"Now Is the Time" is a pop song written in 1976 by

Biddu Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro d ...

. It was recorded that year by

Jimmy James and the Vagabonds Michael "Jimmy" James (born 13 September 1940) is a British-Jamaican soul singer, known for songs like "Come to Me Softly", "Now Is the Time" and "I'll Go Where Your Music Takes Me". Based in Britain, he has performed as the lead singer of Ji ...

. The track appeared in the Top 10 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

History

The song's recording was made at Pye Studios in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, under the tutelage of the song's writer and record producer, Biddu, and was released on

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

. The track first appeared in the

on 17 July 1976 and, in a nine-week chart run, it peaked at number 5. It was the third and final UK chart hit single for the ensemble. The song's lyrics spoke of

environmental issues Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

, urging people to take immediate action. Robin Carmody of ''

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...

'' praised the song as a "heartbreakingly naive" example of "singalong mid-70s pop". The single was released in many countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, and Portugal. In the Netherlands, the song peaked at number 4 in the

Dutch Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutc ...

. In December 1976, the French vocalist

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (c ...

issued his version of the track, translated by

Eddy Marnay Edmond Bacri known by the professional name Eddy Marnay ( Algiers, 18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. H ...

, titled "Laisse une chance à notre amour". The singers in the musical, ''

Belles belles belles ''Belles belles belles'' is a French jukebox musical written by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Daniel Moyne, based on the songs of French singer Claude François (1939-1978). The musical arrangements are by Carolin Petit. It was the first French jukeb ...

'', covered the François' song. In 1977, the Finnish singer

Danny Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journalis ...

, released a version, called "Sydämen puutarha". The song later appeared on a James compilation album, ''Now Is the Time'', issued by Secret Records in 2014. The song has also been included in numerous various artists compilation albums.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Details @ Discogs.comYouTube
1976 songs 1976 singles Songs written by Biddu Disco songs Pye Records singles British pop songs Jamaican pop songs Environmental songs