NOW Smash Hits of the 80s: Justin Lewis

Welcome to the utterly swingorilliant Autumn 1987! Frightwigs ahoy! Pass around the rock’n’roll mouthwash because the Ver Kids knew that pop was back, Back BACK!

Actually, what this all really means is that in 1987 the nation’s favourite fortnightly pop magazine and the nation’s favourite compilation series had - quite literally - come together and created the greatest album in the world EVER (possibly).

NOW/Smash Hits of the 80s (subtitled 32 swingorilliant hits of the 80s) arrived in our records shops - complied and conceived by the wonderful team at Ver Hits no less!

There was even, EVEN a pull out lyrics booklet in the magazine too! Huzzah!

But looking back from our futuristic space stations in 2026 back nearly 40 years, how does this mid 80s compilation of 80s hits stand up? Tune in listeners for an hour celebrating the likes of Adam and the Ants, Haircut 100, Duran Duran, Mel and Kim and many other to find out!

And joining me for this episode is the author of Into the Groove: The 1980s: The Ultimate Decade in Music History, and all round pop fanatic, Justin Lewis.

Discover how this album was compiled, revisit the wonderful Smash Hits sleevenotes, argue with us about the sequencing and the missing tracks, and marvel at how bonkers the world in 1987 really looked, especially when it was looking back on that most eclectic of decades, the 80s!

Down the dumper? Not a bit of it!

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