Now That's What I Call Music 100: Your music memories of the past 35 years

After 35 years, Now That's What I Call Music is releasing its 100th edition. Credit: Now That's What I Call Music!

The soundtrack to school discos, the cementing in history of one-hit wonders, and the go-to for catchy pop songs, Now That's What I Call Music! has reached its 100th milestone.

Since 1983 Now albums have been released at a rate of three-a-year and a total of 120 million copies have been sold world-wide.

Their playlists have spent 654 weeks at number one, and the average household owns four volumes.

For many Now albums provided the soundtrack to their teenage years. So we asked you to share your memories on the ITV News Facebook page.

Sally Willoughby told us she still has all the early versions on vinyl, while Vicky Morris remembered "being whacked on the head by my mum listening to this album [Now 10] on cassette through my headphones, as I couldn't hear her talking to me!".

Like Sally, Pete Winton remembers being totally engrossed in his music, belting out Phil Collins' You Can't Hurry Love while "sat on my doorstep at 14-years-old with my radio cassette player", listening to the first song on the first edition of the series.

Jacqui Jackson said as a former employee of EMI Record Stories in Hayes, London, she would receive a copy of the latest Now album as part of her Christmas bonus each year.

The albums proved popular Christmas gifts for many, with Claire Prince recalling how she got the first and second Now cassettes for Christmas when they were released, adding that those were the "glory days".

While most people who responded to ITV News were united in their love of the albums, they were severely divided over which was the best.

Like many people, Jamie Harper said their first Now was their favourite - in his case the 30th edition - while others were adamant that the original remains the best.

Gill Elizabeth Knox went one step further, proclaiming that "the first That's What I Call Music! was one of the best albums ever made".

However, there was one downside to the latest album release.

Keith Armstrong commented: "I remember when the original was released. Now that there are 100 of them I feel old."

The 100th Now will include a CD of current hits, with a second CD of some of the biggest songs from the other 99. Credit: Now That's What I Call Music!

Now That's What I Call Music trivia

  • The pig and chicken poster

The name of the series came from a poster Virgin boss Richard Branson found in a bric-a-brac shop on Portobello Road, depicting a singing chicken and a pig exclaiming "Now that’s what I call music!".

Branson gave the poster to Virgin Records Co-Founder Simon Draper, and a couple of years later they thought the wise words of the porker could be a great slogan for the compilation idea they had come up with.

It could also explain why the latest version has a pig wearing sunglasses on its front cover.

Interestingly enough, Branson went on to marry the owner of the shop.

  • Number ones

Now albums have spent 654 weeks at number one, and the average household owns four volumes.

Of the 99 past albums, 98 have all gone to number one in the charts.

  • The artists

Some 2,100 artists have been featured on the records, and if you were to listen to all the albums back-to-back it would take you more than 250 hours, or 10.5 days.

  • The spin-offs

There have been a number of spin-off albums such as Now Classic Soul, and Now Christmas which is the seventh-best-selling album of all time in Britain, selling 4.5 million copies and even outselling Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon.