memory of anything at all.’

Do you remember 2008?

Yes, it's only (!) 16 years ago, so I’ve no doubt you still have packets in the kitchen cupboard that are older, but do you also remember how the pop landscape of 2008 was mapping out?

Indeed, what on earth was going on in your life eight years into the 21st century?

You see, this writer (it’s, me IAIN!) has quite a glitchy view back of his shoulder to this year. Life had thrown a few curveballs (listen in, it’s kinda revealed) meaning that pop memory has become patchy. Perhaps for you, dear listeners, 2008 is similarly harder to initially grasp hold of.

Fear not! The world’s finest compilation series (as always) is on hand to jog memories, restart downloads an piece together for us what was selling, streaming, rising and falling up and down the hit parade that we call “The Charts’.

It’s NOW, That’s What I Call Music 69!

And crikey, what a mix we had!

Torchsongs, soul songs, Neo-soul songs, Soul-dance songs, Northern soul songs! Songs that weren’t soul soul songs but would like to be!

Big pop statements from Britney, Robyn, Girls Aloud!

Slightly smaller pop statements from Shane Ward and Leon Jackson!

We also had some huge ghosts of pop pasts resurfacing thanks to the likes of Rihanna, Duffy, Kylie and others. And some iconic artists that would stay with us through some era defining tracks. Because sometimes pop is the only thing that helps us when things aren’t OK (but will be OK).

Our special guest for this episode is author of the frankly wonderful Don't Stop the Music - A Year of Pop History, One Day at a Time, and lifetime pop fan Justin Lewis.

AND, if all of this wasn’t enough (and don’t forget Basshunter is in there too), find out where Joe Fagin fits in, who the Kajagoogoo of NOW69 is, which group may (or may not) have their own day time quiz show, how Justin grew up with Tom and Annie on Radio One and grew back in love with music in 2008 through some of these songs, and also which tracks deserve 10 out of 10. And of course, why pop is still so important for making sense of the world around us, in any decade!

All of this, and I’ve managed not to say anything negative about Scouting for Girls!

Oh no, wait…

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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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