Now That's What I Call Music - The Legacy
25 years on, Now Music is still the UKs biggest compilation series
It seems hard to believe that in a New Media age that has seen such a surge in music downloading, the world renowned Now that's what I call music brand still continues to outsell every other compilation album, and prove that one album released three times a year has the ability to encapsulate all the biggest hits of the year in the music charts.
From Phil Collins To Girls Aloud, The Now series Is Prided On Its Diversity.
Phil Collins' You can't hurry love opened the first of the albums, released in December 1983 and billed as the perfect gift for Christmas. Fast forward to December 2008 and Now 71 is the album in every young music fan's Christmas stocking.
New fans are now finding out about the Now albums and listening to the music of the 80s - Phil Collins, Kajagoogoo and UB40 and comparing them to today's big hits from Girls Aloud, Katy Perry and Duffy. The diversity of artists featured on these albums is one of the factors that have attributed to the success of the Now series.
Music Is Integral To Our Lives And The Now Albums Are A Pocket Book Of Nostalgia.
The Now albums present a snap shot of the biggest chart hits of each year. One can recall Now 28, released in 1994, for its inclusion of Wet Wet Wet's long running number one Love is all around or Now 44, the biggest seller of the series with over 2 million copies sold on release, for its title track, Britney Spears' Baby one more time. Music sparks our memories and the Now series has enabled many adoring fans to remember classic tracks from the years gone by.
Now That's What I Call 25 Years!
Regardless of personal music tastes there is no denying the commerical reign that the Now series has maintained over the years. The only reliable compilation series on the market, the series continues in earnest with the release of Now 72 in April 2009.
A celebratory 3CD release entitled Now That's What I Call 25 Years, released in November 2008, allowed Ashley Abram, the series compiler, to sum up the success of the series by thanking fans who have bought the albums over the years.
The Now success would seem to be unstoppable. For as long as there is still the luxury of going to the local store and buying the latest CD it would seem that it has the staying power. Time to raise your glasses.
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