Now That’s What I Call 80s: Dancefloor

Now Music are proud to present the ultimate journey through the 80s’ biggest floor-fillers…Now That’s What I Call 80’s: Dancefloor.

Kicking off with the massive soundtrack smash from Irene Cara, ‘Flashdance…What A Feeling’, followed by the defining ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ from Whitney Houston, the pure joy of Lionel Richie’s ‘All Night Long (All Night)’, and the massive ’Teardrops’ from Womack & Womack – Disc One features the best in Soul and the changing shape of Disco during the decade. Irresistable tracks from Shalamar, Alexander O’Neal, Joyce Sims, Princess, Boogie Box High and KC & The Sunshine Band will take you straight back to the 80s dance floor – plus anthems from Jocelyn Brown, Aretha Franklin and Gwen Guthrie lead toward the soulful beats that close this disc with Will Downing’s ‘A Love Supreme’, and Loose Ends’ ‘Hangin’ On A String (Contemplating)’.

Disc Two pays tribute to the 80s dancefloor classics that fused genres to create breath-taking originality and new styles – often reflecting changes in new technology and capturing the fashion of the era. Electro-Pop from Freeez (‘I.O.U.’) and Rockers Revenge feat. Donnie Calvin (‘Walking On Sunshine’) introduce the disc. Electro & Hip-Hop beats fused for Malcolm McLaren and The World’s Famous Supreme Team’s ‘Buffalo Gals’. Rock Steady Crew and Break Machine had huge hits with Electro based, Breakbeat & Hip-Hop inspired tracks. Two of the most influential Hip-Hop tracks ever follow with ‘White Lines (Don’t Do It)’ and ‘Hey DJ’, leading into the massive Electro charged chart and club hits from Chaka Khan, Shannon, Jellybean, and Exposé. Timeless tracks from The S.O.S Band and Nu Shooz are also featured alongside freestyle Hip-Hop and Pop infused beats from Whistle and Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam With Full Force. #1 for 5 weeks in 1985 – the ground-breaking ’19’ from Paul Hardcastle signs off Disc Two.

Our third disc starts in high gear with the defining remix of ‘Lost In Music’ by Sister Sledge – re-visioned for the 1984 dancefloor five years after they produced the original version by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic. Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The Communards and Dead Or Alive delivered three of the decades’ biggest #1 hits by fusing irresistible Synth-Pop with a relentless Hi-NRG beat. Dead Or Alive’s ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ was the first #1 for production powerhouse Stock Aitken & Waterman – and their success is also celebrated here with hits for Hazell Dean, Donna Summer and the peerless Divine. High Tempo Dance and Hi-NRG found mainstream success in the mid-80s with floor-fillers from Evelyn Thomas, Miquel Brown, Man 2 Man, Boys Town Gang and Patrick Cowley feat. Sylvester… and we’ve also included some huge club tracks from Barbara Pennington and Sheryl Lee Ralph, along with the catchiest Dance-Pop from London Boys and Laura Branigan. To close the disc, the collaboration between Pet Shop Boys and Liza Minnelli remains one the 80s’ most iconic pairings, producing epic Pop.

By the late 80s, club culture informed and popularised a huge number of new styles of dance music including House, Eurodance, Jack-Swing, Techno, and an evolution in Soul… the final disc highlights some of the best from the end of the decade. The 3 #1’s that begin, Black Box’s ‘Ride On Time’, S’Express’ ’Theme From S’Express’, and ‘Pump Up The Volume’ from M/A/R/R/S, introduced sampling to the mainstream and the greatest new party anthems to a generation, alongside Bomb The Bass, The Beatmasters feat. The Cookie Crew, Coldcut feat. Lisa Stansfield and 49ers. The evolution of House music produced a new take on Disco and floor-fillers from Inner City, Steve “Silk” Hurley, Adventures Of Stevie V and a further remix of a Chic classic are all featured – as is one of the biggest and celebratory anthems ever – the #1 ’The Only Way Is Up’ from Yazz & The Plastic Population. Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler re-defined Soul and that would inspire musicians in the next decade across multiple genres – and as the decade drew to a close, we finish with two tracks that signpost the rise in club culture that would dominate the dancefloor and the charts in the early 90s – from 808 State, and the perfect sign-off from The Beloved with ’The Sun Rising’.

Over 80 tracks – across 4 discs – a true journey through the dance music of a decade – Now That’s What I Call 80’s: Dancefloor.