NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL NOSTALGIA

In a way, it’s the perennial ‘muso’ question: what was your first album? Say it’s Boyzone, and you’re scoffed at. Inheriting your older brother’s Neil Young album, on the other hand, gains you instant cool points.

Well, mine was neither (although I have absolutely no shame in revealing that my first gig was Take That at the Point Depot in 1994), but for years, I actually could not remember what my first-ever album was. I remember vividly remember going into town to buy my first singles on tape and CD, though.

My first tape bought with my own money (let’s sweep that D:Ream cassette under the carpet where it belongs, ahem) was this, purchased in Golden Discs on North Earl Street for £2.49. I distinctly remember Ray D’Arcy plugging it on The Den, too. What a weird cover. I was really disappointed that it came in a new-fangled cardboard slipcase instead of a hinged plastic one. That’s not what my first tape was meant to look like! I still played the shit out of it, though.

My first CD single was this, bought in Virgin Megastore on Aston Quay. Bahahahaha!

But it was only recently that the penny dropped and I realised what the first album that I could ever call my own was:

OK, so a compilation as a first album is a bit of a cop-out, but talking to a friend recently about Now! compilations (which are still going, and are still big sellers at Christmas) made me realise how much of an impact it had on my twelve-year-old brain. The tracklisting:

DISC 1:

1. Spice Girls : “Say You’ll Be There“
2. George Michael : “Fastlove” (Forthright Edit)
3. Peter André : “Flava”
4. East 17 featuring Gabrielle : “If You Ever“
5. Deep Blue Something : “Breakfast at Tiffany’s“
6. Pet Shop Boys : “Se a vida é (That’s the way life is)“
7. Babybird : “You’re Gorgeous“
8. The Beautiful South : “Rotterdam“
9. Dodgy : “If You’re Thinking of Me”
10. Crowded House : “Don’t Dream It’s Over“
11. The Bluetones : “Marblehead Johnson“
12. Ocean Colour Scene : “The Riverboat Song“
13. Sheryl Crow : “If It Makes You Happy“
14. Garbage feat. Tricky: “Milk“
15. Neneh Cherry : “Woman”
16. Lighthouse Family : “Goodbye Heartbreak“
17. Pulp : “Something Changed“
18. Cast : “Flying”
19. Suede : “Beautiful Ones“
20. Belinda Carlisle : “Always Breaking My Heart“

Disc two

1. Dina Carroll : “Escaping”
2. Boyzone : “Words“
3. Eternal : “Someday”
4. Backstreet Boys : “I’ll Never Break Your Heart“
5. Damage : “Love II Love”
6. Clock : “Oh What A Night“
7. Louise : “Undivided Love”
8. Ant and Dec : “When I Fall in Love”
9. 911 : “Don’t Make Me Wait”
10. Strike : “My Love Is for Real”
11. Faithless : “Insomnia“
12. BBE : “Seven Days and One Week”
13. Stretch ‘n’ Vern : “I’m Alive”
14. Healy and Amos : “Stamp!”
15. Livin’ Joy : “Follow The Rules”
16. Wildchild : “Jump to My Beat”
17. Underworld : “Pearl’s Girl“
18. Space : “Neighbourhood“
19. Björk : “Possibly Maybe“
20. Shed Seven : “Chasing Rainbows”

Mostly awful (Shed Seven? Dina Carroll?!) but with a few gems studded in-between.

But even more influential on my still-squidgy child brain than Now! 35 was Now! 23, which my sister got for Christmas in 1992:

1. Tasmin Archer : “Sleeping Satellite“
2. Jon Secada : “Just Another Day“
3. Charles & Eddie : “Would I Lie To You?“
4. Was (Not Was) : “Shake Your Head“
5. Bob Marley & The Wailers : “Iron Lion Zion“
6. Go West : “Faithful”
7. George Michael : “Too Funky“
8. Arrested Development : “People Everyday“
9. Simply Red : “For Your Babies”
10. Erma Franklin : “(Take A Little) Piece Of My Heart“
11. Brian May : “Too Much Love Will Kill You“
12. Simple Minds : “Alive and Kicking“
13. John Lee Hooker : “Boom Boom“
14. Billy Ray Cyrus : “Achy Breaky Heart“
15. Little Angels : “Too Much Too Young”
16. Richard Marx : “Take This Heart“
17. Genesis : “Jesus He Knows Me“
18. INXS : “Baby Don’t Cry“
19. Crowded House : “It’s Only Natural“

Disc two

1. Erasure : “Who Needs Love Like That” (Hamburg Mix)
2. The Shamen : “Ebeneezer Goode“
3. Rage : “Run to You”
4. Bizarre Inc feat. Angie Brown : “I’m Gonna Get You”
5. Heaven 17 : “Temptation“
6. East 17 : “House of Love“
7. The Farm : “Don’t You Want Me“
8. Undercover : “Never Let Her Slip Away“
9. Doctor Spin : “Tetris“
10. Ambassadors of Funk and MC Mario : “Supermarioland“
11. Roxette : “How Do You Do!“
12. ABBA : “Dancing Queen“
13. Björn Again : “A Little Respect“
14. Vanessa Paradis : “Be My Baby“
15. Betty Boo : “Let Me Take You There“
16. Sophie B. Hawkins : “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover“
17. Peter Gabriel : “Digging in the Dirt“
18. Enya : “Book of Days“
19. Roy Orbison & k.d. lang : “Crying“
20. Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé : “Barcelona“

I still remember most of the words to these songs. It’s amazing how even looking at the crap cover can bring me back to playing it on her equally crap radio/cassette player, every square inch of its surface covered in stickers that came free with Smash Hits! and Big magazines. I can even remember the smell of the bedroom that we shared. Was it hearing Roy Orbison, Erma Franklin and John Lee Hooker as an 8-year-old that set me up for a lifetime of music loving? Or was it Billy Ray Cyrus‘s ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ that did it?

Nostalgia is mad.

Now! compilations aren’t what they used to be, but receiving music as a Christmas present as a kid certainly served me well.

Buy music for the little people in your life!

Merry Christmas, everyone!