News

Now Yearbook Extra 1979

Companion 3CD set

By Paul Sinclair

Comments

102

Next month, the Now That’s What I Call Music Team are to release NOW Yearbook ’79 Extra, a 3CD companion to the original NOW Yearbook ’79 that was issued last week.

This triple-disc package features 67 hits from 1979 and includes a decent selection of big names and some less predictable offerings.

Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ kicks things off and a strong CD 1 also includes The Police, Blondie, Pretenders, ELO, Roxy Music, Kate Bush (the Live On Stage version of ‘Them Heavy People’), Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Madness, Sparks and more.

Now Yearbook ’79 is a 3CD set (click image to enlarge)

CD 2 has more of a post-punk/new wave vibe going on and includes ‘The Sound Of The Suburbs’ from The Members, ‘Babylon’s Burning’ from The Ruts, songs from The Jam, The Clash, The Stranglers, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Sex Pistols and Japan, OMD and the band Eurythmics could have been, The Tourists.

The final disc sees a reprise from Blondie (‘Sunday Girl’) and runs the gamut from Boney M.‘s ‘Painter Man’ to BA Robertson’s ‘Knocked It Off’! You’ll find music from Earth, Wind & Fire, Barry White, Commodores, Toto, Thin Lizzy and Status Quo. It signs off with Macca’s Wonderful Christmastime, the Christmas song everyone pretends to hate.

NOW Yearbook Extra 1979 will be released on 21 October 2022.

Tracklisting

Now Yearbook ’79 Extra Various Artists /

    • CD 1
      1. Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love
      2. The Police – Message In A Bottle
      3. Blondie – Union City Blue
      4. Pretenders – Kid
      5. Electric Light Orchestra – Last Train To London
      6. Roxy Music – Angel Eyes
      7. Kate Bush – Them Heavy People
      8. Squeeze – Up The Junction
      9. The Boomtown Rats – Diamond Smiles
      10. Ian Dury & The Blockheads – Reasons To Be Cheerful (Pt. 3)
      11. Sparks – The Number One Song In Heaven
      12. The Three Degrees – The Runner
      13. Donna Summer – Dim All The Lights
      14. Sister Sledge – Lost In Music
      15. Chic – My Feet Keep Dancing
      16. Rose Royce – Is It Love You’re After
      17. Boney M. – Gotta Go Home
      18. Voyage – Lets Fly Away
      19. Madness – The Prince
      20. Darts – Duke Of Earl
      21. Mike Oldfield – Blue Peter
      22. Fiddler’s Dram – Daytrip To Bangor (Didn’t We Have A Lovely Time)
    • CD 2
      1. The Members – The Sound Of The Suburbs
      2. The Ruts – Babylon’s Burning
      3. The Jam – Strange Town
      4. The Clash – English Civil War
      5. The Stranglers – Duchess
      6. Siouxsie And The Banshees – Playground Twist
      7. Public Image Limited – Death Disco
      8. Skids – Working For The Yankee Dollar
      9. The Undertones – Jimmy Jimmy
      10. Sex Pistols – C’Mon Everybody
      11. Feelgood – Milk And Alcohol
      12. The Dickies – Banana Splits
      13. Secret Affair – Time For Action
      14. Jags – Back Of My Hand
      15. The Tourists – The Loneliest Man In The World
      16. Japan – Life In Tokyo
      17. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Electricity
      18. Shalamar – Take That To The Bank
      19. Dan Hartman – This Is It
      20. Edwin Starr – H.A.P.P.Y. Radio
      21. The Isley Brothers – It’s A Disco Night (Rock Don’t Stop)
      22. Chic – My Forbidden Lover
      23. Diana Ross – The Boss
      24. Cher – Take Me Home
    • CD 3
      1. Blondie – Sunday Girl
      2. Boney M. – Painter Man
      3. The Three Degrees – My Simple Heart
      4. Commodores – Sail On
      5. Earth, Wind & Fire – After The Love Has Gone
      6. Barry White – Just The Way You Are
      7. Billy Joel – Honesty
      8. Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan
      9. Gerry Rafferty – Get It Right Next Time
      10. Toto – Hold the Line
      11. Status Quo – Whatever You Want
      12. Thin Lizzy – Waiting For An Alibi
      13. Driver 67 – Car 67
      14. BA Robertson – Knocked It Off
      15. Cats U.K. – Luton Airport
      16. Racey – Some Girls
      17. Darts – Get It
      18. Dollar – Who Were You With In The Moonlight
      19. Sally Oldfield – Mirrors
      20. Lena Martell – One Day At A Time
      21. Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime

SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.

Related Content

102 Comments

102 thoughts on “Now Yearbook Extra 1979”

  1. Sorry to offend anyone, but the Mike Oldfield tune on this is just about the most stupid song I’ve heard. ‘Daytrip to Bangor’ is genius compared to this…

  2. I’ve made a list of all the 1979 UK top 40 hits (about 365 songs)
    artist / song / peak position / Now Yearbook appearance

    January 1979
    The Village People – Y.M.C.A 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Boney M – Mary’s Boy Child ~ Oh My Lord 1
    Racey – Lay Your Love On Me 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Barron Knights – A Taste Of Aggro 3
    Elton John- Song For Guy 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Ian & The Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Barbra & Neil – You Don’t Bring Me Flowers 5
    Bee Gees – Too Much Heaven 3
    Sara Brightman & Hot Gossip – I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper 6
    Chic – Le Freak 7
    Rod Stewart – Da Ya Think I’m Sexy 1
    Heatwave – Always And Forever/ Mind Blowing Decisions 9
    John Travolta – Greased Lightning 11
    Dollar – Shooting Star 14
    Chaka Khan – I’m Every Woman 11
    Hot Chocolate – I’ll Put You Together Again 13
    Musique – In The Bush 16
    Earth, Wind & Fire – September 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Clash – Tommy Gun 19
    The Buzzcocks – Promises 20
    Olivia Newton-John – A Little More Love 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Blondie – Hanging On The Telephone 5
    Leo Sayer – Raining In My Heart 21
    Paul Evans – Hello This Is Joanie 6
    Darts – Don’t Let It Fade Away 18
    Mankind – Dr. Who 25
    Father Abraham & The Smurfs – Christmas In Smurfland 19
    Funkadelic – One Nation Under A Groove 9
    Barry White – Just The Way You Are 12 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Elkie Brooks – Don’t Cry Out Loud 12
    Sylvester – Dance (Disco Heat) 29
    Sally Oldfield – Mirrors 19 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Electric Light Orchestra – ELO EP 34
    Rachel Sweet – B-A-B-Y 35
    Dan Hartman – Instant Replay 8
    The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap 1
    Billy Joel – My Life 12 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Showaddywaddy – Pretty Little Angel Eyes 5

    The above all entered the top 40 chart towards the end of 1978, but I’ve included them as they also appear in the 1979 top 40 charts.

    Anne Murray – You Needed Me 22 (the first new top 40 entry of 1979)
    Driver 67 – Car 67 7 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Rocky Sharpe & The Replays – Rama Lama Ding Dong 17
    Shalamar – Take That To The Bank 20 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    London Symphony Orchestra – Theme From Superman 32
    Third World – Cool Meditation 17
    The Shadows – Don’t Cry For Me Argentina 5
    Barry Manilow – Could It Be Magic 25
    The Three Degrees – Woman In Love 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Dan Hartman – This Is It 17 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Doll – Desire Me 28
    Phoebe Snow – Every Night 37
    Chanson – Don’t Hold Back 33
    Blondie – Heart Of Glass 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Leif Garrett – I Was Made For Dancin’ 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Dr Feelgood – Milk & Alcohol 9 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Generation X – King Rocker 11
    Cerrone – Je Suis Music 39

    February
    ABBA – Chiquitita 2 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Edwin Starr – Contact 6 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Judas Priest – Take On The World 14
    Peaches & Herb – Shake Your Groove Thing 26
    Olympic Runners – Sir Dancealot 35
    Andy Gibb – (Our Love) Don’t Throw It All Away 32
    The Members – The Sound Of The Suburbs 12 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    UFO – Doctor Doctor 35
    Gene Chandler – Get Down 11
    Rod Stewart – Ain’t Love A Bitch 11
    Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell 15 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Nazareth – May The Sun Shine 22
    Herbie Hancock – You Bet Your Love 18
    The Jacksons – Destiny 39
    Bee Gees – Tragedy 1
    Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Oliver’s Army 2
    Darts – Get It 10 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    UFO – Doctor Doctor 35
    Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now 9 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Alan Price – Baby Of Mine / Just For You 32
    The Real Thing – Can You Feel The Force 5 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Skids – Into The Valley 10 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Lene Lovich – Lucky Number 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Dooleys – Honey I’m Lost 24
    Chic – I Want Your Love 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Donna Summer – Heaven Knows 34
    The Cars – Just What I Needed 17
    Mick Jackson – Weekend 38

    March
    Gary’s Gang – Keep On Dancin’ 8
    Sex Pistols – Something Else / Friggin’ In The Riggin’ 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Boney M – Painter Man 10 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Toto – Hold The Line 14 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Pretenders – Stop Your Sobbing 34 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Dennis Brown – Money In My Pocket 14
    The Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes 31
    The Clash – English Civil War (Johnny Comes Marching Home) 25 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Violinski – Clog Dance 17
    Thin Lizzy – Waiting For An Alibi 9 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    David Essex – Imperial Wizard 32
    Neil Diamond – Forever In Blue Jeans 16 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Roxy Music – Trash 40
    The Players Association – Turn The Music Up 8
    The Village People – In The Navy 2 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Dire Straits – Sultans Of Swing 8
    Buzzcocks – Everybody’s Happy Nowadays 29
    The Jam – Strange Town 15 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    John Cooper Clarke – Gimmix! Play Loud 39
    Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Squeeze – Cool For Cats 2 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Kate Bush – Wow 14 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Inner Circle – Everything Is Great 37
    Sister Sledge – He’s The Greatest Dancer 6 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Motorhead – Overkill 39
    The Late Show – Bristol Stomp 40
    The Jacksons – Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) 4
    Sham 69 – Questions & Answers 18
    The Three Degrees – The Runner 10 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Siouxsie & Banshees – The Staircase (Mystery) 24 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Racey – Some Girls 2 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Pointer Sisters – Fire 34
    Voyage – Let’s Fly Away 38 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra

    April
    Sex Pistols – Silly Thing / Tenpole Tudor – Who Killed Bambi 6
    Kandidate – I Don’t Wanna Lose You 11
    Showaddywaddy – Remember Then 17
    Supertramp – The Logical Song 7
    Generation X – Valley Of The Dolls 23
    Wings – Goodnight Tonight 5 NOW Yearbook ’79
    M – Pop Muzik 2 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Amii Stewart – Knock On Wood 6 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Gonzalez – Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet 15
    Milk & Honey featuring Gali – Hallelujah 5 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Members – Offshore Banking Business 31
    Rocky Sharpe & The Replays – Imagination 39
    Bee Gees – Love You Inside Out 13
    The Beach Boys – Here Comes The Night 37
    George Benson – Love Ballad 29
    Boney M – Hooray Hooray It’s A Holi Holiday 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Dickies – Banana Splits 7 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Eruption – One Way Ticket 9 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Peaches & Herb – Reunited 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Child – Only You (& You Alone) 33
    Angelic Upstarts – I’m An Upstart 31
    Leif Garrett – Feel The Need 38
    Gary Moore – Parisienne Walkways 8 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Mike Oldfield – Guilty 22

    May
    ABBA – Does Your Mother Know 4
    The Police – Roxanne 12
    The Undertones – Jimmy Jimmy 16 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    David Bowie – Boys Keep Swinging 7
    The Monks – Nice Legs Shame About Her Face 19
    Roxy Music – Dance Away 2 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Sparks – The Number One Song In Heaven 14 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Damned – Love Song 20
    Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions – Boogie Wonderland 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Linda Clifford – Bridge Over Troubled Water 28
    Cheap Trick – I Want You To Want Me 29
    Dr Feelgood – As Long As The Price Is Right 40
    Blondie – Sunday Girl 1 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Shadows – Theme From The Deerhunter (Cavatina) 9
    Donna Summer – Hot Stuff 11 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Electric Light Orchestra – Shine A Little Love 6 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Clash – I Fought The Law 22 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Lene Lovich – Say When 19
    McFadden & Whitehead – Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now 5 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Skids – Masquerade 14
    Dollar – Who Were You With In The Moonlight 14 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Accidents Will Happen 28 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Tubes – Prime Time 34
    Edwin Starr – H.A.P.P.Y. Radio 9 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Bombers – (Everybody) Get Dancin’ 37

    June
    Anita Ward – Ring My Bell 1
    Tubeway Army – Are Friends Electric 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Sister Sledge – We Are Family 8 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Gerry Rafferty – Night Owl 5 NOW Yearbook ’79
    John Williams – Cavatina 13
    Scorpions – Is There Anybody There / Another Piece Of Meat 39
    Squeeze – Up The Junction 2 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Quantum Jump – The Lone Ranger 5
    Chas & Dave – Gertcha 20
    Eddy Grant – Living On The Front Line 11
    Kevin Keegan – Head Over Heels 31
    Thom Pace – Maybe 14
    Nick Lowe – Crackin’ Up 34
    The Village People – Go West 15
    Linda Lewis – I’d Be Surprisingly Good For You 40
    Amii Stewart – Light My Fire / 137 Disco Heaven 5
    Janet Kay – Silly Games 2 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Beach Boys – Lady Lynda 6
    Voyager – Halfway Hotel 33
    Thin Lizzy – Do Anything You Want To 14
    Wings – Old Siam Sir 35
    The Ruts – Babylon’s Burning 7 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Slick – Space Bass 16
    Carrie Lucas – Dance With You 40
    Sex Pistols – C’Mon Everybody 3 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Dooleys – Wanted 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Patrick Hernandez – Born To Be Alive 10
    Bonnie Tyler – Married Men 35
    UK Subs – Stranglehold 26
    After The Fire – One Rule For You 40

    July
    Chic – Good Times 5 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Dave Edmunds – Girls Talk 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Supertramp – Breakfast In America 9
    Public Image Ltd – Death Disco 20 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Rickie Lee Jones – Chuck E.’s In Love 18
    Donna Summer – Bad Girls 14 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Knack – My Sharona 6 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Siouxsie & Banshees – Playground Twist 28 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Korgis – If I Had You 13 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Police – Can’t Stand Losing You) 2
    Boomtown Rats – I Don’t Like Mondays 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    ABBA – Angeleyes/Voulez Vous 3
    David Bowie – DJ 29
    Judie Tzuke – Stay With Me Till Dawn 16
    Cliff Richard – We Don’t Talk Anymore 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Pretenders – Kid 33 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Sparks – Beat The Clock 10 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Electric Light Orchestra – The Diary Of Horace Wimp 8
    Darts – Duke Of Earl 6 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Real Thing – Boogie Down (Get Funky Now) 33
    Buzzcocks – Harmony In My Head 32
    Gibson Brothers – Ooh! What A Life 10
    Art Garfunkel – Since I Don’t Have You
    The Undertones – Here Comes The Summer 34

    August
    Sham 69 – Hersham Boys 6
    Earth, Wind & Fire – After The Love Has Gone 4 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Spyro Gyra – Morning Dance 17
    Showaddywaddy – Sweet Little Rock ‘N’ Roller 15
    The Olympic Runners – The Bitch 37
    Telex – Rock Around The Clock 34
    Diana Ross – The Boss 40 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Ian Dury & Blockheads – Reasons To Be Cheerful (Pt3) 3 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Special AKA – Gangsters 6 NOW Yearbook ’79
    B. A. Robertson – Bang Bang 2 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Joe Jackson – Is She Really Going Out With Him 13 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Randy Vanwarmer – Just When I Needed You Most 8
    Roxy Music – Angel Eyes 4 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Boney M – Gotta Go Home/El Lute 12 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Angelic Upstarts – Teenage Warning 29
    The Flying Lizards – Money 5 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Sister Sledge – Lost In Music 17 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Bellamy Brothers – If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me 3
    Kandidate – Girls Girls Girls 34
    Johnny Mathis – Gone Gone Gone 15
    Me & You featuring We The People Band – You Never Know What You’ve Got 31
    B­52s – Rock Lobster 37 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Merton Parkas – You Need Wheels 40
    The Crusaders – Street Life 5 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Jam – When You’re Young 17
    The Stranglers – Duchess 14 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Bill Lovelady – Reggae For It Now 12
    Gerry Rafferty – Get It Right Next Time 30 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Frantique – Strut Your Funky Stuff 10 NOW Yearbook ’79

    September
    Gary Numan – Cars 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Dollar – Love’s Gotta Hold On Me 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Racey – Boy Oh Boy 22
    The Buzzcocks – Spiral Scratch EP 31
    The Planets – Lines 36
    Electric Light Orchestra – Don’t Bring Me Down 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Nick Lowe – Cruel To Be Kind 12
    Commodores – Sail On 8 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Billy Connolly – In The Brownies 38
    Secret Affair – Time For Action 13 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    UK Subs – Tomorrow’s Girls 28
    The Ruts – Something That I Said 29
    Squeeze – Slap & Tickle 24
    Rainbow – Since You’ve Been Gone 6 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Kate Bush – Them Heavy People 10 (from Kate Bush On Stage EP) NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Madness – The Prince 16 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Police – Message In A Bottle 1 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough 3
    Jags – Back Of My Hand 17 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Status Quo – Whatever You Want 4 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Al Hudson & The Soul Partners – You Can Do It 15
    Donna Summer – Dim All The Lights 29 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Dickies – Nights In White Satin 39
    Blondie – Dreaming 2 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Buggles – Video Killed The Radio Star 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Dave Edmunds – Queen Of Hearts 11
    Sad Cafe – Every Day Hurts 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Tourists – The Loneliest Man In The World 32 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra

    October
    Lena Martell – One Day At A Time 1 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Dooleys – The Chosen Few 7
    Skids – Charade 31
    Erroll Dunkley – OK Fred 11
    Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down To Georgia 14 NOW Yearbook ’79
    John Du Cann – Don’t Be A Dummy 33
    Dr. Hook – When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Fleetwood Mac – Tusk 6
    Earth, Wind & Fire – Star 16
    Matumbi – Point Of View 35
    Sex Pistols – The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle / Tenpole Tudor – Rock Around The Clock 21
    XTC – Making Plans For Nigel 17 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The O’Jays – Sing A Happy Song 39
    The Nolan Sisters – Spirit Body & Soul 34
    Chic – My Forbidden Lover 15 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Viola Wills – Gonna Get Along Without You Now 8
    Cats UK – Luton Airport 22 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    ABBA – Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love 2 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Gloria Gaynor – Let Me Know (I Have A Right) 32
    The Stranglers – Nuclear Device (The Wizard Of Aus) 36
    Suzi Quatro – She’s In Love With You 11 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Selecter – On My Radio 8 NOW Yearbook ’79
    The Ramblers – The Sparrow 11
    Herb Alpert – Rise 13
    The Damned – Smash It Up 35
    The Undertones – You’ve Got My Number 32
    Eagles – Heartache Tonight 40

    November
    Specials featuring Rico – A Message To You Rudy / Nite Club 10
    The Jam – The Eton Rifles 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Iris Williams – He Was Beautiful (Cavatina) 18
    Commodores – Still 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Kool & Gang – Ladies Knight 9 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Dynasty – I Don’t Want To Be A Freak (But I Can’t Help Myself) 20 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Robert John – Sad Eyes 31
    B.A. Robertson – Knocked It Off 8 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Donna Summer/Barbra Streisand – No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) 3
    Thin Lizzy – Sarah 24
    Lene Lovich – Bird Song 39
    The Isley Brothers – It’s A Disco Night (Rock Don’t Stop) 14 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Madness – One Step Beyond 7 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Matchbox – Rockabilly Rebel 18
    Electric Light Orchestra – Confusion/Last Train To London 8 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra (Last Train To London)
    Gibson Brothers – Que Sera Mi Vida 5
    Boomtown Rats – Diamond Smiles 13 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Dan­I – Monkey Chop 30
    Secret Affair – Let Your Heart Dance 32
    Gary Numan – Complex 6
    The Moody Blues – Nights In White Satin 14
    The Tourists – I Only Want To Be With You 4 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Skids – Working For The Yankee Dollar 20 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Blondie – Union City Blue 13 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Rose Royce – Is It Love You’re After 13 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Showaddywaddy – A Night At Daddy Gee’s 39

    December
    The Police – Walking On The Moon 1 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Michael Jackson – Off The Wall 7
    Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall 1
    The Three Degrees – My Simple Heart 9 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Status Quo – Living On An Island 16
    The Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight 3 NOW Yearbook ’79
    Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime 6 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Pretenders – Brass In Pocket 1 NOW Yearbook ’80
    Sheila B. Devotion – Spacer 18 NOW Yearbook ’80
    UK Subs – She’s Not There / Kicks EP 36
    Lowrell – Mellow Mellow Right On 37
    Diana Ross – It’s My House 32
    ABBA – I Have A Dream 2
    David Bowie – John I’m Only Dancing (Again) 12
    Fiddler’s Dram – Day Trip To Bangor 3 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Chic – My Feet Keep Dancing 21 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    The Beat – Tears Of A Clown/Ranking Full Stop 6
    Motorhead – Bomber 34
    KC & Sunshine Band – Please Don’t Go 3 NOW Yearbook ’80
    Storm – It’s My House 36
    Mike Oldfield – Blue Peter 19 NOW Yearbook ’79 extra
    Elvis Presley – It Won’t Seem Like Christmas (Without You) 13
    The Clash – London Calling 11 NOW Yearbook ’80
    M – Moonlight & Muzak 33
    Kurtis Blow – Christmas Rappin’ 30
    Boney M – I’m Born Again 35
    Dollar – I Wanna Hold Your Hand 9 NOW Yearbook ’80 (the last new top 40 entry of 1979) 

  3. Here’s my Now Yearbook Extra Plus 1979

    CD1
    01 The Police – Roxanne
    02 Supertramp – Breakfast In America
    03 Bee Gees – Tragedy
    04 ABBA – Voulez-Vous
    05 Patrick Hernandez – Born To Be Wild
    06 Anita Bell – Ring My Bell
    07 Village People – Go West
    08 Chaka Khan – I’m Every Woman
    09 Herbie Hancock – You Bet Your Love (7” Mix)
    10 Mike Oldfield – Guilty
    11 Michael Jackson – Off The Wall
    12 Elton John – Are You Ready For Love? (1979 Radio Edit)
    13 The Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes
    14 The Pointer Sisters – Fire
    15 Commodores – Still (Single Version)
    16 Robert John – Sad Eyes
    17 The Bellamy Brothers – If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me
    18 Rickie Lee Jones – Chuck E’s In Love (7” Mix)
    19 Judie Tzuke – Stay With Me Till Dawn
    20 Randy Vanwarmer – Just When I Needed You Most
    21 Anne Murray – You Needed Me

    CD2
    01 Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Oliver’s Army
    02 Nick Lowe – Cruel To Be Kind
    03 The Rumour – Emotional Traffic
    04 Squeeze – Slap & Tickle
    05 The Jam – When You’re Young
    06 The Specials – A Message To You Rudy
    07 Lene Lovich – Say When
    08 Matchbox – Rockabilly Rebel
    09 Rocky Sharpe & The Replays – Rama Lama Ding Dong
    10 Dave Edmunds – Queen Of Hearts
    11 The Monks – Nice Legs, Shame About The Face
    12 The Undertones – Here Comes The Summer
    13 Sham 69 – Hersham Boys
    14 Sex Pistols – Silly Thing
    15 The Damned – Smash It Up
    16 Buzzcocks – Everybody’s Happy Nowadays
    17 The Cars – Just What I Needed
    18 Cheap Trick – I Want You To Want Me (Live)
    19 David Bowie – Boys Keep Swinging
    20 KISS – I Was Made For Lovin’ You (Single Mix)
    21 Eagles – Heartache Tonight
    22 Dire Straits – Sultans Of Swing
    23 Electric Light Orchestra – The Diary Of Horace Wimp
    24 John Williams – Cavatina (Theme From The Deer Hunter)

    1. Hi Paul – Still by The Commodores was on the main Now Yearbook for 1979 (cd 4 track 14). My suggestions for a replacement would be either Charlie Dore – Pilot Of The Airwaves or Phoebe Snow – Every Night.

  4. I was really hoping that a big favourite of mine from 1979 … Bill Lovelady’s ‘Reggae For It Now’ would appear on this extra set.
    Also sadly omitted are ‘Oliver’s Army’ and ‘Another Brick In The Wall’
    A few others I’d have liked on ’79 Extra are
    Kandidate – ‘I Don’t Wanna Lose You’
    Rod Stewart – ‘Ain’t Love A Bitch’  
    Phoebe Snow – ‘Every Night’
    Beach Boys – ‘Lady Lynda’  
    Spyro Gyra – ‘Morning Dance’  
    John Williams – ‘Cavatina’
    Judie Tzuke – ‘Stay With Me Till Dawn’
    Perhaps some of the above may not have been available for NOW to include.

    It’s still another great collection of hits though.
    You certainly can’t complain about a total of 878 tracks from the six years covered so far.
    ’79 (152) ’80 (151) ’81 (151) ’82 (146) ’83 (140) ’84 (138)

  6. It’s a bit disappointing that this set seems to have risen to nearly the price of the main Yearbooks as all the other Extra sets sold for about £9 I think

  7. OK after originally championing the reversal back to pre-1983 years I’m ready to move forward! The 79 sets aren’t getting me as excited as the others (80 – 84) did.

  8. The one song I would have loved to have across this and the previous Now 1979 Compilation is Driver’s Seat by Sniff ‘n’ The Tears, but was never a Top Forty Hit in the UK, although did reach the top twenty in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. Shame it is on neither this or the previous compliation.

  9. 1979 is one of the best years ever for music, the main volume is superb (except Message In A Bottle should have been on there rather than Walking On The Moon) but this one, like 1980’s Extra, is another missed opportunity – too many novelty songs at the expense of the other hits the likes of ABBA, Blondie, ELO and The Police had that year.

  10. 1979 is my favourite year for music, the first proper year I started to buy music for myself out of my own pocket monkey and my first year of high school.
    I still remember buying singles like making plans for nigel, olivers army(not here), bang bang, horace wimp, slap and tickle (both not here) brick in the wall, bowie’s dj (both not here again). Cool for cats on pink vinyl, milk and alcohol on brown vinyl.
    Great days.
    Pleased they have gone back to 1979. Whilst there are plenty of tracks still missing it goes to show how much quality music there was around at that time that they can afford to leave so much off. They could have done 10 cds in total and still not covered it all.
    I’m looking forward to 1978 hopefully next which will see another wealth of fantastic songs from a wide ranging style of quality musical acts just like 1979.

    1. I agree with you, 1979 was a great year and the time I started buying records.

      For a second eleven, this set has some absolute killers on there. You’re right about the missing tracks as well but I guess that’s it’s a testimony to the overall quality that, even absent those heavyweights, we’ve still got seven discs of generally classic music.

  11. Love these sets. I think they cover around 900 songs from the six years.

    Yes, some dubious choices but I see them as time capsules, like a photo album. Being critical isn’t really the point of them. Lots of the tracks take me back to a point in my life where it was simpler and carefree.

    1. Not quite 900, but still a huge total of 878 tracks from the six years covered so far.
      ’79 (152) ’80 (151) ’81 (151) ’82 (146) ’83 (140) ’84 (138)

  12. The ’79 sets have been especially strong. They seem to be slightly stepping up the rate at which these are coming out so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we get an announcement in the next few weeks about a (say) November release for the next one. I’m calling it now: ‘green’ and ‘1978’ ;-)

    1. For the SDE record, the 1982 Yearbook was announced on January 6. The 1982 Extra was announced on February 17. So, a six week gap. The 1981 Yearbook was announced on April 21. The 1981 Extra was announced on June 1. So, again, a six week gap, but a two-month gap between the ’82 Extra and the ’81 Yearbook itself. The 1980 Yearbook was announced on June 17. The 1980 Extra was announced on July 21. So, a five-week gap between the 1980 releases, but only a two-and-a-half week gap between the 1981 Extra and the 1980 Yearbook. And, the 1979 Yearbook was announced on August 10, with its Extra emerging on September 15 – about five weeks again. As the gap between the 1980 Extra and the 1979 Yearbook was again two-and-a-half weeks, we could very well have the 1978 (or 1985) Yearbook confirmed by the end of the month or at the start of October.

      Yes, I know. I’m far too obsessive about all of this. :)

      1. I think that NOW will continue to go back for a while, especially if the numbered NOW’s from the late 1980’s are also to be re-issued. A Yearbook and Extra cover the period covered by two or three numbered NOW’s. If NOW issues Yearbooks and Extras in 2023 at a similar timescale to this year, there would be as many as five Yearbooks and Extras issued next year, and if NOW decides to complete the 1980’s, starting with 1985, it could end up with the NOW 1989 Yearbook being issued almost at the same time as NOW 16, which was the last of the three numbered NOW’s covering 1989. There would therefore be very little incentive for record buyers to buy NOW 16 (and maybe NOW 15 as well) if they know that a more comprehensive NOW 1989 Yearbook would be released within a few weeks or months.

    1. They are designed to complement each other. The Extra typically mops up minor hits, the third or fourth hits of major acts in the given year, a few remaining major hits, and the output of less commercial genres. The main Yearbook focuses on the major hits, acts, and genres of the year. They work superbly together in that sense. 1979, though, was particularly epic. I have long thought it the finest year for pop music, and the Yearbook series has confirmed that feeling for me.

        1. They always hold back a monster hits for the Extra. It’s NOW, so even thought the Extras are where you will often find obscurities and more minor hits, there will always be a surfeit of monster hits, too. The Police and Blondie’s Sunday Girl fulfill that role here.

  17. What I love about this site is that we all love such a wide variety of music and I’ve certainly discovered new music as a result of all these articles (thanks Paul).

    So much love for this release yet for me it’s the first I’ve thought I’m not buying it! Just not enough for me on it and i think I’ll stick to building the 80s (or at least 80-87 perhaps) releases.

    Strangely I like a lot of 70s music but the stuff I like wouldn’t make a comp like this.

    And it’s all fine. I used to be an obsessive collector but now I’ve more music I could ever listen to so it’s time not to buy this.
    I’ll be awaiting the 85 yearbook however!

    1. Whatever you do don’t watch the horror movie version, why they have to ruin childhood faves is beyond me. Also it wasn’t a very good movie even as a horror.

  19. Great companion to the parent Yearbook, really quick out of the traps with this announcement as well. I’m still listening to Yearbook 1980 Extra, as, to me, there’s music I’ve only just discovered and I can’t stop listening to it. I’ve listened to Yearbook 1979 all the way through, but still reverting to 1980 at the moment.

    Highly recommended, the 12″ mixes of many of these tracks on the 1979 Yearbooks are are on the “Now 12″ 70s” 4-CD set, released a few weeks ago; Cher, Flying Lizards, Blondie, Sparks, M, The Three Degrees, Ian Dury, B52s, Cliff Richard, Roxy Music and Gloria Gaynor – all the 12″ mixes of the same songs – which is another good companion to the main series.

    1. I agree. The 12″ 70s works really well as a companion to the Yearbooks. I have branched into the 12″ 80s series as well as I know I am not duplicating Yearbook tracks with these. That’s the decision point for me with these NOW compilations. Will buying this duplicate what I have? It’s why I am hesitating over the new NOW Dancefloor Nineties compilation. I am pretty sure that those tracks will appear on any future 1990s Yearbooks – which seem a no-brainer to me – but there is no guarantee that they will ever happen…

      Put simply, I have no intention of buying NOW compilations as a “collector” as there is far too much overlap in a world where my physical media must justify their existence – it’s the only thing that stops me going mad and buying everything. I am all in for the Yearbooks and Extras – and the 12″ sets. No duplication. Their other genre sets also need to pass the duplication test. That’s another lovely by-product of NOW output. It allows you to put a bit of thought into collecting.

  21. Nice to see the proper live version of Them Heavy People on there. Surprised that there are no ABBA tracks considering how many hits they had in 79.

    1. … and no Ring My Bell by Anita Ward, a UK/US number one, million seller and disco classic. Bit of a shame its not included but otherwise a stellar list.

    2. Me too in both respects – I’d have liked Angeleyes by ABBA on this. Usually overlooked in favour of Voulez Vous, which sadly isn’t compiled here either. But the two tracks on the main Yearbook 79 represent them well enough. I just love this Now Yearbook series; I look forward to their release, like I did when I was younger and looked forward to the latest release of the main series.

      1. I console myself at the omission of the ABBA tracks with the fact that I have their albums anyway. A bit like the Bee Gees’ omission, the gap is filled by greatest hits compilations or more by these elite acts. The omissions that bug me are the ones by acts that had only a handful of hits and so would hardly justify the purchase of a greatest hits CD. Gary Numan’s We Are Glass – a top 5 hit – springs to mind. We get Cars and Are Friends Electric, and a few other hits of his, but not We Are Glass. BA Robertson’s To Be Or Not To Be is another glaring, unnecessary miss. But these are minor points in the great scheme of things. The Yearbooks are hoovering up 90% of pop. They’re wonderful.

          2. NOW should be able to include the Yvonne Elliman and Tavares hits from Saturday Night Fever on the 1978 Yearbook. Ideally, NOW should include the original hit versions of You’re The One That I Want and Summer Nights from the Grease soundtrack, instead of using the 1990 megamix.

  22. I have a massive CD collection but was proud to have never bought a Now compilation – for me too much weak chart music over the years since they started. I ignored these posts when they first appeared as it was another blooming Now release.

    But 1979 caught my eye and I had not even realised the Extra releases were being released. These are all fantastic – for me the years 77-84 were amazing (my teenage years) and have now managed to get the complete set. I have also bought the four 12″ compilations as these have some rare tracks I was missing.

    To my knowledge never has such a comprehensive CD review been released covering particular years – 7CD’s for each year with no space on the discs wasted means lots of space for some of the less obvious tracks. I find it surprising no one has had this idea before – the TOTP releases a few years ago were the next best thing – as were some Readers Digest sets – but none were this comprehensive both only stretching to 3 discs each.

    Long may these continue :)

    1. Those Readers Digest Sounds Of The Seventies were excellent and had a lot of forgotten tracks. 1974, 1977 and 1979 were re-pressed with slight track changes. There were also two other volumes – End Of The Decade and Top Ten Hits. Another great series is a US one Time Life’s Sounds Of The Seventies (37 volumes) with only a little overlap with UK collections.

    2. I managed to buy all the 3 cd versions of totp. Some tracks on them which didn’t make any of the now yearbook/extras. Sadly they only ran from 1974 to 1986. They may have well finished off both decades.
      Readers digest I have only 1979 oddly enough.

  24. Take Me Home for Cher? What’s that? No complaints really, but I’d have liked a couple more minor hits – Lines by the Planets, maybe, and deffo Straight Lines by New Musik. Both on TOTP, iirc.

    1. Take Me Home is the original version of a song later recorded by Sophie Ellis Bextor in 2001 (which is on Now 50), with the lyrics altered. Cher’s version did not do particularly well in the UK charts.

  26. Am loving these Yearbook Extra compilations. Haven’t bought any of the Yearbook ones but have all the Yearbook Extras.

    For me the Yearbooks mainly tread a well worn path (with the odd exception) but the Yearbook Extra compilations always have more songs that are like walking through the undergrowth a couple of feet away from the path.

  27. This is a fantastic compilation with hardly a misstep. I am a huge Macca fan and hence cannot stand ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ with its tacky synth sound; but hey I can live with it on this!

    a) This is going to be my first Now Yearbook Extra – having restricted myself to the main yearbooks til now; I can only listen to so many retro comps etc;
    b) I think – controversial perhaps – the 1979 Yearbook was the best yet; reflecting the brilliance of the charts in 1979.

    And of course they got to keep going back now to establish the pattern and bridgehead in the 1970s. Knowing the logic of the series I would not imagine they will keep jumping back and forth between 1970s and 1980s. But what do any of us know?

    1. They really are good, the 1979 Yearbook released the other week was my first Now album apart from a few cassettes back when they first started. Not sure what happened to them and don’t have a cassette player anyway but these CDs really are getting good not to mention a very decent price value wise.

    3. New musik. I do know now, living by numbers i remember. That one is on now yearbook 80 I guess as it peaked early 1980 but was possibly released in late 79.

  29. Proof the 70’s was the best decade for music. The most diverse decade and considering it followed the extraordinary innovation of the previous twenty years was just as innovated. From Marvin Gaye & Marley to Two Tone & The Clash the most political and perhaps the most passionate. The last decade before everything became over produced. The last decade where there were no backing tracks used “live”.

    1. I’d tend to agree but there were some decent eighies band (Depeche Mode, The Cure etc). I find now newer bands with a few exceptions grab me after the last decade. It could be getting older. Or it could they are crap.

  33. Life In Tokyo already appeared on 1982 Extra (the Steve Nye mix which was a hit)
    I presume the original version will be on 1979 Extra but really, there’s no need.

    Otherwise, a good selection.

  34. No brainer really. nice complement to the other collections in the set. here’s hoping they get to 1985 next, as I need another copy of “A View to a Kill” in my collection ;)

  35. Absolutely up for this. Where else will you find the Ruts rubbing shoulders with Fiddler’s Dram? Not cool to like Day Trip To Bangor but 8-year-old me would sing along to this whenever it came on the radio. Perhaps only Another Brick In The Wall made more impact on me in 1979 (which primary school did not have a playground full of kids chanting ‘We don’t need no edu-cay-shun’ at the time?) – such a shame it’s not here but gripes aside this is a great comp.

    BTW, Paul, I always liked Wonderful Christmastime! Mistletoe And Wine is the one I pretend to hate :D

  36. My favourite year in music, so here’s hoping it is the 7″ versions of “Sound Of The Suburbs” and “Babylon’s Burning” – but never is on compilations though !!
    Also, it’s a shame that Nick Lowe’s “Cruel To Be Kind” is not on these either, as one of my favourite songs of ’79 ! (Oh well, we can’t have everything I suppose)

    2. Yes cruel to be kind I bought readers digest 1979 for that track. Great song. Queen of hearts by dave Edmunds also sadly missing. I had high hopes for it after the brilliant girls talk made the cut on the 79 yearbook.

    3. The “single versions” of both Sound Of The Suburbs and Babylon’s Burning will be on a new Cherry Red 3CD compilation “Kids On The Street: UK Power Pop And New Wave 1977-81” due out on 25th November.

  37. Ordered straight away, as I’ve learned the hard way that the”extras” sets can be hard to obtain after even a short while. Also, going backwards works for me – so many songs I like! Wasn’t the Angel Eyes single a totally different version from the album track? Be interesting to see what they use on here.
    Was wondering, with each release we get posts from readers hoping that the often rare single versions get used, but we never get to know if they actually were. Are there any aficionados out there who know the answer?

    1. I’ve responded on some other threads to answer this sort of question once the release date came and I have CDs in my hand. You can also often find out actual track information on the discogs website. But if you have specific questions on previous releases you can ask here and I’ll take a look!

      1. Thanks for the offer, but I was thinking generally that I (and presumably others) may not know if a great single version has been substituted for a commonplace album version. I think the Roxy Music single version of Angel Eyes was a complete reworking of the album version, and better for it, but I haven’t heard it for so long I can’t be sure .I guess I could stream it to find out, but that’s just a song I know about. Only yesterday playing Yearbook 1982 Extra in the (old) car, I was surprised when Maneater by Hall &Oates lurched off half way through into something I wasn’t expecting, presumably an album version.
        Was really wondering if an “afficianado” of the period would feel that they are doing a great job providing genuine singles versions or was feeling a bit short changed as is often the case with other compilations.

    2. On the last one iTunes track listing does include single versions of a few tracks and generally iTunes is fairly reliable. Heart of Glass for one by Blondie. There are too many to list mind here. Weirdly the back cover doesn’t mention it although perhaps it’s in the booklet.

  38. My first ever record was a Best of 1979. A measly 12 tracks and unbeknown to me when I bought it, performed by session vocalists and musicians. Taking inflation into account it would have cost three times this set.
    I’m sure that they got Arthur Mullard in to sing Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick and it was definitely a Dalek having a go at Are Friends Electric.
    As for this set, further proof how great and diverse pop music was back then. I’d echo Chris’s comment about Discovery. The singles were superb.
    Does anyone know if it’s likely that any more of the earlier Extra Sets will be issued? 81 to 84 Extra are now going for well above the original price on Amazon and are sold out on HMV (back in stock soon it says).

    1. I’ve found the same problem getting the “extras”. I needed the 82 extras and wouldn’t pay the inflated prices on Amazon, so ordered from HMV at the normal price even though it said out of stock and just waited till it eventually came back in a month later.

    3. These Extra sets are advertised as limited edition so to me that means they won’t issue more once they’ve sold out. I guess more get shipped out to retailers if the publishers have them, and HMV might have stock in shops that gets moved around or sent back to the warehouse. You can also monitor the Now Music store (https://nowmusic.com) but they are showing even the Now Yearbook 1980 Extra set as sold out and that’s been released for less than a month now!

  39. The Giorgio Moroder run on CD1 is stellar. The Number One Song In Heaven is fantastic and The Runner is incredible. What a one-two. Notable omissions from this set are ABBA’s Voulez-Vous/Angeleyes, Does Your Mother Know? and, most surprisingly, I Have A Dream. Also missing is The Diary of Horace Wimp and Confusion by ELO and a few big Police singles – but all three acts are well represented over the Yearbook as a whole.

    The big question now, of course, is 1978 or 1985 next?

    1. Now that the 70s redesign has arrived, I doubt they’ll want to depart from it just yet. I hope after 1978 though we finally get 1985 so I can hear Running Up That Bleedin’ ‘ill again, with One Vision by Queen as track 1 of course. We may even get some PSB after that, eh Drico?

      1. I doubt it daveid, which is a pity. I suspect Neil (or maybe it’s Chris, really) will be sniffy about rubbing shoulders with the poptastic plebs of the day, even if it’s the kind of thing he would have totally embraced in his Smash Hits days.

        The trend on these releases is that many of the apex acts of the era who are still around today selling out arenas and headlining festivals but who – because pop operates a Logan’s Run policy on the top 40 – are no longer having hit singles, tend not to license for some deluded fear of being typecast as an act of a specific era (which is probably the ultimate success, really, but hey, egos…). So, we have no Depeche Mode, no Phil Collins, no Madonna. But the sample size is small so far, so who knows.

        What I will say is no PSB in 1986, 1987, and 1988 will unquestionably stick out – as will Madonna’s likely absence and the absence of the Bee Gees in the 1970s editions. But pop is bigger than all these stellar acts, so the Yearbooks will plow on regardless. And we’ll buy them.

        1. I agree that the absence of the Pet Shop Boys from the 1987 and 1988 Yearbooks would be very disappointing, as 1987 marked the beginning of a significant decline in the overall quality of chart music, caused by the increasing numbers of very derivative, repetitive house and hip-hop tracks reaching the Top 40 and also by the manufactured pop of Stock Aitken and Waterman. Extra albums for 1987, and 1988 in particular, would be much weaker than their equivalents from the first half of the decade.

    2. Both of those elo songs are excellent. It’s disappointing they missed out but so too did many other great songs. I’d like to have seen slap & tickle by squeeze, complex by numan. Cruel to be kind & queen of hearts. I’m also sad about rama lama dingdong missing out believe it or not. It’s quite scarce on compilations. Perfect for extra.

      1. I always so look forward to the announcement of the EXTRAs and am almost always left with a sense of disappointment that some badly-wanted classic has been omitted. It’s the nature of the beast, unfortunately, but then you have to stand back and count the wonderful inclusions.

        It’s always particularly irritating when you sense that NOW have actually got the licenses in question but have left it off for some reason best known to themselves. The ELO omissions are a case in point, same for Gary Numan.

        NOW’s business model almost demands this, though. They are all about getting you to buy whatever tracks over and over again (so the odd gem will always stay unavailable on something like this and appear, if we are lucky, on something else that has 40 tracks you already own). The real pain with the EXTRA omissions, though, is that EXTRA is quite often the only compilation where some tracks could ever plausibly appear as they are too obscure for genre comps.

  40. What a great year that was, my thing at the time was NWOBHM but most of these songs formed the background to my favourite year of my life. First true love in my life which ended sadly on the last day of the year, never saw her again. But moving on these are all good songs and sits so well up next to the ’79 Yearbook of last week. Didn’t think for one moment I would go for these Yearbook thing but they are worth their weight in gold, got the complete run so far from ’79 to ’84.

  41. This is superb.

    Car 67 – The best use of a Brummie accent since Funky Moped.
    Mirrors – The Oldfield that can sing.
    Blue Peter – but which version from the Oldfield that can’t sing
    Last Train to London – I know I’m in a minority but I bloody love Discovery, start to finish.

    All shaping up nicely, looking forward (or backward) to 1978.

    1. Absolutely love Car 67. Agree with you on Discovery, too. On The Run is my highlight… apparently Jeff Lynne asked Richard Tandy to come up with the most annoying synth sound he could, and that’s what appears in the intro and throughout the song!

    2. Discovery (or “Verydisco” as I called it back then) was a huge let down for me. I had got into ELO with ANWR then went backwards to their first album, loved Eldorado through FTM, was enthralled by OoTB, but the commercial sheen Discovery disappointed me. I was 16 and was into more serious music (Kate Bush) and this was way too poppy. I think my expectations were too high.

Leave a Reply