It's an archetypal story of the modern record business two guys with a dream running their nascent label out of a West Hollywood garage in the summer of 1962. The label quickly gains momentum and eventually becomes one of the most important record companies the world has ever seen. The two guys were Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the A and the M in A&M Records. By the way, it was Alpert s garage and that first hit was The Lonely Bull, performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. And this year the two record men and UMe are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of their label. As part of the celebration, UMe is releasing A&M 50: THE ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION. A 60-track, 3-CD set curated by Alpert & Moss, THE ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION perfectly illustrates what a potent effect the legendary label is still having on contemporary popular music. We wanted to make good records, says Herb Alpert, reflecting on the label s genesis. That was our goal. We felt if we made good records there would be an audience. Herb and Jerry s dedication to development resulted in some of the biggest superstars in music ever: Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, Quincy Jones, Billy Preston, Cat Stevens, Carpenters, Peter Frampton, Supertramp, Jeffrey Osborne, Styx, Bryan Adams, Joe Jackson, the Police, Sting, Janet Jackson, Suzanne Vega, Sheryl Crow, Soundgarden, and so many more.

Since June 2021 we have presented five editions of the NOW – Yearbook series that span the first half of the 1980s. NOW Music is proud to present the newest edition to our ‘Yearbook’ family: NOW – Yearbook 1979. With a re-imagined look that reflects the era, 85 tracks over 4-CDs celebrate a truly spectacular year of chart magic.

inley Quaye emerged on the U.K. music scene in the mid-'90s, delivering a unique amalgam of pop, trip-hop, soul, and jazz with his critically acclaimed 1997 debut, Maverick a Strike. His first appearance on record came in 1995, providing vocals for "Finleys Rainbow," a track from A Guy Called Gerald's seminal breakbeat album Black Secret Technology. He recorded and co-produced Maverick a Strike, working in Sheffield with Kevin Bacon from the Comsat Angels. The album earned critical and commercial success worldwide, and also gained him a BRIT Award for Best Male Solo Artist. Quaye delivered two more LPs for Epic in 2000's Vanguard and 2004's Much More Than Much Love, the latter of which featured a collaborative single with Beth Orton and William Orbit called "Dice" that became a minor hit. Although it would be another eight years before he delivered a follow-up album, 2008 saw the release of both a new EP, Pound for Pound, and a greatest-hits package, The Best of the Epic Years. A release on the French label Sakifo titled 28th February Road arrived in 2012, followed two years later by a reggae LP called Royal Rasses, which saw Quaye working with Norman Grant of long-tenured Jamaican act the Twinkle Brothers. An album of demos, appropriately titled Demos, was released in the spring of 2016, followed in 2017 by a pair of digital-only concert recordings, Live in Geneva and Live in Jerusalem.

C.J. Lewis - Dollars (1994) is a reggae-infused pop album by British singer C.J. Lewis. Known for his upbeat and catchy tracks, C.J. Lewis gained prominence in the 1990s with his blend of reggae, dancehall, and pop influences. Released at the height of his career, Dollars is a feel-good album featuring vibrant beats and playful lyrics that resonated with fans of reggae-pop crossover music.

NOW Music is proud to present the newest addition to the 'Yearbook' series: NOW - Yearbook 1980. 4 CDs of 85 tracks that defined the charts in 1980. This special edition CD is housed in 'hard-back book' packaging, including a 28-page booklet with a summary of the year, a track-by-track guide, a quiz, and original singles artwork.Kicking off with Queen's anthem 'Another One Bites The Dust', Disc 1 includes massive hits from Kate Bush, Madness, Roxy Music and the Top 40 debut from Adam and The Ants, alongside #1s from Blondie, Dexys Midnight Runners, The Jam and ABBA - plus the decade's first new #1 'Brass In Pocket' from Pretenders - and 1980's biggest selling single 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' from The Police. Lipps Inc., Diana Ross and Sheila and B. Devotion had timeless floor-fillers - and synth driven pop, that would come to dominate the charts of the early 80s , fuelled iconic hits for Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Gary Numan, Ultravox and the debut from Spandau Ballet… and to close the first disc, three of the year's biggest love songs from KC and The Sunshine Band, Randy Crawford and Billy Preston and Syreeta.

Originally released in 1985, Island Life compiles highlights from Grace Jones' 1977 debut through 1985’s Slave to the Rhythm. It’s a concise overview that features four Top Ten U.S. club hits (“I Need a Man,” “Do or Die,” “Pull Up to the Bumper,” “Slave to the Rhythm”), as well as an additional smattering of choice cuts from her late-‘70s collaborations with Tom Moulton and her stellar ‘80s work with Sly & Robbie. It’s a decent introduction for casual fans but lacks crucial material like “Warm Leatherette” and “Nipple to the Bottle.” A later edition, dubbed Island Life 2, adds "Pars," "Feel Up," and two remixes of "Sex Drive."

The NOW 12” 80s series is back with the latest addition – NOW 12” 80s: 1982 – Part 2 – to be released on April 12th.
1982 was a year of rapid change, both culturally and on the charts, and with too many essential 12”’s to all be included on one volume, Part 2 features a further 49 extended, full-length, or remixed versions across four CDs from some of the most innovative and popular artists of the era. This was the year when 12" singles became an essential part of a singles’ release, creating a unique experience for fans across all genres from Disco, through New Wave, New Romantic, and to the fresh synth-driven Pop of 1982.

Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da will be issued on 10 May 2024 via BMG. A 2CD edition of 2016’s Can’t Touch Us Now will be released on the same day (see tracklistings below).

Going for Broke is a 1984 album by Eddy Grant. Following the major success of the previous Killer on the Rampage, this album takes a similar approach but was not as successful. It featured the U.S. hit "Romancing the Stone", as well as the singles "Till I Can't Take Love No More" and "Boys in the Street". "Romancing the Stone" was intended for the 1984 feature film of the same name, in fact was announced by Casey Kasem on the 30 June 1984 edition of American Top 40 as the title song to the movie, but ultimately was not used, though clips from the film appeared in the song's music video, and the song is mentioned in the film's closing credits.

Showing no signs of growing old and clamping down, Eddy Grant boldly titles his 2006 release Reparation, a call for restitution for the transatlantic slave trade. Fittingly, the title cut is the album's key track, with Grant urgently crying out for answers over a frantic, synthetic soca beat while crunching guitars remind everyone that this is the man who cranked out the glorious rock-reggae-dance blends "Electric Avenue" and "Living on the Front Line." Of course, he's also the man who wrote and recorded "Baby Come Back" and "Romancing the Stone," sunny and light tracks of which the easygoing "Everything Irie" brings reminders.

2009 collection of heart-warming tracks by the UK's finest Pop/Reggae outfit. UB40 Love Songs brings together 20 of their best loved tracks that showcases the bands softer more sophisticated side. Featuring the huge #1 singles 'I Got You Babe' and '(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You', Love Songs also features many more UB40 favorites including 'Please Don't Make Me Cry', 'Homely Girl', 'Breakfast in Bed', 'I'll Be Your Baby Tonight' and 'Don't Break My Heart'. Formed in Birmingham in 1978, and featuring the same line-up of 8 musicians from 1978-2008, UB40 have placed more than 50 singles on the UK charts, and achieved massive international success selling millions of albums around the world.

NOW Music are excited to present the next instalment of the ‘NOW 12” 80s’ series – NOW 12” 80s: 1982 – Part One – Out January 19th!Across 4 CDs, 48 extended, full-length or remixed versions reflecting the shift from Disco being the dominant genre in the Chart, to it being enriched with the developing Synth-Pop and New-Wave sounds of the New Romantics. Despite this sonic shift, the 12” single played an even more vital role than it had done with Funk and Disco, providing fans with more time on club dancefloors and more room for artist and producer experimentation. This edition of 12” 80s presents part one of 1982 – such massive year for Pop that we had to split this year into two parts to present all of the essential tracks.

Who You Fighting For? is the fifteenth album by UB40 released on 18 July 2005. The album was nominated for the reggae album Grammy in 2006. It marks the return of the rootsier, political sound that the group cultivated during the early 1980s.

This double-disc set from Trojan includes classic ska, rocksteady and reggae tracks from Desmond Dekker & the Aces, Jimmy Cliff, Lee Perry & the Upsetters, the Melodians, Toots & the Maytals, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Ken Boothe, John Holt and many others. Though there are quite a few Jamaican classics missing from this history of the music, all the tracks included are quite solid.

2004 anthology from the veteran reggae singing group that includes their best known hits like "Book of Rules", "Games People Play", "Bad Boys" (The Theme to the TV Show "Cops") as Well as a Re-recorded Version of "Sweat" featuring Lady Saw. Also includes five tracks recorded for this Collection as well.