NOW – Yearbook 1986 (3LP) Various Artists

NOW Music is proud to present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series, NOW – Yearbook 1986; 43 tracks on a 3LP set pressed on translucent purple vinyl – from a fantastic year in pop!

Opening with two stellar #1s, ‘A Different Corner’ from George Michael and ‘The Sun Always Shines On T.V.’ from a-ha, before leading into huge hits from Duran Duran (‘Notorious’), ‘Thorn In My Side’ from Eurythmics, and the #1 ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ from Falco. Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds Of Love’ starts the flip side before timeless radio friendly Pop from the Pretenders, and the lead single from one of the year’s biggest albums (‘Graceland’) from Paul Simon with ‘You Can Call Me Al’, along with two of the year’s most enduring ballads from Simply Red and Spandau Ballet.

Side 1 of LP2 is all about Pop-Dance energy – kicking off with Wham!’s final hit and #1 ‘The Edge Of Heaven’ and 1986’s biggest seller ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ from The Communards with Sarah Jane Morris. Bananarama scored a huge hit (and a US #1) with ‘Venus’, as did Kim Wilde with ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’. There’s also the debut from Nick Kamen, the sublime ‘Breakout’ from Swing Out Sister and the #1 ‘I Want To Wake Up With You’ from Boris Gardiner.

Alternative Pop takes the spotlight on the other side of LP2, with 1986 a vintage year for the sheer diversity of its chart music. The Smiths peerless ‘Panic’ opens, and is joined by Big Audio Dynamite, Furniture, and the landmark ‘Life’s What You Make It’ from Talk Talk. More timeless Pop from Red Box and The Bangles leads toward the well-chosen #1 cover of ‘Spirit In The Sky’ from Doctor & The Medics.

LP3 starts in epic cinematic style with the iconic #1 ‘Take My Breath Away’ (taken from the film ‘Top Gun’) by Berlin, with huge global Rock smashes from Bon Jovi ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, and one of the best ever collaborations between Run DMC and Aerosmith on ‘Walk This Way’. Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted To Love’ would become a timeless radio staple, and the year saw new hits from Simple Minds, The Rolling Stones, and a new version of a classic from The Police.

The final side is all about sophisticated Dance-Pop, opening with the Jam & Lewis produced ‘Human’ from The Human League, and a further US #1 from Steve Winwood with ‘Higher Love’. Massive tracks from Level 42 and Five Star are up next and are followed by two of the year’s biggest floor-fillers: ‘We Don’t Have To…’ from Jermaine Stewart and Lionel Richie’s international smash ‘Dancing On The Ceiling’, before closing with one of 1986’s greatest vocals from Whitney Houston on her defining cover of ‘Greatest Love Of All’.

NOW – Yearbook 1986 – A celebration of the diversity and creative magic of the year in pop.