VA - NOW Yearbook '79 (2022)

NOW Music is thrilled to present more stellar tracks from the year with ‘NOW – Yearbook Extra 1979’.

Queen kicks the collection off with their huge hit ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and are followed by the #1 ‘Message In A Bottle’ from The Police and the classic ‘Union City Blue’ from Blondie. New wave hits from Pretenders, Roxy Music, Squeeze, The Boomtown Rats, and Ian Dury & The Blockheads are included, alongside Electric Light Orchestra and the live single version of ‘Them Heavy People’ from Kate Bush. A fabulous run of disco is up next including the synth-driven production of Sparks’ ‘The Number One Song In Heaven’, soulful vocals from Donna Summer, the timeless Chic and Sister Sledge, and Rose Royce’s ‘Is It Love You’re After’ – before the first disc closes with one of the years’ most unexpected hits from Fiddler’s Dram with ‘Daytrip To Bangor’.

1979 was incredibly rich for classic hit singles, and CD2 opens with a breath-taking sequence of punk and new wave classics including ‘The Sound Of The Suburbs’ from The Members, ‘Babylon’s Burning’ from The Ruts along with The Jam, The Clash, The Stranglers, Siouxsie And The Banshees and Sex Pistols. Early releases from some of the next decades’ most influential artists – Japan, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, and The Tourists featuring Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart – are included, and the disc finishes with soul-inflected dancefloor gold from Shalamar, Edwin Starr, Diana Ross and Cher.

The final disc opens with the sublime pop of the #1 ‘Sunday Girl’ from Blondie and ‘Painter Man’ from Boney M. before showcasing some of 1979’s most beautiful ballads, including ‘Sail On’ from Commodores, ‘After The Love Has Gone’ from Earth, Wind & Fire and ‘Just The Way You Are’ from Barry White – plus that song’s writer Billy Joel, with ‘Honesty’, and the poignant ‘The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan’ from Marianne Faithfull. Radio friendly rock-pop from Toto, Thin Lizzy and Status Quo lead into some of the years’ quirkier hits from Driver 67, BA Robertson and Cats U.K. More pure pop from Dollar and Sally Oldfield, before concluding with the #1 ‘One Day At A Time’ from Lena Martell – and a true Christmas classic ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ from Paul McCartney.