Now Yearbooks

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The Yearbook series, launched in June 2021, offers music enthusiasts a nostalgic journey through time with its 4-CD and 3-LP vinyl sets, each dedicated to a specific year of music. These collections coincide with special programming on Now 80s and are presented as limited edition mini-hardback books. Each book features CDs tucked into sleeves that form the pages of the 'yearbook,' providing an introductory overview of the year, original 7" single artwork, trivia, chart positions, and a quiz. The 3-LP sets are pressed on bright coloured vinyl, while the more affordable 4-CD sets are housed in a gatefold "wallet" design.

The series began with a focus on 1983, the inaugural year of the Now That's What I Call Music! series, followed by 1984. Subsequent releases journeyed backwards to 1982 and earlier years, reaching into the late 1970s. In addition to the main releases, a triple-CD collection titled Yearbook Extra: The Collectors Edition is released a few weeks later. These extras include lesser-known tracks and additional songs by major artists featured on the main albums, packaged in a standard gatefold wallet design.

December 2022 saw the release of "The Final Chapter," a deluxe 4-CD and 3-LP set that concluded the Yearbook series covering 1980 to 1984. Simultaneously, a deluxe 5-LP box set, Now Yearbook 1980-1984: Vinyl Extra, was issued, marking the first time Extra CD tracks were available on vinyl.

In August 2022, the series took an experimental turn with the release of a limited edition 7" vinyl single, featuring two tracks each from the 1983 and 1984 Yearbooks. This marked the Now That's What I Call Music! brand's debut in the 7" vinyl format.

The 1979 release introduced a new retro-70s Now logo and artwork that complements the 80s Yearbook series. Moving forward again, the 1990s Yearbook series features a new retro-90s logo and artwork, maintaining consistency with its sister decade series.

Tie-in television programs accompany these releases, featuring month-by-month video playlists of tracks from the years covered by the Now Yearbook albums, presented by Bruno Brookes.

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