NOW #1s (5CD)

Celebrate 70 years of the Official Singles Chart with NOW #1s – 5CDs featuring 100 of the greatest #1s of all time.

CD1 Kicks off in magnificent style with the peerless classic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen. Huge 70’s number ones from Paul McCartney & Wings, Rod Stewart and 10cc follow The Beach Boys and Roy Orbison, plus Classic Rock and Roll from Elvis Presley, Bill Haley & His Comets and The Everly Brothers. Led by Lionel Richie’s beautiful ‘Hello’, up next is an extraordinary run of 80’s number ones including hits from The Police, The Human League and Frankie Goes To Hollywood, before New Wave number ones from Blondie and The Pretenders and drawing to a close with unforgettable film themed love songs from Céline Dion and Whitney Houston.

The timeless ‘Imagine’ from John Lennon opens the second disc, followed by contemporary classics from Oasis, U2 and Coldplay before heartbreak anthems from Miley Cyrus with ‘Wrecking Ball’ and Olivia Rodrigo with ‘drivers license’. A fabulous run of Classic, Pop-Soul and R&B including Gnarls Barkley, The Weeknd and Lil Nas X follows before we go back to the 60’s to close the disc with superb songs from the Four Tops, The Supremes and Marvin Gaye.

CD3 opens with a celebration of British love songs with Ed Sheeran, James Blunt, Lewis Capaldi, Take That and Wet Wet Wet before moving into feel-good Pop classics from Spice Girls, Girls Aloud, Little Mix and One Direction. Legends Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw and Sonny And Cher keep the Pop flowing 60s-style, before rounding off the disc with Reggae standards from Desmond Dekker & The Aces, Althea & Donna and UB40.

Massive Dance floor hits feature on the first half of disc 4, including the iconic ‘Dancing Queen’ from ABBA and Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’, alongside noughties #1s from Lady Gaga and Kylie Minogue, plus the mega selling ‘Believe’ from Cher. Barry White and Boney M. lead off a run of 70’s number one’s including Glam-Pop from Mud, Suzi Quatro, Sweet and Slade before finishing the disc with the epic ‘I’d Do Anything For Love’ from Meat Loaf.

The final disc opens with three massive Dance-Pop collaborations : Elton John & Dua Lipa with ‘Cold Heart’, David Guetta feat. Sia with ‘Titanium’, and ‘Uptown Funk’ from Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, before celebrating with giant party anthems from Robbie Williams, George Ezra, Madness and Culture Club - and paying tribute to some classic early #1s from Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine and the first ever number one from 1952 from Al Martino with ‘Here In My Heart’. Enduring and uplifting tracks ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’ lead into our final selection with the incomparable ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ from Band Aid.

Probably the best playlist you’ll ever have. 100 of the greatest #1s ever spanning the past seven decades - NOW #1s.