NOW That's What I Call An Era - (Feels Like) Heaven: 1978-1985 - Various Artists

NOW Music proudly presents the continuation of the Era series with NOW That’s What I Call An Era: (Feels Like) Heaven 1978-1985, a celebration of essential synth-pop - highlighting some of the best from a transformative era in music.

4CD Editions:
CD1 opens with Queen’s epic 1984 anthem ‘Radio Ga Ga’, followed by a run of key iconic tracks including Eurythmics with ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’, ‘Vienna’ from Ultravox, the New Romantic signature ‘Fade To Grey’ from Visage, and the 1979 #1 ‘Are Friends Electric?’ from Gary Numan and Tubeway Army. Next up, chart debuts from Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet along with era-defining hits from Japan, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and the massive #1 ‘Tainted Love’ from Soft Cell. Pop smashes from Heaven 17, Howard Jones and Nik Kershaw lead to sophisticated synth-pop from Scritti Politti and Tears For Fears with ‘Mad World’ ahead of Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’s timeless collaboration ‘Together In Electric Dreams’. This first CD closes with Fiction Factory’s No.6 UK hit ‘(Feels Like) Heaven’.

CD2 opens with Laurie Anderson’s still breathtaking UK No.2 ‘O Superman’, before The Human League’s debut single ‘Being Boiled’ from 1978 – and the hugely influential ‘Back To Nature’ from Fad Gadget. The Cure’s ‘Let’s Go To Bed’ and The Associates ‘Party Fears Two’ lead into a trio of German synth-pop gems from Propaganda, Peter Schilling and Alphaville. Early chart successes for Simple Minds and Talk Talk follow alongside New Wave crossovers from Devo and Our Daughter’s Wedding. More international classics follow from Men Without Hats with ‘The Safety Dance’, Yello with ‘Bostich’ and Telex with ‘Moskow Diskow’ – the opener from their 1979 album ‘Looking For St Tropez’. Disc Two closes with Phil Lynott’s instantly recognisable ‘Yellow Pearl’ which served as the theme tune to “Top of the Pops” in the early 80s.

CD3 explodes into life with New Order’s classic ‘Blue Monday’, before making way for Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s #1 smash ‘Relax’. More hi-energy synth-pop follows with Dead Or Alive’s ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ and Bronski Beat’s anthemic ‘Smalltown Boy’. #1s from Nena and Paul Hardcastle come ahead of the massive electro-dance hit ‘IOU’ from Freeez, and Donna Summer with ‘Our Love’, an influential cut from her 1979 ‘Bad Girls’ album. More hits follow with Imagination’s ‘Body Talk’, M & Robin Scott with ‘Pop Muzik’ and Joe Jackson’s sublime ‘Steppin’ Out’. Early-80s electro-dance fusions from Tom Tom Club and Malcolm McLaren & The World’s Famous Supreme Team are next, whilst signing off this disc are two classic 80s theme tunes: Harold Faltermeyer’s ‘Axel F’ (from the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ soundtrack), and Jan Hammer’s ‘Miami Vice Theme’

The Final Disc starts with one of the biggest hits of the era from The Human League with 1981 chart-topper ‘Don’t You Want Me’. Norwegian trio a-ha saw ‘Take On Me’ become one of the decades’ signature songs, whilst the 1979 #1 ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ from The Buggles became the first video shown on MTV in the US (and the final video shown on MTV in the UK)…staying in 1979, Gary Numan hit #1 with the iconic ‘Cars’ and Sparks released their collaboration with producer Giorgio Moroder that included the Top 10 ‘Beat The Clock’. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s debut single ‘Electricity’ is up next along with second appearances from Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and Tears For Fears. Kim Wilde debuted with the pure-pop gold of ‘Kids In America’, and leads to a stellar run of synth-pop to close the collection – from Altered Images, Visage, Soft Cell with ‘Torch’, The Cure with ‘The Walk’ – and finishing with the elegant and haunting ‘Ghosts’ from Japan.

3LP Edition:
LP1 opens with Queen’s epic 1984 anthem ‘Radio Ga Ga’, followed by a run of key iconic tracks including Eurythmics with ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’, the 1979 #1 ‘Are Friends Electric?’ from Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, and Japan’s ‘Quiet Life’ which became their first Top 40 hit. Landmark chart debuts from Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet are up next with ‘Temptation’, a huge hit for Heaven 17 closing the side. Flip the LP over for an opening pair of tracks that defined the New Romantic movement: ‘Vienna’ from Ultravox, and ‘Fade To Grey’ from Visage. Next up, Simple Minds’ smash ‘Promised You A Miracle’ along with pop gold from Nik Kershaw and Kim Wilde, sophisticated synth-pop from Scritti Politti, and the LP closes with Phil Lynott’s instantly recognisable ‘Yellow Pearl’ which served as the theme tune to “Top of the Pops” in the early 80s.

LP2 starts with Laurie Anderson’s still breath-taking UK No.2 ‘O Superman’, before The Human League’s debut single ‘Being Boiled’ from 1978. ‘The Walk’ from The Cure became a defining single of the era, and Telex with ‘Moskow Diskow’ – the opener from their 1979 album ‘Looking For St Tropez’, was a club favourite along with new-wave crossover ‘Lawnchairs’ from Our Daughter’s Wedding. A pair of synth-pop essentials close the side from Trio, and Fiction Factory’s No.6 UK hit ‘(Feels Like) Heaven’. Over on the other side, Norwegian trio a-ha saw ‘Take On Me’ become one of the decades’ signature songs ahead of Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’s timeless collaboration ‘Together In Electric Dreams’. Brilliant pop from Blancmange and Joe Jackson lead to the LP’s closing trio, finding Paul Hardcastle’s #1 ‘19’ between two ZTT productions: The Art Of Noise with ‘Close (To The Edit)’, and the peerless ‘Duel’ from Propaganda

LP3 explodes into life with New Order’s classic ‘Blue Monday’, before making way for Bronski Beat’s anthemic ‘Smalltown Boy’, Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s #1 smash ‘Relax’, and hi-energy synth chart-topper ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ from Dead Or Alive. The massive electro-dance hit ‘IOU’ from Freeez, and Donna Summer with ‘Our Love’ an influential cut from her 1979 ‘Bad Girls’ album wrap up Side One and over to the final side, which kicks off with two of the era’s biggest hits from The Human League with 1981 chart-topper ‘Don’t You Want Me’, and from the same year Soft Cell with their #1 ‘Tainted Love’. Huge hits for Howard Jones and Tears For Fears come ahead of a second appearance from Japan with the elegant and haunting ‘Ghosts’ - and to close the collection a trio of stellar late-70s singles: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s debut single ‘Electricity’ followed by Sparks from 1979 with a track from their collaboration with producer Giorgio Moroder, the Top 10 ‘Beat The Clock’, and staying in 1979, Gary Numan hit #1 with the iconic ‘Cars’ and signs off this stunning album.