Various Artists - NOW - Yearbook 1997 Various Artists

Step back into one of the most exciting years in pop history – a time when boundary-pushing alternative anthems, flawless dancefloor fillers, global megastars and fresh faces all collided on the charts. NOW - Yearbook 1997 celebrates an unforgettable year of hits with 78 massive tracks across 4 CDs.

CD1 kicks off in style, with the stunning jazz-drenched ballad from legend George Michael, ‘Older’, before Natalie Imbruglia's huge debut single ‘Torn’. Texas scored a UK top 5 with ‘Say What You Want’ and Hanson hit the US & UK #1 with ‘MMMBop’. ‘Barbie Girl’ from Aqua and the Spice Girls’ anthemic ‘Spice Up Your Life’ were both #1s and lead a run of pure pop including Boyzone (‘Picture Of You’), Louise (‘Arms Around The World’), 911 (‘Bodyshakin’’) and Backstreet Boys (‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’) alongside Steps with their debut ‘5, 6, 7, 8’, and Ricky Martin’s global smash ‘María’. Up next is Elton John’s superb ‘Something About The Way You Look Tonight’ - one half of the biggest selling single of all time. Eternal feat. Bebe Winans hit #1 with ‘I Wanna Be The Only One’ and All Saints made their debut with ‘I Know Where It’s At’. En Vogue’s powerful ‘Don’t Let Go (Love)’ and Gabrielle’s remake of ‘Walk On By’ lead into the discs closing trio: - the atmospheric ‘Out Of My Mind’ from Duran Duran, the genre-blending #1 ‘Your Woman’ from White Town, and Pet Shop Boys’ brilliant version of the musical classic ‘Somewhere’.

CD2 opens with another George Michael classic from his ‘Older’ album, the beautiful ‘You Have Been Loved’, ahead of a second contemporary masterpiece ‘Secret Garden’ from Bruce Springsteen. Next Up, Paul McCartney’s ‘Young Boy’ and Sheryl Crow’s top 10 hit ‘A Change Would Do You Good’. Meredith Brooks makes her debut with ‘Bitch’ and Robbie Williams’ ‘Old Before I Die’, became his second smash as a solo artist. Different styles of dance pop are celebrated in a run of floor fillers including Jamiroquai’s groovy ‘Alright’, and from Tina Moore (‘Never Gonna Let You Go (Kelly G. Bump-N-Go Vocal Mix)’), Whitney Houston (‘Step By Step’) and Lutricia McNeal (‘Ain’t That Just The Way’). Finley Quaye and Ginuwine feature before rap from LL COOL J enjoying his first UK #1 with ‘Ain’t Nobody’, and Coolio with the ear-worm ‘C U When U Get There’. Soulful vocals close this disc with Mary J. Blige’s ‘Everything’, ahead of great covers from Shola Ama with You Might Need Somebody’, and ‘Wonderful Tonight’ from Damage.

CD3 kicks off with Radiohead’s defining ‘Paranoid Android’, and Oasis’s huge #1 ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’ – the lead single from their third album ‘Be Here Now’. Indie-pop anthems follow from The Seahorses (‘Love Is The Law’), Supergrass (‘Richard III’), The Charlatans (‘North Country Boy’) and Ocean Colour Scene (‘Hundred Mile High City’). 90s alt-pop continues with Cast’s ‘Free Me’, Kula Shaker’s hit cover of ‘Hush’ and Embrace’s ‘All You Good Good People’. Echo & The Bunnymen returned in ‘97 with ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, and James also scored a Top 10 hit with ‘She’s A Star’. The Cardigans had a #2 smash with ‘Lovefool’ and ‘Ready To Go’ gave Republica a Top 20 chart debut. Next up, some of the years’ electronic dance music highlights: - The Chemical Brothers with the massive ’Block Rockin’ Beats’ ahead of Moby with his re-imagining of the classic film-series theme: ‘James Bond Theme (Moby’s Re-Version)’. Orbital provided the theme to the remake of ‘The Saint’ and Smoke City provide trip-hop brilliance with ‘Underwater Love’, ahead of the disc finishing with the atmospheric version of 'You Showed Me’ by The Lightning Seeds’ and Suede’s plaintive ‘Saturday Night’.

The final disc opens with a stellar run of 1997’s dancefloor gold. Opening with the club juggernaut and #1 ‘Professional Widow’ from Tori Amos, remixed for single release by Armand Van Helden, ahead of the collaboration between Lisa Stansfield and The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on the remix of ‘People Hold On’, Olive’s UK #1 ‘You’re Not Alone’, the huge ’97 ‘Now Voyager’ remix of ‘You Got The Love’ from The Source feat. Candi Staton, and ‘Remember Me’ from Blue Boy. Ultra Naté and Dannii Minogue had euphoric dance-pop smashes with ‘Free’ and ‘All I Wanna Do’, which are featured before pan-European hits from Sash! (‘Encore Une Fois’) and Dario G (‘Sunchyme’). Eurovision glory happened for the UK in 1997, and winners Katrina And The Waves with ‘Love Shine A Light’ are up next before gems from Céline Dion, Backstreet Boys and the second solo #1 for Gary Barlow with ‘Love Won’t Wait’. Gina G keeps things ‘Fresh’, No Mercy hit #2 with the infectious ‘Where Do You Go’, and N-Trance (featuring Rod Stewart) reimagined the classic: ‘Da Y Think I’m Sexy’. Five achieved a Top 10 debut with ‘Slam Dunk (Da Funk)’, East 17 enjoyed their 11th visit to the Top 10 with ‘Hey Child’, and Wet Wet Wet’s ‘If I Never See You Again’ was another Top 5 hit for the enduringly popular band celebrating their 10th anniversary. The journey back to 1997 closes with the huge #1 ballad from the Spice Girls – ‘Too Much’ – the year’s Christmas #1 and their 6th chart-topper in an unbroken run to date…which ends the collection on a perfect pop high.

NOW – Yearbook 1997: A celebration of the diversity and creativity in the charts of a truly magical year in pop.