Now - 80s Alternative

NOW Music proudly presents Now – 80s Alternative: a host of tracks encapsulating the era and celebrating an incredibly diverse decade for ‘Alternative’ music.

CD1 showcases genre-defining bands and kicks off with New Order’s sublime ‘Thieves Like Us’, Eurythmics stunning ‘Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)’ and Joy Division’s era defining ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. Post-Punk New Wave exploded on to the charts, and The Associates, The Jam, Echo And The Bunnymen, Pretenders, and Siouxsie’s side project The Creatures are all included. The U.S. Alt scene provided R.E.M., Pixies, The Psychedelic Furs, and the David Bowie co-write ‘Shades’ from Iggy Pop. Plus, some of the best written Pop songs ever, represented here by David Sylvian, Marc Almond, Aztec Camera, Pete Wylie & The Mighty WAH!, The Adventures, Tom Robinson, and the Elvis Costello co-write ‘Shipbuilding’, beautifully realised by Robert Wyatt.

The (still) incredible ‘O Superman’ from Laurie Anderson opens the second disc, along with other synth-based classics from Yello, Propaganda, Midge Ure & Mick Karn, Japan, Electronic and a brilliant single from Japanese band Sandii & The Sunsetz. DEVO produced the defining U.S. New Wave smash with ‘Whip It’, and fantastic unique hits from Scarlet Fantastic, Split Enz, Our Daughter’s Wedding, Anne Pigalle and ‘Flowers’ by Zaine Griff (featuring Kate Bush on backing vocals) are all included.

The epic ‘This Corrosion’ from Sisters Of Mercy starts CD3 in grandiose style – and is followed with atmospheric masterpieces from Siouxsie And The Banshees, Bauhaus, The Cure and a second appearance from Joy Division – before some late-80s Alternative essentials, including Bjork’s band The Sugarcubes, Act, The Mission, All About Eve, The Cult’s ‘Edie (Ciao Baby)’, ‘This Is England’ from The Clash, and The Fall’s version of ‘There’s A Ghost In My House’, before closing with two more great examples of U.S. Alt Pop from The Go-Go’s, and The Waitresses.  

Opening with the song that launched one of the defining bands of the era, The Smiths, with ‘Hand In Glove’ the final CD features a stellar line up of 80s Alternative Chart hits – The Icicle Works, It’s Immaterial, B-Movie, Kissing The Pink and Gang Of Four are all featured with timeless singles… Altered Images, Toyah and Adam & The Ants would go on to find huge mainstream success in the early ‘80s – and we celebrate these artists with their earlier singles. Big Audio Dynamite, Julian Cope and XTC are also included before the collection draws to a close with Latin Quarter’s ‘Radio Africa’ – and Scritti Politti’s 1981 single ‘The “Sweetest Girl”’.

NOW – 80s Alternative – A celebration of a different view of the decade’s charts - the lesser-compiled 1980’s singles.

Tracklist

CD 1 

1.           New Order - Thieves Like Us       

2.           Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart - Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)

3.           Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart                   

4.           David Sylvian - Red Guitar  

5.           The Associates - Party Fears Two   

6.           Marc Almond - Stories Of Johnny 

7.           Aztec Camera - Oblivious             

8.           Pete Wylie & The Mighty WAH! - Come Back 

9.           The Adventures - Broken Land   

10.         Iggy Pop - Shades 

11.         Pretenders - Talk Of The Town   

12.         R.E.M. - So. Central Rain  

13.         Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven 

14.         The Psychedelic Furs - President Gas 

15.         The B-52's - Planet Claire 

16.         The Creatures - Mad Eyed Screamer 

17.         Echo And The Bunnymen - The Cutter      

18.         The Jam - That's Entertainment  

19.         Tom Robinson - Atmospherics: Listen To The Radio 

20.         Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding                                                            

CD 2 

1.           Laurie Anderson - O Superman  

2.           The Passions - I'm In Love With A German Film Star

3.           The Stranglers - European Female 

4.           Electronic - Getting Away With It              

5.           Propaganda – Dr. Mabuse 

6.           Yello - Vicious Games 

7.           Scarlet Fantastic - No Memory 

8.           The Motels - Suddenly Last Summer  

9.           Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me

10.         Split Enz - I Got You  

11.         Our Daughter's Wedding - Lawnchairs 

12.         DEVO - Whip It 

13.         Midge Ure & Mick Karn - After A Fashion  

14.         Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids (Edit) 

15.         Sandii & The Sunsetz - Dream Of Immigrants 

16.         China Crisis - African And White 

17.         The Lotus Eaters - The First Picture Of You 

18.         Zaine Griff - Flowers 

19.         Anne Pigalle - He! Stranger 

CD 3 

1.           Sisters Of Mercy - This Corrosion             

2.           Siouxsie And The Banshees - Peek-A-Boo 

3.           Bauhaus - Kick In The Eye  

4.           The Cure - A Forest  

5.           Joy Division - Atmosphere           

6.           The Sugarcubes – Birthday  

7.           David Sylvian - Pop Song 

8.           Act - Snobbery & Decay 

9.           Simple Minds - The American  

10.         Soft Cell - Down In The Subway  

11.         The Fall - There's A Ghost In My House 

12.         The Damned - Grimly Fiendish  

13.         Spear Of Destiny - Liberator 

14.         Theatre Of Hate – Do You Believe In The Westworld? 

15.         The Clash - This Is England 

16.         The Cult - Edie (Ciao Baby)  

17.         The Mission - Tower Of Strength  

18.         All About Eve - Martha's Harbour 

19.         The Darling Buds - Hit The Ground 

20.         The Go-Go's - Head Over Heels  

21.         The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like 

CD 4 

1.           The Smiths - Hand In Glove         

2.           The Icicle Works - Love Is A Wonderful Colour 

3.           It's Immaterial - Driving Away From Home (Jim's Tune) 

4.           Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

5.           Wall Of Voodoo - Mexican Radio 

6.           XTC - Senses Working Overtime  

7.           B-Movie - Remembrance Day     

8.           Kissing The Pink - The Last Film  

9.           Gang Of Four - I Love A Man In A Uniform           

10.         After The Fire - Der Kommissar  

11.         Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars 

12.         Toyah – Ieya  

13.         Adam & The Ants - Car Trouble 

14.         Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth 

15.         The Primitives - Crash 

16.         Westworld - Sonic Boom Boy 

17.         Pop Will Eat Itself - Def Con One 

18.         Big Audio Dynamite - Medicine Show 

19.         Latin Quarter - Radio Africa 

20.         Scritti Politti - The "Sweetest Girl"

Tracklist

LP 1 Side A

1.           Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart - Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)

2.           Propaganda – Dr. Mabuse

3.           The B-52's - Planet Claire

4.           The Associates - Party Fears Two 

5.           Marc Almond - Stories Of Johnny

6.           The Adventures - Broken Land   

7.           The Stranglers - European Female

LP 1 Side B

1.           Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding      

2.           Tom Robinson - Atmospherics: Listen To The Radio                                                        

3.           The Passions - I'm In Love With A German Film Star

4.           Midge Ure & Mick Karn - After A Fashion

5.           Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids (Edit)

6.           Sandii & The Sunsetz - Dreams Of Immigrants

7.           Yello - Vicious Games

8.           DEVO - Whip It

LP 2 Side A

1.           Sisters Of Mercy - This Corrosion

2.           Siouxsie And The Banshees - Peek-A-Boo

3.           Bauhaus - Kick In The Eye

4.           The Cure - A Forest

5.           The Sugarcubes – Birthday 

6.           David Sylvian - Pop Song

7.           Zaine Griff - Flowers

LP 2 Side B

1.           The Smiths - Hand In Glove

2.           Aztec Camera – Oblivious

3.           Pretenders - Talk Of The Town   

4.           R.E.M. - So. Central Rain

5.           Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven

6.           The Psychedelic Furs - President Gas

7.           The Cult - Edie (Ciao Baby)

8.           The Clash - This Is England