NOW Music is very proud to present the second of our ‘Now That’s What I Call An Era’ releases. ‘The Albums 1980 > 1984’ celebrates 72 iconic albums that were released between 1980 and 1984, featuring a magnificent track from each - and none of them UK hit singles!

Most of the albums being highlighted produced huge hit singles that have become both synonymous with the decade and enduringly popular – but these albums are of such a high quality – forever part of the artist’s legacy - that other tracks could have equally become hits – and some have become as well-loved by fans as the singles, and have for many artists always been an established part of their live shows.

NOW That’s What I Call An Era: The Albums 1980 > 1984

Essential Tracks From Iconic Albums…

This 4CD set opens with a trio of tracks from stunning debuts: ‘A Ray Of Sunshine’ from ‘Fantastic’, the 1983 debut album from Wham, ‘Lemon Firebrigade’ from Haircut 100’s ‘Pelican West’, and the sumptuous ‘Show Me’, the opening track from ‘The Lexicon Of Love’ from ABC. Huge 1983 albums are up next from Culture Club, with ‘Black Money’ from ‘Colour By Numbers’, and ‘This City Never Sleeps’ the closing track on ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ from Eurythmics. Another epic closer from Alison Moyet with ‘Where Hides Sleep’ from her solo debut ‘Alf’ is followed by ‘Frankie’s First Affair’ from another 1984 debut, ‘Diamond Life’ from Sade.

Roxy Music’s 1982 ‘Avalon’ included ‘The Space Between’, whilst Japan with ‘Talking Drum’ from ‘Tin Drum’ leads a stellar run of iconic albums from Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Heaven 17, Ultravox and The Human League with ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’ from 1981’s hit-packed ‘Dare’. The first disc closes with Donna Summer from her Quincy Jones produced 1982 eponymous album, Tina Turner with the opening track from her landmark 1984 release ‘Private Dancer’ and Bruce Springsteen from his 1980 double classic ‘The River’, while the final track ‘Mystery Achievement’ was the final track on the Pretenders debut ‘Pretenders’ released just two weeks into 1980 – and sounding as fresh today as it did over 45 years ago.

Wham! are back opening CD2 with ‘Heartbeat’ from 1984’s ‘Make It Big’ – an album that housed multiple #1 singles. Soft Cell are featured next with ‘Secret Life’ from their remarkable debut ‘Non- Stop Erotic Cabaret’, and a track that would be a #1 10 years later as a cover version, ‘Young At Heart’, is featured from Bananarama’s 1983 debut ‘Deep Sea Skiving’. A run of superb synth pop including Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones and Bronski Beat follows, before a couple of r&b influenced tracks from Shalamar, from their hit-filled ‘Friends’ album and Imagination from ‘In The Heat Of The Night’. New-wave pop from Toyah, Kim Wilde and Culture Club come ahead of a couple of great covers: - ‘Are You There With Another Girl?’ from Mari Wilson, and Carmel’s take on ‘Tracks of My Tears’ from 1984’s ‘The Drum Is Everything’. Next up a masterful jazz-influenced collaboration between The Style Council & Tracey Thorn, ahead of the title track from Paul Simon’s ‘Hearts And Bones’, and a beautiful ballad ‘Turn Out The Light’ from Joan Armatrading’s 1980 ‘Me Myself I’ – all leading to the closing song, the title track from Paul Young’s 1983 #1 ‘No Parlez’.

CD3 opens with a stellar line up of the era’s most sophisticated pop. Leading off with the timeless ‘The Chauffeur’ from Duran Duran’s enormous second album ‘Rio’, before ‘Taking Islands In Africa’ a stand-out from Japan’s ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’. Tears For Fears made their album debut in 1983 and the title track from ‘The Hurting’ is featured along with a great pop moment, ‘Black Night White Light’ from Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s 1984 debut ‘Welcome To The Pleasuredome’. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark are up next alongside Laurie Anderson from ‘Big Science’, The Cure from ‘Seventeen Seconds’ and Joy Division from ‘Closer’. U.S. Alt-pop tracks from R.E.M. and The Psychedelic Furs come ahead of synth led gems from Blancmange, China Crisis and The Associates. 1981’s biggest selling album in the UK was ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’ from Adam & The Ants and ‘Ants Invasion’ taken from it is featured next along with The Teardrop Explodes from ‘Kilimanjaro’, Echo & The Bunnymen with ‘Crystal Days’ from ‘Ocean Rain’, The Jam from ‘Sound Affects’, and Aztec Camera with ‘We Could Send Letters’ from their 1983 debut album ‘High Land, Hard Rain’, whilst the discs’ sign-off is from Nick Heyward with the gorgeous ‘The Day It Rained Forever’ from his fantastic solo debut ‘North Of A Miracle’.

The final disc kicks off with a run of classic synth led epics: New Order open with ‘Age Of Consent’ from their second album ‘Power, Corruption And Lies’, and ‘Hard Times’, from the 1982 remix album from The Human League using the name The League Unlimited Orchestra. Visage released their second album ‘The Anvil’ in 1982 and the title track is up next along with three more title tracks: Simple Minds with ‘New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)’ from their brilliant 1982 release, Talk Talk with ‘The Party’s Over’ from the same year, and The Fixx with ‘Reach The Beach’ – from their 1983 second release which gave them a Top 10 U.S. album. In 1984, David Sylvian released his first solo album ‘Brilliant Trees’, and from it the outstanding and atmospheric ‘Nostalgia’ shares a jazz-infused sophistication with ‘Almost Blue’, up next from Elvis Costello & The Attractions. The Cure released their fifth album ‘The Top’ in 1984, and it’s opening track ‘Shake Dog Shake’ features ahead of ‘Angels On The Balcony’ from Blondie, featuring their signature sound and taken from 1980’s ‘Autoamerican’ – and from the same year – Dexys Midnight Runners from ‘Searching For The Young Soul Rebels’. In 1982 The Clash released ‘Combat Rock’, and ‘Overpowered By Funk’ is included. Next up are The Police with their fusion of post punk and ‘reggae rock’, from their 1980 #1 album ‘Zenyatta Mondatta’ with ‘When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around’, followed by Grace Jones’ breathtaking version of ‘Nightclubbing’. The opening track ‘Tyler’ from UB40’s acclaimed 1980 debut ‘Signing Off’ comes ahead of the closing tracks, both of which featured on albums released on the influential 2-Tone label; The Selecter with the title track from 1980’s ‘Too Much Pressure’, and The Specials with their cover of ‘Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)’, the opening track on their 1980 album ‘More Specials’.

72 fantastic tracks – A sampler of the iconic albums that represent an incredible period of creativity and originality:

NOW That’s What I Call An Era : The Albums 1980 > 1984.