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Now Smash Hits
''Now That's What I Call Music! Smash Hits'' was a compilation album released on 28 September 1987. The album is part of the ( UK) Now! series, and is a collaboration with ''Smash Hits'' magazine, a successful pop music-based magazine at the time. It was conceived, written and designed by the ''Smash Hits'' staff, and the liner notes are written in the magazine's offbeat style. The album features popular UK Singles Chart hits from 1980 to 1987, in rough backwards chronological order, starting with more recent songs (four songs for each year) and ending with older ones. Many of the older songs had not been featured on any ''Now'' albums before as the series did not start until 1983. A companion issue of the magazine was released at the same time, featuring pictures and lyrics to all of the songs on the album. The front cover of the vinyl and audio cassette releases feature the words 32 Swingorilliant Hits of the 80's. For the compact disc release the number was changed to 31, as M ...
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Pop Music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many disparate styles. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. ''Rock'' and ''pop'' music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which ''pop'' became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible. Although much of the music that appears on record charts is considered to be pop music, the genre is distinguished from chart music. Identifying factors usually include repeated choruses and hooks, short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), and rhythms or tempos that can be easily danced to. Much pop music also borrows elements from other styles ...
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Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of ''The Guinness Book of Records''. Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, since 1984 they have achieved 42 top 30 singles, 22 of these being top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart, including four UK number ones: "West End Girls" (also number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100), "It's a Sin", a synth-pop version of " Always on My Mind", and "Heart". Other hit songs include a cover of " Go West", and their own "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", and " What Have I Done to Deserve This?" in a duet with Dusty Springfield. With five US top ten singles in the 1980s, they are associated with the Second British Invasion. At the 2009 Brit Awards in London, the Pet Shop Boys recei ...
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The Housemartins
The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band (the back cover of their debut album, ''London 0 Hull 4'', contained the message, "Take Jesus – Take Marx – Take Hope"). The group's a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" (originally by Isley-Jasper-Isley) was a UK Number 1 single in December 1986. After breaking up in 1988, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway formed The Beautiful South, while bassist Norman Cook became an electronic dance music DJ and music producer, founding the groups Beats International, Pizzaman, and Freak Power, before rebranding himself as Fatboy Slim. Career The band was formed in late 1983 by Paul Heaton (vocals) and Stan Cullimore (guitar), initially as a busking duo. Throughout his tenure with the band, Heaton b ...
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West End Girls
"West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were inspired partly by T. S. Eliot's poem ''The Waste Land''. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo's career. The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released on Columbia Records' Bobcat Records imprint in April 1984, becoming a club hit in the United States and some European countries. After the duo signed with EMI, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague for their first studio album, ''Please (Pet Shop Boys album), Please''. In October 1985, the new version was released, reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1986. In 1987, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards, and Best International Hit at ...
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Rain Or Shine (song)
"Rain or Shine" is a 1986 hit single by British pop group Five Star. Peaking at #2 on the UK Singles Chart, it was held off the top spot for two weeks by British pop band The Communards with the year's biggest selling song, "Don't Leave Me This Way "Don't Leave Me This Way" is a song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. It was originally released in 1975 by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, an act signed to Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia Internat ...". "Rain or Shine" spent a total of 13 weeks inside the UK Top 75, five of those in the Top 10. Track listings 7" single and 7" poster sleeve: 1. "Rain Or Shine" (with extra intro) 2. "Summer Groove" 12" single: PT40902 1. "Rain Or Shine" (Remix) ''(Phil Harding PWL Mix)'' 5:55 * 2. "Rain Or Shine" (Dub) ''(Phil Harding PWL Mix)'' 3. "Summer Groove" 4. "Find The Time" (Instrumental Remix) ''(Shep Pettibone Mix)'' All tracks available on the remastered versions of either the 2 ...
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Five Star
Five Star (also styled as 5 Star) are a British pop group, formed in 1983 and comprising siblings Stedman, Lorraine, Denise, Doris and Delroy Pearson. Between 1985 and 1988, Five Star had four top 20 albums and 15 top 40 singles in the UK, including the top 10 hits " System Addict" (1986), "Can't Wait Another Minute" (1986), " Find the Time" (1986), " Rain or Shine" (1986), " Stay Out of My Life" (1987) and "The Slightest Touch" (1987). They won the 1987 Brit Award for Best British Group. Biography 1980s The five-piece group of siblings from Romford were masterminded by their father and manager, Buster Pearson, who modelled them in the style of the Jackson 5. He was a former recording artist and session musician who had worked with Wilson Pickett and had set up Tent Records Ltd in 1982. Their debut single was released on Tent in 1983 and although it did not chart, it gave them TV exposure and a record deal with RCA Records (with future releases being joint Tent/RCA release ...
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Labour Of Love (song)
"Labour of Love" is a song by Scottish duo Hue and Cry, released in 1987 as the second single from their debut album, '' Seduced and Abandoned''. It peaked at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1993, the song was remixed by house music producer/ DJ Joey Negro and released as a single that reached number 25 in Britain. "Labour of Love" was featured on the soundtrack for the video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City''. Personnel *Pat Kane: lead vocals and backing vocals * Greg Kane: electronic piano *Nigel Clark Nigel Richard Clark (born 18 September 1966 in Redditch, Worcestershire, England) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer and bassist of Dodgy. Life and career Clark returned to performing in 2005 as a solo artist. Th ...: electric guitar *James Finnigan: bass *Tony McCracken: drums *David Preston: backing vocals *Robert Purse: bongos References 1987 songs 1987 singles Hue and Cry songs {{1980s-single-stub ...
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Hue And Cry (band)
Hue and Cry are a Scottish pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by the brothers Pat Kane and Greg Kane. The duo are best known for their 1987 single "Labour of Love". Career Their first single "Here Comes Everybody" was released on a small Glasgow-based independent label, Stampede, in 1986. While not a hit, it attracted the interest of Virgin Records' subsidiary Circa who signed the duo in 1986. Their debut single for Circa was "I Refuse". Their second single and biggest hit was "Labour of Love" from the debut album ''Seduced and Abandoned''. Other hits included "Looking for Linda" and "Violently (Your Words Hit Me)" – both from their second album ''Remote''. In the 1990s, the brothers embarked upon a period of musical experimentation. Their 1991 album ''Stars Crash Down'' embraced folk, country, Latin and quartet jazz. ''Truth and Love'' (1992) was released on the brothers' own short-lived label, Fidelity. Hue and Cry had a brief chart revival in 1993 with the ...
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Respectable (Mel And Kim Song)
"Respectable" is a song by English musical duo Mel and Kim from their only studio album, '' F.L.M.'' (1987). It was released on 18 February 1987 as the album's second single. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for one week in March 1987, becoming the second UK number-one single produced by Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW), following Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (1985), and the first UK number one that the trio had written themselves. The single also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland and West Germany. Background The track was conceived as a more commercial follow up to the act's debut hit, "Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)". Supreme Records head Nick East requested that SAW produce a song in line with the flavour of their debut hit, but more accessible. The lyrics of the song were inspired by the sisters' dismissive and shame-free response to a tabloid scandal over the emergence ...
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Mel And Kim
Mel and Kim (stylized as MÓ—L & KIM) were an English pop duo, consisting of sisters Melanie and Kim Appleby. Originally managed by Alan Whitehead, they achieved success between 1986 and 1988, before Melanie died of cancer in January 1990 at the age of 23. The duo reached number one in the UK Singles Chart with their 1987 single " Respectable", which also topped the US dance chart. They had three other UK Top 10 hits with "Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)" (1986), " F.L.M." (1987) and "That's the Way It Is" (1988). In 1988, they were nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act. After Mel's death, Kim embarked on a solo career and had two UK Top 10 hits with " Don't Worry" (1990) and " G.L.A.D." (1991). Biography Mel & Kim were born to English and Jamaican parents. In 1985, Mel recorded two demos solo, under Alan Whitehead's management. Soon after, her sister Kim joined her and they performed as a duo, recording some demos. The demos got them signed with ...
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If You Let Me Stay
"If You Let Me Stay" is the debut single by American singer Terence Trent D'Arby in 1987. It was taken from his debut album, ''Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby''. Reception It reached #68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 U.S. Billboard Singles Allmusic.com. and peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was not until the release of the second single, "Wishing Well", that D'Arby managed to crossover his success in the UK to the US. That song became one of the biggest hits of 1987 in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori .... Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts References 1987 debut singles Terence Trent D'Arby songs Songs written by Terence Trent D'Arby 1987 songs Columbia Records singles {{1980s-single-stub ...
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Terence Trent D'Arby
Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard; March 15, 1962), who started his career with the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, ''Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby'' (1987). The album included the singles "If You Let Me Stay", "Sign Your Name", " Dance Little Sister", and the number one hit "Wishing Well". Early life Terence Trent D'Arby was born Terence Trent Howard in Manhattan in 1962. His mother is Frances Howard, a gospel singer, teacher and counselor. Frances Howard married Bishop James Benjamin Darby, who became his stepfather and raised him. He took this stepfather's last name and later added the apostrophe. He trained as a boxer in Orlando and in 1980 won the Florida Golden Gloves lightweight championship. He received an offer to attend boxing school in the United States Army, but went to college instead. After enrolling at the University of Central Fl ...
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