Now

Now That's What I Call Music! (often shortened to Now!) is a long-running series of Various Artists compilation albums released by Polygram/EMI/Virgin Records. Devised by Ashley Abram, the series took its name from an advertising poster for Danish meat products which showed a pig listening to a whistling cockerel. The pig became the Now! series' mascot for a while, making its last appearance on Now! 5.

The first Now! compilation appeared in 1983 and collected thirty UK hit singles from that year on a double vinyl LP. The concept of a compilation of recent hit singles was not new (Ronco had been issuing single-disc collections since the early 1970s), but by spreading tracks across two discs instead of one, the Now! series was able to achieve better sound quality and since the albums were a collaboration between major record companies, a greater number of major hits could be included (the first album in the series boasted of "11 number ones" on its sleeve, something previously unheard-of). The album went to number one and soon had a major rival in Telstar's "The Hits Album" which adopted a similar format to "Now!". The two series co-existed for the rest of the 1980s.

The sheer longevity and ubiquity of the "Now!" series in the UK has led to its becoming something of a cultural icon. Many people now collect the albums as a series, something made a lot easier by the fact that the series was a hit from the start, so even the long-deleted early albums are easy to find second-hand.

The rate of release has varied over the years, but it seems to be settling down to around three per year; one around Easter, one during the summer break (to pick up all the dance hits), and one in around November (in time for the Christmas market). Now That's What I Call Music! 58 is the latest to have been released, in late July 2004.

A U.S. version of the series began in 1998 and there are numerous other versions of the brand in other countries around the world.

Sony Music and BMG run a similar compilation, the Hits series. In 2002, it was cheekily rebranded to Hits 51 and timed for release very shortly after Now! 50. Hits 59 is due for release in September 2004.

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