Various Artists - NOW 12” 80s: 1986 – Part One Various Artists

NOW Music presents the next instalment in our ongoing series of 12” 80s releases: NOW 12” 80s: 1986 – Part One, a 4CD collection packed with 46 extended, full-length, and remixed 12” versions, capturing the sound of 1986’s clubs, charts, and pop culture.

CD1 opens with the #1 single from George Michael, the timeless ballad ‘A Different Corner’. Next come the Pet Shop Boys with the 12” mix of ‘Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)’, followed by a-ha’s chart-topping ‘The Sun Always Shines On T.V.’ – with the extended version helping to cement the band’s reputation for sophisticated synth-pop. Duran Duran’s sleek ‘Notorious’, produced by Nile Rodgers, reflects the band’s reinvention in the mid-80s, while Eurythmics’ shimmering ‘Thorn In My Side’ showcases Annie Lennox’s powerful vocal delivery. Culture Club, Falco, OMD, Simple Minds, and Talk Talk contribute essential 12" cuts that underline the diversity of the year’s pop, while Bryan Ferry’s elegant ‘Is Your Love Strong Enough?’, and Spandau Ballet’s powerful ‘Through The Barricades’ round out a superb Disc 1.

CD2 kicks off with Bananarama’s iconic ‘Venus’, a Stock Aitken Waterman production that became one of the defining pop singles of the year on both sides of the Atlantic. A run of floor-filling club mixes of Hi-NRG pop smashes follows from Bucks Fizz, Sinitta, and Mel & Kim, and leads into chart favourites from Five Star and Jaki Graham. Gwen Guthrie hit with an all-time dance classic, Jellybean’s ‘Sidewalk Talk’ featured its writer Madonna on backing vocals and is followed by Miami Sound Machine’s Latin-pop smash ‘Bad Boy’. Jennifer Rush and Billy Ocean come ahead of The Real Thing’s Decade Remix of ‘You To Me Are Everything’, revitalising their 1976 classic ten years later for a new generation of club-goers.

CD3 showcases more of ‘86’s greatest artists and remixes – Opening with the Pet Shop Boys’ epic ‘Suburbia (The Full Horror)’, ahead of New Order’s dancefloor favourite ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ and The Cure - with the ‘New Voice Club Mix’ of their classic ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. Frankie Goes To Hollywood deliver the expansive brilliance of ‘Rage Hard (Broad)’, plus massive remixes feature from Dead Or Alive, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, and Red Box. a-ha make a second appearance with ‘I’ve Been Losing You’, before disc 3 closes with a trio of standouts from Debbie Harry, Go West, and The Police – the latter revisiting their earlier #1 as ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86 (Dance Mix)’, recorded to coincide with the band’s #1compilation ‘Every Breath You Take: The Singles’.

The final disc opens with the year’s biggest selling single: The Communards with Sarah Jane Morris and ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’, with the full-length version featuring here. Kim Wilde follows with ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On (W.C.H. Mix)’, a reinvented Supremes classic which gave her a U.S. #1, and Jermaine Stewart’s extended mix of ‘We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off’ continues the momentum. Huge international hits are up next, with Whitney Houston’s ‘How Will I Know’, and Lionel Richie’s feel-good ‘Dancing On The Ceiling’, leading into a run of UK bands enjoying huge chart success, kicking off with Fine Young Cannibals, followed by Level 42 and Swing Out Sister. The extended remix of the ‘86 smash ‘Manic Monday’ by The Bangles leads to the collection’s finale – two songs introducing new albums - Tina Turner with ‘Typical Male’, the lead track from her ‘Break Every Rule’ album, and Elton John’s ‘Heartache All Over The World’, from his ‘Leather Jackets’ album – both featuring in their 12” versions and finishing part one of our celebration of 1986.

NOW 12” 80s: 1986 – Part One - An essential overview of the ‘extended’ year in pop – and coming soon, the second part – as our journey through the decades’ unforgettable 12” singles continues.