Back to NOW!

Gimme Fried Chicken!

Well, if that sentence means anything to you at all, other than being a slightly curt way of asking for, er, fried chicken, then you are in the right place!

Yes, of course this was Queen's hilarious final line in their anthemic autumn pop sound 'One Vision'. It rhymes, you see?

But, BUT, not only was One Vision an enormous No7 hit in the autumn of 1985, it was the opening track on the ONLY compilation album (Yes, I see you HITS3) you needed to be seen with that year - NOW, That's What I Call Music 6! And what is this super mid 80s designed album cover? Is this the inside pocket of a very swanky, yuppie even, styled jacket? Feel The Quality INDEED. And of course across four sides of glorious variously compiled pop (and Cliff) was a dazzling array of hits and memories (and Paul Hardcastle).

And joining us for this time capsule retread through the years - well, it's only actor, writer and presenter, Sanjeev Kohli. Yes, David from Still Game AND Synthesiser Patel!

Climb onboard as we find out about growing up in Glasgow, the lure of the radio (even Radio Clyde!), meeting Mr. Superbad and why Feargal Sharkey's hair was an inspiration! Once onboard, stay for tales of Geoff Capes on Saturday Superstore, the dark pop of Nik Kershaw, the middle eights of Tina Turner and the Spree of Brian May (yes, really). And before you hop off the 1985 pop ride (enough with the bus analogies - ed) relive the stories of level 42 earworms, Jim Kerr's wife's T-shirt slogan, warbling Belinda Carlisle gags and Baltimora inspired knitwear. Phew!

And as always, put your feet and share equal amounts of laughter and tears about why pop music stays with us and is, quite frankly, very important indeed.

Did we mention the wall of crisps? Oh you'll see...

Sanjeev is the co-writer/co-star of award-winning Radio 4 comedy Fags Mags and Bags, has written for sketch shows Chewin’ The Fat and Goodness Gracious Me, has presented extensively on the BBC, & has written & recorded vocals for the musical project The Grand Gestures.

He has also appeared in the likes of Cold Feet, Fresh Meat and Look Around You (where he played Synthesiser Patel), as well as being the star of the video for Elbow’s Lost Worker Bee. He is best-known however for playing shopkeeper Navid in Still Game for nine series on the BBC & three sell-out runs at The Glasgow Hydro.

Sanjeev’s recent screen credits include: Armando Iannucci’s Avenue 5 (HBO), Magpie Murders (Britbox UK and PBS), Chemistry of Death (Paramount+), Moonflower Murders (BBC and PBS), The Rig (Amazon) and Dinosaur (BBC). Sanjeev can currently be seen in Department Q for Netflix, Coldwater for ITV & the films I Swear and Grow.
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Nineteen Ninety Three.

It's a country we've visited on a number of occasions in this particular parish of variously compiled pop. And it's always one that welcomes us back warmly.

There's our strident, shiny boybands working up a sweat down at your local nightclub or hanging around the street corners looking menacing.
There's the noticeably older relatives who had hits back ion the 80s and are back, Back, BACK with familiar hits that now nestle comfortably on shiny new CD greatest hits tucked under their sensibly dressed arms. Is that a remix I hear?
And of course there's the Europop exchange students. Fearless, no pretence, no baggage and a selection of smiles, beats and bleeps that - let's face it - we loved then and love now.

And all of these guests - and much more - can be found on the twenty-fourth volume of the nation's favourite compilation album - the one we cleverly call NOW24!

And revisiting this fascinating (did we once describe Pop Hinterland, Mr Hodgkinson?) year is songwriter and performer Ray Harris.

Join us we head back far too many years to care for all of the above, and Ray cherry picks tracks that trigger those his pop memories including 2 Unlimited, The Bluebells, Lenny Kravitz, World Party, kd. Lang and Ultravox to name a few.

Ray shares his stories of growing up which surely involves a Back to NOW first - is that Frédéric Chopin waving at us?
We also hear about his adventures supporting (amongst others) Sister Sledge AND James Brown, which member of Genesis he shared a bus journey with (yes, really!) and why he believes (rightly, of course) Paul McCartney is our greatest living musician.

And we find out more about Ray's latest album, Prelude and what it means to be touring and performing after a seven year hiatus - from Glasgow to Vietnam!

NOW 24 - as Macca said, delivering hope. And let's be honest, we could all welcome that.
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1976. You’d think that people would have had enough of silly love songs.

Well, silly or not, the charts of this fascinating year were full of big, big hits. Crowdpleasers, I hear you cry? Well, whatever way you view 1976, and many so-called rock journos and hacks would do so rather disdainfully, the twelve months bookended by number ones by Queen and Johnny Mathis (!) were certainly colourful and (checks notes for suitable adjective) erm, eclectic.

Whilst certain history threads (I’m looking at you again Channel 5) will tell you that everyone was embracing bondage trousers, safety pins and other overused punk stereotypes, the truth was that the cash registers at Woolworths were ringing to the sounds of everything from the Greek smock admirer Demis Roussos, Dutch fairground dwelling country swingers Pussycat and those loveable Rock and Roll revivalists and brothel creeper wearing funsters Showaddywaddy.

And the biggest selling single of the year - well that would be the Brotherhood of Man’s lip smacking shoe shuffler and Eurovision winning rocket.
Yes, punk would no doubt influence the coming years of popular culture, but not whilst The Wurzels were ploughing the pop fields of ’76.

The world of compilations was shifting up a gear too as the album charts saw TV advertising become a major factor in changing the landscape of big sellers with huge number one sellers from the kids favourites Slim Whitman, Bert Weedon, Glen Campbell and The Beach Boys, who remained at number one for ten consecutive weeks through that Hot, Hot, Hot summer of 1976. Good vibrations indeed!

And in the jet-pack future of the 21st Century, how much fun does 1976 look? Well, pop kids, let the Guardian's head rock and pop critic Alexis Petridis and author Ian Wade guide you through it courtesy of the spanking NOW Yearbook 1976.

The emergence of the stadium rock, pop sound
10cc inventing Paranoid Android
Guilty Pleasures (or not!)
The wonderfully weird world of Fox
Disco - hello!

And along the way, rediscover the shimmering sounds that kept us sane through the heatwave, explore how CB radio (and questionable radio 1 DJs, mate) became a real thing (but not by The Real Thing), consider what Cliff Richard and Lou Reed may have discussed in Studio 54, which single was Wadey’s first, which artist’s concert Alexis was joined by Johnny Trunk at, the story of Ruby Flipper and the Blue Peter garden, which acts not to get stuck in a lift with and why David Dundas is not struggling to find funds for his next pair of jeans.

Confused? Lost? Over-stimulated? You’re in great pop company then in 1976. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Whether you were there or are rediscovering this amazing pop year for the first time, grab a cool drink, and jump onboard.
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Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of 99:

So the year/decade/century/millennium was coming to a close but before the apocalypse didn’t actually arrive at midnight on 31st December 1999, there was the small matter of a quite poptastic summer to be had.

And did we party like it was 1999? Of course we did!

We even squeezed in a completely rubbish total eclipse - remember that? No, neither do we.

But, back, Back, BACK to the pop. The latest volume of NOW had arrived quicker than your very small download speed from AOL. And it was jam packed with hits - 7, that’s SEVEN No1s kicking off CD1. From Martine to Boyzone to S Club, this was a compilation for a shimmering summer of delights. Dance, pop, soul, more pop, a slither of guitars. And did we mention POP? Blimey, there was plenty other choose from.

And slipping out his CD (or is it minidisc?) copy of NOW 43 (and possibly a pile of ‘other’ compilations ) is the man behind PopMusicActivism - Rob Johnson.

Join Rob as he shares his memories of the album and this unforgettable summer.

His time working in WH Smiths!
His obsession with Dina Carroll!
His other obsession with ATB!
And his, ahem, other other obsession (and dance routines!) with Alice Deejay!

Along the way we also drop in on the V(B)engaboys, a very underdressed Adam Rickitt, a 'blink-and-you-miss-her' Lolly.

And, AND, discover the pop scandal of 99 that you didn’t know that you needed to know!
A travesty of disastrous data drops and chart catastrophes starring Tina Cousins, blur and others - but I’ve already said TOO MUCH! Tune in to find out more pop kids!

All of this and tons more as we - at a breathtaking, breakneck speed - revisit the summer of 1999. Whatever you think you know, or don’t, or think you may have forgotten(!), hold tight - this is quite a ride!
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The Big Pig is back!

As July, turned into August in 1985, the world was still basking in the afterglow of, what was already being called the event of the decade. No, not the ceasing production of the Sinclair C5, or even the latest episode of Blind Date with our Cilla. Live Aid had defined the coming together of all things pop for a generation, in the name of raising money for African famine. And those bands and artists who graced the stages in London and Philadelphia (well, perhaps not Adam Ant, as we say) were feeling the seismic effect of not only the public’s affection - but also their pocket money.

Duran Duran, Paul Young, Simple Minds, U2 and others (still, sorry , not you Adam) were enjoying plenty of success. And the loudest and most exciting shirt of the summer did not belong to BBC’s Mark Ellen or David Hepworth, it was the iconic NOW pig. Yes, NOW That’s What I Call Music 5 not only provided THE soundtrack to our summer in 1985, it also gave us the most gloriously techicoloured album cover. How exciting was that list of stars?

And joining me for this episode to share his memories of this classic summer of music is journalist and author Graeme Thomson.

And what can you expect? Duran Duran climb the Eiffel Tower. UK funk and soul makes a move for the charts through the fantastic sounds of Fine Young Cannibals, Simply Red and Jaki Graham. Graeme shares why 80s Bowie deserves attention, how Marillion (and a band T-Shirt!) made an early impact on his listening, what Jim Kerr told him about Don’t You Forget About Me and why U2 needed to evolve to survive.

But significantly, join us as we discuss how compilation albums take us back, tell real stories of a period and revel in how important pop music for all of us in our formative years and has the ability to stay with us as we move through our lives.

And enjoy Graeme’s reflections on his latest book, In Another World: The Four Seasons of Talk Talk, and the iconic sounds of a quite unique band.

Step aside from life in 2026 for an hour or so, and join us back in a time when it really was great to be alive.
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