I don’t think it’d ever make my dream jukebox, but I wouldn’t change the channel if it came on the radio. All series with the exception of United Kingdom and the United States have been discontinued, New Zealand had two more albums released as a playlist only on Spotify, South Africa had three more albums released as a playlist on Spotify under DJ Kurtis. Following a vaguely similar buildup as Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", this song just keeps you listening until the end. In November 2018, the Now team took over the " 100 Hits" brand from Demon Music Group, and in 2019 and 2020, the Special Editions series was effectively rested while 24 different Now 100 Hits compilations were issued in very quick succession, until the end of November 2020.

In February 2023, 12" mixes all taken from the first three Now Dance compilations, originally released in 1985, 1986 and 1989, were collected on a special 4CD and 3LP set, Now Dance: The 80s, with artwork inspired by the original Now Dance 86. The frequency in which they were released also varied from year to year; initially, and most frequently across the series, there would be one Now Dance volume per year, but in 1994 for example, there were four volumes released, and in 1996, there weren't any Now Dance compilations released. The thudding, metronomic drumbeat seems an offshoot of Geiger Counter, while the harmonised layers of synthesisers suggest the title track (there’s also the influence of the Neu! It’s meant to look like all the parts are separate, but they’re not, they’re all moulded into one front cover.Brighouse, Bootle, Featherstone, Speke, Runcorn, Rotherham, Rochdale, Barrow, Morecambe, Macclesfield, Lytham St. The tie-in television programmes are a month by month video playlist of tracks, from one year previously featured on a Now Yearbook album, with Bruno Brookes presenting.

That bonkers mixtape remains a reminder that, when it comes to music, you need to leave your cynicism at the door. The two track cassette single that played the same tracks [Master Mix / Smoothed Out Mix] on both sides.

This may sound incredibly geeky but another reason was to be able to see the running length of songs. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. This tracklist – James, Gomez, the otherwise entirely forgotten pop group Precious – is so familiar, so listened-to, that I worry it speaks to a kind of cultural stagnation in me, or at least an inability to let go of the past.

There I was, sat on my own on a long-haul bus, hair parted in the middle, plugged blissfully into a chunky, bright yellow Walkman. I vividly remember singing along to Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris’s “Dance Wiv Me” as I reenacted Dizzee’s star role in the accompanying music video in which he swaggered around a nightclub and chatted up girls. The series had often featured the odd token alternative act (The Cure, The Smiths, OMD and even Siouxsie and the Banshees graced early comps) but now, elbow-to-elbow with Nick Berry’s “Every Loser Wins” and Cameo’s “Word Up!first reissued 2009 for the 25th anniversary, then again 20 July 2018 to coincide with Now 100) re-issued on 2CD (gatefold in 2009, jewel case in 2018), audio cassette, and a 2LP vinyl release.

Seeing what they came up with for the cover was something I looked forward to nearly as much as the track selection. Many of these artists have gone on to become global superstars such as Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes, Walk The Moon, Maggie Rogers, Rae Sremmurd, Zara Larsson, Jacob Whitesides, and Tate McRae. It’s a testament to just how formative the compilation was for my music taste: there was the pop-punk of “In Too Deep” by Sum 41 (whom I saw at Alexandra Palace only a few months ago) and Alien Ant Farm’s “Movie”, as well as the irresistible groove of Christina Milian’s “AM to PM” and Ja Rule’s “Always on Time” (the early Noughties, it seems, was a particularly punctual era). Forty years on and the genre-hopping records remain a bellwether of mainstream music for pop historians to come.I remember being fascinated by the fact they reversed the “big ass” portion of the lyric, so it just sounded weird. Estelle and Kanye West’s “American Boy” was an easy one to dance to as I donned Kanye-esque sunglasses and my older brother’s oversized jacket.