NOW 12” 80s: 1981 4-Disc CD

NOW Music are excited to present the next in our latest series lsquoNOW 12rdquo 80srsquo. This instalment ndash 1981 ndash isreleased on October 20 th 2023.The 12rdquo single was a dynamic and increasingly essential part of the release schedule as the decadeprogressed. Incorporating extended sometimes full album versions, remixes, and reinventions ndash they notonly gave the dancefloor a longer version, and the listener an alternative take, but also highlighted theartistry of the producer ndash bringing together all kinds of elements to create new soundscapes woventogether with the original track, either vocal or instrumental, to present another reason to be excited onrelease date.Across 4 CDs, 46 extended, fulllength, or remixed versions reflect a year of seismic change in the PopCharts and on the dancefloor for the 12rdquo single ndash the previously dominant genre, Disco, now shared thespace with remixes that embraced Pure Pop, New Wave, Rap, Electro, and Synthdriven New Romantic hitsthat shone a light on the new postDisco club scene.Of the 12 artists on Disc 1, 9 of these enjoyed their first Top 20 hit in 1981 and the 12rdquo Single was anessential part of the release, offering a taste of the new club culturehellip First big Chart hits from DuranDuran, The Human League, and Japan feature alongside Ultravox, Spandau Balletand OrchestralManoeuvres In The Dark continuing the success they found in the previous yearhellip Freeez, Haircut 100 andABC all produced extended cuts that accentuated their cool dance credentials ndash and Visage a focal pointof the London club scene ndash released three hit singles, all of which are included in their 12rdquo version on thiscollection.Blondiersquos lsquoRapturersquo, and Tom Tom Clubrsquos lsquoWordy Rappinghoodrsquo were among the first crossover Pop tracksembracing Rap, and the postPunk New Wave scene introduced new artists including Altered Images, BowWow Wow, and Simple Minds. The Specials took lsquoGhost Townrsquo to 1 just before they split ndash and one of thedecadesrsquo biggest Pop groups, Bananarama, made their debut.hellipand Disco certainly wasnrsquot dead ndash Huge hits included here from Odyssey, Earth, Wind ampamp Fire, Yarbrough ampampPeoples, Shalamar, and The Whispers kept the floors filled, while emerging stars including Sharon Reddand HiGloss brought fresh U.S. club mixes, and established superstars utilised the 12rdquo version to underlinetheir dancefloor relevance ndash including the yearsrsquo biggest U.S. hit lsquoPhysicalrsquo from Olivia NewtonJohn notreleased originally in the UK in its full 12rdquo version.Pure Pop smashes from Dollar, Ottawan and Modern Romance all enjoyed success with extended 12rdquoversions and the yearsrsquo craze for medleyrsquos including the nearly 12minute lsquoStars On 45 Volume 2rsquo, and thefull version of lsquoHooked On Classicsrsquo are all here as part of the rich Chart story of 1981 ndash but if a run of tracksserves as a great example of why 1981 was such a pivotal year in the history of Pop and of the 12rdquo single,then the opening of the final disc here really encapsulates this explosion of diversity and creativity, withlsquoFade To Greyrsquo, lsquoTainted Love Where Did Our Love Gorsquo, lsquoDonrsquot You Want Mersquo, lsquoGirls On Filmrsquo and lsquoTheFreezersquo.By 1982, many of these artists were established Chart stars and were joined by more emerging starscreating stellar Pop. 1982 would be another rich and defining year in the story of the Singles Charts andone in which the 12rdquo single became an essential and expected format for releases, but thatrsquos for nexttimehellip