NOW That's What I Call Music 7 - Various Artists (Virgin / EMI - 1986)

What we're gonna do here is go back... way back...

Those of you that have followed me since The Vault V1.0 back in 2013 will already be aware that this series is something that I collect religiously. Ever since I was handed the glossy double gatefold of NOW 1 way back in 1983 this collection has stayed with me through my terrible teens all the way up to present day... I won't ramble on about it here as I'd rather you enjoyed the music and as the tagline goes on this album "Feel The Quality"...

NOW 7 was released in late summer 1986 (August 11th) on 33 track double vinyl & cassette and a 20 track video selection. The reason I've picked this particular volume over others is that it's a fantastic representation of all that was credible or crap (depending on your taste in music) during the 80's - it's also a damn good representation of why the 80's is my favourite decade for music. This volume was unique within the NOW series at the time as although the cover boasted "32 Top Chart Hits" there were in fact 33 as Queen managed to sneek in there with bonus track "A Kind Of Magic" (Record / Cassette 2 Side 1).

In my opinion NOW 7 has an extremely strong line up covering all bases from teen pop to alternative indie types, long time classics, to the fast growing dance scene (represented perfectly on the final side). It's a great snapshot of music from the blistering summer of '86. I hope you enjoy it!!!

Record 1 Side 1

1. Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
2. UB40 - Sing Our Own Song
3. Sly Fox - Let's Go All The Way
4. Level 42 - Lessons In Love
5. Pet Shop Boys - Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)
6. Pete Wylie - Sinful!
7. Stan Ridgway - Camouflage
8. Art Of Noise Featuring Max Headroom - Paranoimia

Record 1 Side 2

1. Chris De Burgh - The Lady In Red
2. David Bowie - Absolute Beginners
3. Genesis - Invisible Touch
4. Simple Minds - All The Things She Said
5. The Housemartins - Happy Hour
6. Big Country - Look Away
7. Furniture - Brilliant Mind
8. Midge Ure - Call Of The Wild

Record 2 Side 1

1. Wham! - The Edge Of Heaven
2. Owen Paul - My Favourite Waste Of Time
3. Amazulu - Too Good To Be Forgotten
4. Doctor & The Medics - Spirit In The Sky
5. Bananarama - Venus
6. Bucks Fizz - Mamba Seyra (New Beginning)
7. a-ha - Hunting High & Low (Remix)
8. Simply Red - Holding Back The Years
9. Queen - A Kind Of Magic (Bonus Track)

Record 2 Side 2

1. Billy Ocean - When Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going
2. Jaki Graham - Set Me Free
3. Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait
4. The Real Roxanne With Hitman Howie Tee - (Bang Zoom) Let's Go Go
5. Lovebug Starski - Amityville (The House On The Hill)
6. Midnight Star - Headlines
7. Aurra - You And Me Tonight
8. Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald - On My Own

N.B. I've put this compilation together via digital sources and attempted to replicate the original release as closely as possibly. Some of the tracks may differ slightly in length to the original release but are as close to them as I could possibly get.

Link :

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B83_lcjOnQkKflphakZ4WjJoWno0LXhuNHJCbDVUV19OdW1TUUlMWk1VYjlJLWR0OFRPUXc&usp=sharing