Original United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland Series
The idea for Now That’s What I Call Music! was born in Virgin Records office in Vernon Yard, just off Portobello Road. It was the brain child of the head of Licensing and Business Affairs at Virgin records (1979 – 1990) – Stephen Navin, and General Manager (1983 - 1988) – Jon Webster.
The concept was taken to Simon Draper (Managing Director at Virgin Records) and then Peter Jamieson (Managing Director of EMI Records (1983 – 1986). Jamieson had similar plans to launch such a compilation but was so impressed with Virgin’s ideas, music and enthusiasm that he immediately agreed to the partnership. The deal was negotiated and finalised on Richard Branson’s boat moored in Little Venice.
The series took its name from a 1920s advertising poster for Danish bacon featuring a Pig listening to a chicken sing "Now. That's what I call Music" which Richard Branson had brought for his cousin Simon Draper and was hung behind Simon's desk at the Virgin Records office. "He was notoriously grumpy before breakfast and loved his eggs in the morning, so I bought him the poster, framed it and had it hung behind his desk !" – Richard Branson.
The pig became the Now! series' mascot for a while, making its last appearance on Now That's What I Call Music 5.
The first NOW was released on 28 November 1983 and featured thirty UK hit singles from that year on a double vinyl LP or cassette. The concept of a compilation of recent hit singles was not new; K-tel and Ronco had been issuing various artists compilations since the early 1970s. This successful idea then evolved into the double albums released by EMI and Virgin. By spreading tracks across two discs instead of one, these type of compilations were able to achieve better sound quality (tracks were often edited to fit a running time on K-Tel and Ronco single disc compilations).
The major difference of the Now! series was its collaborative nature between major record labels. Virgin agreed to a deal with EMI, which allowed a greater number of major hits to be included (the first album in the series boasted a total of "eleven number ones" on its sleeve, something previously unheard-of). The album went to number one and soon had a major rival in CBS/WEA's The Hits Album, which adopted a similar format to Now!. The two series co-existed for the rest of the 1980s, but when Universal joined the collaboration the Now! series dominated commercially. The Out Now series by MCA and Chrysalis was also established as a rival to the Now series, but was short lived.
The rate of release settled very quickly to three per year: one release around late March, another around late July and a third around late November. Eighty-two albums have been released to date. The newest album in the series, Now 83 was released on 19 November 2012. The UK series continues to follow the double-album format, now exploiting the capacity of the CD to include between forty to forty-six songs over its two discs. As of September 2012, the Now series are only released on CD and digital download formats. Previously, the series had been available on vinyl, audio cassette and MiniDisc. As these formats declined in popularity, Now releases are no longer issued on them.
Peter Duckworth and Steve Pritchard, Senior Vice Presidents of EMI Commercial Marketing and Catalogue, have been managing the Now! brand since NOW 17. Mark Goodier has been the voice of Now! adverts since Now 21 in 1992, going back to his days with BBC Radio 1.
Ashley Abram of Box Music compiled every album from Now 2 in 1984 through Now 81 in 2012. Jenny Fisher took over as the compiler with Now 82.
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