Now That's What I Call Music II (UK series)

Now That's What I Call Music II
Compilation album
Released	26 March 1984
Genre	Pop
Length	60:55
Label	Virgin/EMI Sony Music Entertainment
Compiler	Ashley Abram
Series chronology
Now That's What I Call Music (1983) Now That's What I Call Music II (1984) Now That's What I Call Music 3 (1984)

Now That's What I Call Music II or Now 2 was released on 26 March 1984.^[1] The album is the second edition of the (UK) Now! series. It was released on vinyl & audio cassette. Now 2 debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and then climbed to number one a week later, staying there for five weeks.

Now 2 was the first album in the series to be compiled by Ashley Abram, who compiled every Now album in the series, up until Now 81 in 2012.

Now 2 features four songs which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart: "Only You", "99 Red Balloons", "Relax" and "Pipes Of Peace".

Now 2 is one of only two British Now! albums to feature Roman numerals in the title as opposed to numbers, Now 13 being the other.

Track listing

Record/Tape 1 Side 1 (1)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Radio Ga Ga"	Queen	5:43
2.	"Wouldn't It Be Good"	Nik Kershaw	4:28
3.	"Hold Me Now"	Thompson Twins	4:38
4.	"Get Out of Your Lazy Bed"	Matt Bianco	3:24
5.	"More, More, More"	Carmel	3:08
6.	"Michael Caine"	Madness	3:39
7.	"Only You"	The Flying Pickets	3:21

Record/Tape 1 Side 2 (2)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"99 Red Balloons"	Nena	3:51
2.	"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"	Cyndi Lauper	3:31
3.	"My Guy's Mad at Me"	Tracey Ullman	3:01
4.	"Break My Stride"	Matthew Wilder	2:58
5.	"Breaking Down"	Julia & Company	3:09
6.	"That's Livin' Alright"	Joe Fagin	3:04
7.	"I Gave You My Heart (Didn't I)"	Hot Chocolate	3:39
8.	"Bird of Paradise"	Snowy White	4:21

Record/Tape 2 Side 1 (3)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Relax"	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	3:55
2.	"Here Comes the Rain Again"	Eurythmics	5:01
3.	"What Is Love?"	Howard Jones	3:40
4.	"What Difference Does It Make?"	The Smiths	3:48
5.	"(Feels Like) Heaven"	Fiction Factory	3:30
6.	"The Politics of Dancing"	Re-Flex	3:17
7.	"Hyperactive!"	Thomas Dolby	4:15
8.	"Wishful Thinking"	China Crisis	4:12

Record/Tape 2 Side 2 (4)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Modern Love"	David Bowie	3:59
2.	"It's a Miracle"	Culture Club	3:24
3.	"Undercover of the Night"	The Rolling Stones	4:33
4.	"Wonderland"	Big Country	3:56
5.	"Run Runaway"	Slade	3:44
6.	"New Moon on Monday"	Duran Duran	4:16
7.	"Pipes of Peace"	Paul McCartney	3:54

VHS release

A video selection was also released featuring selected tracks from the main album, one track that previously featured on Volume I of the series, one that later featured on Volume IV and seven which did not appear on any Now album.

1. Nik Kershaw : "Wouldn't It Be Good"
2. Thompson Twins : "Doctor! Doctor!" ^††
3. Howard Jones : "What is Love?"
4. Duran Duran : "New Moon on Monday"
5. China Crisis : "Wishful Thinking"
6. Tina Turner : "Help" ^†
7. Status Quo : "Marguerita Time" ^†
8. Carmel : "More, More, More"
9. Shannon : "Let the Music Play" ^†
10. The Icicle Works : "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" ^†
11. Bourgie Bourgie : "Breaking Point" ^†
12. Re-Flex : "The Politics of Dancing"
13. Thomas Dolby : "Hyperactive"
14. Matt Bianco : "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed"
15. Big Country : "Wonderland"
16. Marilyn : "Cry and Be Free" ^†
17. Snowy White : "Bird of Paradise"
18. The Flying Pickets : "Only You"
19. Kajagoogoo : "The Lion's Mouth" ^†
20. Culture Club : "Victims" ^†††

† Never appeared on any NOW album.

†† Later appeared on NOW 4.

††† Previously appeared on NOW 1.

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[2]	1

References

1. "Lables link up for second compilation". Music Week (London, England: Spotlight Publications): 3. 17 March 1984.
2. "Archive Chart (Albums Archive)". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 September 2013.

External links

• Official website