NOW That's What I Call The 80s

It’s time to celebrate an amazing decade for pop music – as popular today as it was back then, featuring 45 unforgettable hits, including 27 #1s across 3-LPs, pressed in a red, a blue and a green vinyl. Time to immerse yourself in the decade that never stops. Legwarmers on – it’s: ‘NOW That’s What I Call The 80s’.

Opening with one of Queen’s signature anthems ‘I Want To Break Free’, and followed by the incredible ‘Every Breath You Take’ from The Police and Eurythmics with ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ you know from the start that this is a massive collection. A huge #1 for The Human League with ‘Don’t You Want Me’ is up next and the side finishes with three of the decades’ biggest bands, a-ha with ‘Take On Me’, Duran Duran with ‘Rio’ and Spandau Ballet with ‘Gold’. Flip the LP over for sing-along #1s from Culture Club with ‘Karma Chameleon’ and ‘Come On Eileen’ from Dexys Midnight Runners. Bananarama, Adam & The Ants and Nena all produced pop classics whilst Kim Wilde with ‘You Came’, and two mega-hits from the songwriting and production team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman – debut hits for Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley were chart smashes in the latter part of the decade and bring the first disc to a close.

LP2 features back-to-back legends including, on the first side, Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Bon Jovi and the #1 collaboration between Philip Bailey and Phil Collins, ‘Easy Lover’. Tears For Fears complete the side with their worldwide smash ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’. Over on the other side, the dancefloor beckons with #1s from Whitney Houston with ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody…’, ‘I Feel For You’ from Chaka Khan and The Communards with Sarah Jane Morris on their superb cover of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’. Some reggae influenced pop next from Blondie and UB40. Madness and The Jam enjoyed #1s with ‘House Of Fun’ and ‘Town Called Malice’, whilst closing the LP is the first new chart topper of the decade from the Pretenders with ‘Brass In Pocket’.

The third LP kicks off with signature songs from Elton John with ‘I’m Still Standing’ and Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’. 80s movie songs are up next with ‘Footloose’, ‘Take My Breath Away’ and ‘Ghostbusters’, ahead of the stunning ‘Back To Life’ from Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler. The side winds down with two of the decade’s biggest ballads ‘Ebony & Ivory’ from Paul McCartney and ‘Hello’, the first solo #1 for Lionel Richie. The final side presents a stellar line up of electronic pop, opening with the peerless ‘Blue Monday’ from New Order, and followed by #1s from Pet Shop Boys with ‘Heart’, and the massive ‘Relax’ from Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Dead Or Alive, Soft Cell and Heaven 17 all feature with true classics and the collection signs off with the iconic ‘Vienna’ from Ultravox.

45 Essential tracks for every vinyl collection – NOW That’s What I Call The 80s.

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It’s time to celebrate an amazing decade for pop music – as popular today as it was back then...and with so many fantastic hits to choose from we had to make this a 100 track selection across 5 CDS – including over 50 #1 singles… Time to immerse yourself in the decade that never stops… legwarmers on – it’s : ‘NOW That’s What I Call The 80s’ …

Opening with one of Queen’s signature anthems ‘I Want To Break Free’, and followed by the incredible ‘Every Breath You Take’ from The Police and Eurythmics with ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ you know from the start that this is a massive collection…

Berlin’s ‘Take My Breath Away’ leads into a run of synth-pop smashes from Ultravox with ‘Vienna’, A-ha and ‘Take On Me’, ‘Temptation’ from Heaven 17, and #1s from The Human League with ‘Don’t You Want Me’ and Soft Cell with ‘Tainted Love’… Huge new pop bands emerged in the early ‘80s including, and featured here, Culture Club, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet… Next up a run of hits from the movies including ‘Fame’, ‘Ghostbusters’, ‘Never Ending Story’ and Billy Ocean’s ‘When The Going Get’s Tough…’ from the film ‘The Jewel Of The Nile’.

The first disc closes with more synth-driven pop from Nik Kershaw, Tears For Fears, and two #1’s – Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin’s take on ‘It’s My Party’ – and Nena with the global smash ’99 Red Balloons’.

Legends including Elton John, Billy Joel, and Paul Simon feature on Disc 2, alongside pop-party classics including ‘Footloose’ and ‘Come On Eileen’. Adam & The Ants, ABC, Bananarama and Haircut 100 had all scored their Top 5 debuts by 1982 –  and are joined by more artists making their chart debuts:- Matthew Wilder, Katrina & The Waves and King, plus original #1s from The Specials and Madness, #1 covers from Shakin’ Stevens and The Spinners – and a retro style chart topper from Sister Sledge.

CD3 is all about dance-floor gold… Kicking off with Irene Cara and ‘Flashdance…What A Feeling’ along with #1s from Whitney Houston and Chaka Khan, and one the most popular hip-hop tracks of all time ‘White Lines (Don’t Do It)’ from Grandmaster Flash & Grandmaster Melle-Mel. Donna Summer and Shalamar present disco – 80’s style, and from the end of the decade massive tracks from Yazz & The Plastic Population, and Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler which both scored #1s. The writing and production team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman are featured many times across this collection and on this disc with a pair of chart toppers for Jason Donovan and Sonia… Sinitta had a massive hit with ‘So Macho’, and all-time favourite artists Dolly Parton and Cliff Richard both produced classics in the ‘80s… with time left for pure pop from Kelly Marie and Bucks Fizz, and a re-release for Michael Jackson that went all the way to the top of the charts.

‘Blue Monday’ from New Order starts our fourth disc, and opens a run of iconic electronic hits, including #1s ‘Heart’ from Pet Shop Boys and ‘19’ from Paul Hardcastle, with hi-nrg floor-fillers from The Communards with Sarah Jane Morris and Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Dead Or Alive, and Hazell Dean. One of the decades most enduring new stars Kylie Minogue is up next with her debut  #1 ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ alongside fellow new chart star Rick Astley with his global smash debut ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’… At the start of the decade pop gems emerged from new-wave stars including here, Toyah and Altered Images, whilst established hitmakers enjoyed continued success including The Jam and The Clash and ‘Brass In Pocket’ became the first new #1 of the decade for the Pretenders. Simple Minds and Robert Palmer enjoyed world-wide hits and winding down to finish disc 4 are two of the decades’ most popular power ballads from Toto with ‘Africa’ and ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ from Foreigner.

The final disc features a stellar run of timeless tracks from legendary artists: ‘Dancing In The Dark’ from Bruce Springsteen opens, ahead of Bon Jovi with ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, Philip Bailey & Phil Collins’ collaboration on ‘Easy Lover’ and Cher with her defining ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’… Rock classics from Survivor and ZZ Top feature along with explosive ballads from Bonnie Tyler and T’Pau… Power pop from Belinda Carlisle, The Bangles and Men At Work lead into reggae flavoured #1s for Blondie, UB40 and Musical Youth. Some of the ‘80s most beautiful tracks take us to the end from Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie and Paul McCartney… Paul Young enjoyed a massive song over the Christmas season in 1983 with his version of ‘Love Of The Common People’, but the last word is given to the biggest selling single of the 1980s and a truly inspirational Christmas classic; 1984’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ from Band Aid….

100 Essential ‘80s Classics – on one Essential album: NOW That’s What I Call The 80s.

3xLP - Red, Blue and Green vinyl

5xCD

LP1 - SIDE A
1. Queen - I Want To Break Free
2. The Police - Every Breath You Take 
3. Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
4. The Human League - Don't You Want Me
5. a-ha - Take On Me 
6. Duran Duran – Rio
7. Spandau Ballet - Gold 

LP1 - SIDE B
1. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
2. Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen 
3. Bananarama – Cruel Summer
4. Adam & The Ants - Stand And Deliver 
5. Nena - 99 Red Balloons
6. Kim Wilde - You Came
7. Kylie Minogue - I Should Be So Lucky 
8. Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up 

LP2 - SIDE A
1. John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over 
2. Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark 
3. Philip Bailey & Phil Collins - Easy Lover
4. Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
5. Tina Turner - The Best
6. Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time 
7. Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World 

LP2 - SIDE B
1. Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
2. Chaka Khan - I Feel For You 
3. The Communards with Sarah Jane Morris – Don’t Leave Me This Way
4. Blondie - The Tide Is High
5. UB40 - Red Red Wine
6. Madness - House Of Fun
7. The Jam - Town Called Malice 
8. Pretenders - Brass In Pocket 

LP3 - SIDE A
1. Elton John - I'm Still Standing 
2. Billy Joel - Uptown Girl 
3. Kenny Loggins - Footloose (From "Footloose" Soundtrack) 
4. Berlin - Take My Breath Away (Love Theme From "Top Gun") 
5. Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters 
6. Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler - Back To Life 
7. Paul McCartney - Ebony And Ivory 
8. Lionel Richie - Hello

LP3 - SIDE B
1. New Order - Blue Monday 
2. Pet Shop Boys - Heart 
3. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax
4. Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) 
5. Soft Cell - Tainted Love 
6. Heaven 17 - Temptation
7. Ultravox - Vienna
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CD1:
1. Queen - I Want To Break Free
2. The Police - Every Breath You Take
3. Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
4. Berlin - Take My Breath Away (Love Theme From "Top Gun")
5. Ultravox - Vienna
6. a-ha - Take On Me
7. The Human League - Don't You Want Me
8. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
9. Heaven 17 - Temptation
10. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
11. Duran Duran - Rio
12. Spandau Ballet - Gold
13. Irene Cara - Fame
14. Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters
15. Billy Ocean - When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going
16. Limahl - Never Ending Story
17. Nik Kershaw - The Riddle
18. Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
19. Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin - It's My Party
20. Nena - 99 Red Balloons

CD2:
1. John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over
2. Elton John - I'm Still Standing
3. Kenny Loggins - Footloose (From "Footloose" Soundtrack)
4. Billy Joel - Uptown Girl
5. Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al
6. Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
7. The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
8. Adam & The Ants - Stand And Deliver
9. ABC - The Look Of Love, Pt.1
10. Bananarama – Cruel Summer
11. Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine
12. Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride
13. Haircut 100 - Fantastic Day
14. Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now
15. King - Love & Pride
16. The Specials - Too Much Too Young
17. Madness - House Of Fun
18. Shakin' Stevens - This Ole House
19. The Spinners - Working My Way Back To You
20. Sister Sledge - Frankie

CD3:
1. Irene Cara - Flashdance…What A Feeling
2. Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
3. Chaka Khan - I Feel For You
4. Grandmaster Flash & Grandmaster Melle-Mel - White Lines (Don’t Do It)
5. Donna Summer - She Works Hard For The Money
6. Shalamar - A Night To Remember
7. Yazz & The Plastic Population - The Only Way Is Up
8. Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler - Back To Life
9. Phyllis Nelson - Move Closer
10. Kim Wilde - You Came
11. Jason Donovan - Too Many Broken Hearts
12. Sonia - You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You
13. Sinitta - So Macho
14. Laura Branigan - Gloria
15. Dolly Parton - 9 To 5
16. Cliff Richard – Wired For Sound
17. Kelly Marie - Feels Like I’m In Love
18. Tight Fit - Fantasy Island
19. Bucks Fizz - The Land Of Make Believe
20. Michael Jackson - One Day In Your Life

CD4:
1. New Order - Blue Monday
2. Pet Shop Boys - Heart
3. Paul Hardcastle - 19
4. The Communards with Sarah Jane Morris – Don’t Leave Me This Way
5. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax
6. Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
7. Hazell Dean - Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)
8. Kylie Minogue - I Should Be So Lucky
9. Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
10. Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder - Together In Electric Dreams
11. Toyah – Thunder In The Mountains
12. Altered Images - Happy Birthday
13. The Jam - Town Called Malice
14. Pretenders - Brass In Pocket
15. The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go
16. Robert Palmer - Addicted To Love
17. Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me)
18. John Parr - St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)
19. Toto - Africa
20. Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is

CD5:
1. Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark
2. Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
3. Philip Bailey & Phil Collins - Easy Lover
4. Tina Turner - The Best
5. Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time
6. Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger
7. ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin'
8. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart
9. T'Pau - China In Your Hand
10. Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place On Earth
11. The Bangles - Manic Monday
12. Men At Work - Down Under
13. Blondie - The Tide Is High
14. UB40 - Red Red Wine
15. Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie
16. Smokey Robinson - Being With You
17. Lionel Richie - Hello
18. Paul McCartney - Ebony And Ivory
19. Paul Young - Love Of The Common People
20. Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas