And it was glorious.

If you are a nineties kid chances are the NOW! series defined your childhood. They were the tapes, and those first few were most definitely tapes, that journeyed with us on our family road trips, they danced with us at school discos and sang along with us when we thought no one was listening.

NOW! That’s What I Call Music volume one was released sixteen years ago in 1997. I was six and it was my first taste of pop music (and the inappropriate – for a six year old – catchy lyrics pop loves so much). I distinctly remember being told that singing “I’m a bitch, I’m a tease I’m a goddess on my knees, When you hurt, when you suffer I’m your angel undercover” at the top of my lungs in the supermarket was not an ok thing to do (but I was just SINGING mum!).

‘Bitch’ by Meredith Brooks was the second track and one of the 5 on the tape I will ALWAYS know the lyrics to… Behold the track list containing the top 18 songs of 1997:

 

1. Chumbawamba : “Tubthumping“
2. Meredith Brooks : “Bitch“ – “I’m a bitch, I’m a tease I’m a goddess on my knees.”
3. Bee Gees : “Alone“
4. The Cardigans : “Love Fool“
5. Janet Jackson : “Got ‘Til It’s Gone“
6. Warren G : “I Shot The Sheriff“
7. Tina Turner feat Barry White : “In Your Wildest Dreams“
8. Skunk Anansie : “Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)“
9. The Verve : “Bitter Sweet Symphony“
10. Eternal feat BeBe Winans : “I Wanna Be the Only One” – “I wanna be the only one to hold you(protect you from the rain)”
11. Hanson : “MMMBop” – “MMMBop bah bah MMMBop”
12. White Town : “Your Woman“
13. Cake : “I Will Survive“
14. Sheryl Crow : “Everyday Is A Winding Road” – “Everybody gets high, everybody gets low…”
    
15. George Michael : “Star People ’97“
16. Texas : “Black Eyed Boy“
17. Spice Girls : “Who Do You Think You Are” – “Trust it, use it, prove it, groove it,
    show me how good you are.”
18. Blur : “Song 2“

.

Those were the days.

Lucy xx