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Now Yearbook: The Vault 1983

New collection with “lesser compiled” tracks

By Paul Sinclair

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If there is one criticism of the never-ending series of Now That’s What I Call Music Yearbooks, especially those focused on the 1980s, it’s that haven’t we seen all this before? ‘Hits’ are, by definition, very popular songs, and therefore it’s no surprise that those songs constantly find their way onto compilations and can sometimes get dulled by familiarity.

Perhaps with that view in mind, the NOW team have done something a bit different. They are releasing a collection of songs from 1983 under a new ‘Vault‘ moniker. What makes this different is that while there is still loads of familiar artists, the songs are “lesser compiled tracks”. Numbers that were Top 40 hits (but maybe not massive hits), some that missed the chart completely, and some that were huge in the US but not in the UK.

Not a bad idea, and while we wait to see if this becomes a fully-fledged series, you can now take a look at this 1983 edition and see what you think.

CD 1 kicks off with a run of lesser heralded numbers from established artists Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Blancmange, Gary Numan and Talk Talk, alongside some of 1983’s newer bands such as The Lotus Eaters, H20, Freur –  who would later become Underworld – and After The Fire with ‘Der Kommissar’. Japan feature with a live instrumental ‘Canton’ (from their final tour) and electronic club tracks are provided by and Yello, Divine, Rockers Revenge and Freeez. Early Level 42 and Animal Nightlife also feature along with Joe Jackson, although it’s not ‘Steppin’ Out’ but the follow-up single ‘Breaking Us In Two’ (a #59 ‘hit’) that is included!

The second disc includes indie-pop fare in the shape of Bauhaus, Marc And The Mambas, The Stranglers, The Glove, The B-52’s and Wall Of Voodoo before indulging in some pure pop from Kim Wilde, Adam Ant, Bow Wow Wow, Altered Images, The Belle Stars and The Bluebells. XTC’s brilliant ‘Love On A Farmboy’s Wages’ (a #50 hit from 1983’s Mummer) also features.

The 3LP red vinyl version of Vault ’83 features 45 tracks

Billy Joel opens CD 3 with ‘Goodnight Saigon’, and is joined by Bonnie Tyler, ELO, Lionel Richie, Robert Palmer, Mike Oldfield, The Kinks, Olivia Newton-John and Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton‘s ‘We’ve Got Tonite’, originally by Bob Seger. This disc concludes with ‘Lady Lady’ by Giorgio Moroder & Joe Esposito, taken from the soundtrack of one of 1983’s biggest movies, Flashdance. 

The final disc focuses on singles that found chart success in the U.S., opening with Culture Club’s ‘I’ll Tumble 4 Ya’, a single that – surprisingly – wasn’t released in the UK. We then have a sequence of tracks that were all U.S. New-Wave hits led by the collaboration between Sparks and the Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin, The Romantics, The Fixx, The Motels, Modern English, Missing Persons and Naked Eyes. This CD ends with three ballads from Daryl Hall & John Oates, Toto, and ‘It Might Be You’, the theme from another smash hit film, ‘Tootsie’. 

Like the ‘proper’ Yearbooks, this is available via a deluxe 4CD hardcover book edition, a 3LP coloured vinyl set (45 tracks, rather than 80) and then a standard 4CD version in a card sleeve.

NOW Yearbook – The Vault: 1983 will be released on 31 May 2024. Scroll down for full tracklisting. What do you think of this Vault idea? Leave thoughts in comments!

Tracklisting

NOW Yearbook Vault ’83 Various Arists /

    • CD 1
      1. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Telegraph
      2. Blancmange – That’s Love, That It Is
      3. Thompson Twins – Watching
      4. Talk Talk - My Foolish Friend
      5. A Flock Of Seagulls – Nightmares
      6. After The Fire – Der Kommissar
      7. Gary Numan – Sister Surprise
      8. John Foxx – Endlessly
      9. The Lotus Eaters – You Don’t Need Someone New
      10. China Crisis – Tragedy And Mystery
      11. H2O – Just Outside Heaven
      12. Freur – Doot Doot
      13. Japan – Canton
      14. Yello – I Love You
      15. Divine – Love Reaction
      16. Rockers Revenge – The Harder They Come
      17. Freeez – Pop Goes My Love
      18. Level 42 – Out Of Sight Out Of Mind
      19. Animal Nightlife – Native Boy ’83
      20. Joe Jackson – Breaking Us In Two
    • CD 2
      1. Bauhaus – Lagartija Nick
      2. Marc And The Mambas – Black Heart
      3. The Stranglers – Midnight Summer Dream
      4. Spear Of Destiny – The Wheel
      5. The Glove – Like An Animal
      6. The B-52’s – Song For A Future Generation
      7. Wall Of Voodoo – Mexican Radio
      8. The Teardrop Explodes – You Disappear From View
      9. Kim Wilde – Dancing In The Dark
      10. Haysi Fantayzee – Sister Friction
      11. Adam Ant – Strip
      12. Bow Wow Wow – Do You Wanna Hold Me?
      13. Altered Images – Bring Me Closer
      14. The Belle Stars - Indian Summer
      15. XTC – Love On A Farmboy’s Wages
      16. The Bluebells - Cath
      17. Roman Holliday – Motor Mania
      18. Tracie – Give It Some Emotion
      19. Fun Boy Three – The More I See (The Less I Believe)
      20. UB40 – I’ve Got Mine
      21. Mari Wilson - Cry Me A River
    • CD 3
      1. Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon
      2. Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than The Speed Of Night
      3. Men At Work – Overkill
      4. Chris Rea - I Can Hear Your Heartbeat
      5. Electric Light Orchestra – Secret Messages
      6. Robert Palmer – You Are In My System
      7. Mike Oldfield – Shadow On The Wall
      8. Marillion - He Knows You Know
      9. The Kinks – Don’t Forget To Dance
      10. Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton – We’ve Got Tonight
      11. Lionel Richie – You Are
      12. Earth, Wind & Fire – Fall In Love With Me
      13. Oliver Cheatham – Get Down Saturday Night
      14. Malcolm McLaren – Soweto
      15. Set The Tone – Dancesucker
      16. Man Parrish - Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don’t Stop)
      17. Whodini – Magic’s Wand
      18. Olivia Newton-John – Twist Of Fate
      19. Giorgio Moroder & Joe Esposito – Lady, Lady
    • CD 4
      1. Culture Club – I’ll Tumble 4 Ya
      2. Sparks & Jane Wiedlin – Cool Places
      3. The Romantics – Talking In Your Sleep
      4. The Fixx – Saved By Zero
      5. The Motels – Suddenly Last Summer
      6. Modern English – I Melt With You
      7. Missing Persons – Walking In L.A.
      8. Naked Eyes – Always Something There to Remind Me
      9. Taco – Puttin On The Ritz
      10. Styx – Mr. Roboto
      11. Laura Branigan - Solitaire
      12. Pat Benatar – Little Too Late
      13. Rick Springfield – Affair Of The Heart
      14. Huey Lewis & The News – Heart And Soul
      15. Asia – Don’t Cry
      16. Journey – Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
      17. John Mellencamp – Crumblin’ Down
      18. Daryl Hall & John Oates – One On One
      19. Toto – I Won’t Hold You Back
      20. Stephen Bishop - It Might Be You

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