Now That's What I Call Music (UK) 1-64 (the whole collection) (repost)

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Devised by Ashley Abram of Box Records (a consultancy specialising in producing compilations), the series took its name from an advertising poster for Danish meat products which showed a pig listening to a whistling cockerel. The pig became the Now! series' mascot for a while, making its last appearance on Now! 5.

The first Now! compilation appeared in 1983 and collected thirty UK hit singles from that year on a double vinyl LP or cassette. The concept of a compilation of recent hit singles was not new (Ronco and K-tel had been issuing single-disc collections since the early 1970s), but by spreading tracks across two discs instead of one, the Now! series was able to achieve better sound quality, and since the albums were a collaboration between major record companies a greater number of major hits could be included (the first album in the series boasted of "11 number ones" on its sleeve, something previously unheard-of). The album went to number one and soon had a major rival in CBS/WEA's The Hits Album which adopted a similar format to Now! The two series co-existed for the rest of the 1980s.

The sheer longevity and ubiquity of the Now! series in the UK has led to its becoming something of a cultural icon. Many people now collect the albums as a series, something made easier by the fact that the series was a hit from the start, so even the long-deleted early albums are easy to find second-hand.

Although the rate of release varied in the early days, it has now settled down to three per year; one release around Easter, another during the summer break (to pick up all the dance hits), and a third around November (in time for the Christmas market). Now That's What I Call Music! 64 was released on July 24, 2006. The UK series continues to follow the double-album format, now exploiting the capacity of the CD to include forty or more songs over its two discs.

The most successful has been Now That's What I Call Music! 57, which sold 350,000 units in the first week of sales. At the time of release it was the fastest selling record of the 21st century, only outsold by Dido's "Life For Rent".

Each Double Cd in one file except now 64.