It’s the gift that keeps on giving, a simple format, the hottest tracks of the time on a double-disk CD and it’s as popular as it ever was, even in an age of streaming and digital downloads.
We’re talking of course of the Now That’s What I Call Music series which will celebrate their 100th instalment in July. John Meagher of The Independent joined Dave Fanning on The Ryan Tubridy Show to celebrate 35 years of chart-topping hits.
"It’s one of the most extraordinary things when you think about it. Not only has this survived all those years, 35 years, but it remains among the best-selling albums in Britain in any given year. For instance, in 2016, Now ‘93 was the second best album released there, beaten only by Adele’s 25. It bucked all trends."
Part of the beauty of the format is that the brand has successfully broadened out to different countries and different categories. As well the usual Now format, you can also buy such albums as Now That’s What I Call Christmas and Now That’s What I Call Running 2018 – endless possibilities!
"They’ve got lots of spin-off series all over the world. The US is on number 65 at the moment and they estimate 250 million copies of various Now albums have been sold since the first one came out in ‘83."
John says he finds it surprising that with all the options that exist for consuming music, the albums are still a must-have and a right of passage.
"It’s a massively successful brand… You just mention the word Now and people instantly remember the Now that was important to them, Now 5 for me, back in 1985 when I was 10 years old, playing that to death and buying these things for the next few years until I became a little bit cooler but it did introduce me to some really cool people, I mean it was probably the first time that I played David Bowie to death."
John says the albums are an accurate reflection of the charts. "They’re still glorious, brilliant, daft and awful, all at the same time."
