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DetailsReleased: 21st July 2003

Origin: United Kingdom

Label: Virgin / EMI / Universal

Format: Double CD, Double Cassette

Duration: 2:31:37 (151 minutes 37 seconds)

Tracks: 42

#1’s: 3

Chart Peak: #1 (5 weeks)

Sales: 570,000 (2x Platinum)

Tracklisting1. R Kelly – Ignition - Remix 3:08 {1}

2. 50 Cent – In Da Club 3:48 {3}

3. Justin Timberlake – Cry Me A River 4:50 {2}

4. Wayne Wonder – No Letting Go 3:23 {3}

5. Javine – Real Things 3:23 {4}

6. Kym Marsh – Come On Over 3:28 {10}

7. Girls Aloud – No Good Advice 3:47 {2}

8. t.A.T.u. – Not Gonna Get Us 3:38 {7}

9. S Club 8 – Fool No More 3:25 {4}

10. Fast Food Rockers – The Fast Food Song 3:09 {2}

11. XTM & DJ Chucky Pts. Annia – Fly On The Wings Of Love 2:57 {8}

12. Lisa Scott-Lee – Lately 3:39 {6}

13. One True Voice – Shakespeare's (Way With) Words 3:28 {10}

14. Bhangra Knights feat. Husan – Husan 2:44 {7}

15. Tomcraft – Loneliness 2:43 {1}

16. Tiga feat. Jake Shears – Hot In Herre 2:57 {46}

17. Lisa Maffia – All Over 3:44 {2}

18. Benny Benassi pts. The Biz – Satisfaction 2:23 {2}

19. Deepest Blue – Deepest Blue 3:25 {7}

20. DJ Sammy – Sunlight 3:30 {8}

21. Plummet – Damaged 3:21 {12}

22. Paul van Dyk feat. Hemstock & Jennings – Nothing But You 3:17 {14}

23. Scooter – The Night 3:28 {16}

24. Robbie Williams – Come Undone 3:57 {4}

25. Busted – You Said No 2:47 {1}

26. Daniel Bedingfield – I Can't Read You 4:03 {6}

27. Amy Studt – Misfit 3:23 {6}

28. The Thrills – Big Sur 3:23 {17}

29. Coldplay – God Put A Smile On Your Face 4:58 {DNC}

30. Appleton – Everything Eventually 3:05 {38}

31. David Sneddon – Don't Let Go 4:26 {3}

32. Ronan Keating – The Long Goodbye 4:19 {3}

33. Darius – Incredible (What I Meant To Say) 3:45 {9}

34. Feeder – Just The Way I'm Feeling 4:03 {10}

35. Sinead Quinn – What You Need Is... 3:56 {19}

36. Melanie C – On The Horizon 3:26 {14}

37. Emma – Free Me 4:27 {5}

38. S Club – Say Goodbye 4:01 {2}

39. Sugababes – Shape 4:03 {11}

40. Jay-Z – Excuse Me Miss 3:59 {17}

41. Mariah Carey feat. Cam'Ron – (Boy) I Need You 4:23 {17}

42. Ja Rule feat. Ashanti – Mesmerize 3:38 {12}

 

Key

Tracks highlighted red were official UK #1’s.

Tracks with an asterisk (*) next to their title have also been included in special releases from the series.

The track duration has been highlighted cyan.

Bracketed numbers refer to highest chart position reached.

{DNC} = Did Not Chart

Miscellaneous FactsTrack Most Weeks At #1: R Kelly – Ignition - Remix (4 weeks)

Lowest Charting Track: Coldplay – God Put A Smile On Your Face {DNC}

Longest Song: Coldplay – God Put A Smile On Your Face 4:58

Shortest Song: Benny Benassi pts. The Biz – Satisfaction 2:23

Edited Tracks: Unknown

Unedited Tracks: Unknown

Inlay Mistakes: None

Other Facts: None

On This Day In HistoryColdplay singer Chris Martin was charged with malicious damage in Australia after he allegedly attacked a photographer's car after he had taken pictures of him surfing at Seven Mile Beach. Martin admitted he had lost his temper due to the constant harassment by that journalist, and consequently smashed his windscreen and let the air out of his tyres.Other ResourcesOfficial Now Music Website

Wikipedia

Everyhit

Brandt Animation Archive

Now 55 Rate

Edited August 27, 20177 yr by ⓐⓦⓐⓡⓓⓘⓝⓐⓡⓨ

Andrew's ReviewNow That's What I Call Music! 55 otherwise known as Now 55 was released in the Summer of 2003 and features 42 tracks with 3 UK #1 singles from R Kelly, Tomcraft and Busted. This volume was the first one in the series to feature artists like 50 Cent, Javine, Lisa Scott-Lee, Deepest Blue, Amy Studt and Mariah Carey.

 

2003 was a quieter year for #1 singles in the UK as many would hold on for many weeks at the top. Just a further 2 UK #1's qualified in this era to be included which were Evanescence – Bring Me To Life which spent a total of 4 weeks at the top, and Crazy In Love by Beyoncé which was later saved for the following volume. Other omissions from this era include hits by Christina Aguilera, Blazin' Squad, Mis-Teeq, Big Brovaz, Stereophonics, The White Stripes, Busta Rhymes and others.

 

Now 55 features a number of names whose only series appearance was on this volume. These were Wayne Wonder, Fast Food Rockers, XTM & DJ Chucky, Bhangra Knights, Tomcraft, Tiga, Lisa Maffia, Benny Benassi, Plummet, Paul van Dyk and The Thrills.

 

Artwork Rating: 10/10 The Best Now Artwork Ever!

Yep, this is my all time favourite artwork from the Now series. It's golden sunset backdrop with glistening ocean and beach parasols make this the most summery artwork I've ever seen and it gives me holiday vibes and overall it's just gorgeous. I love this design and Now 55 is the best one I've ever seen them come up with!

 

Disc 1 Favourite: Deepest Blue – Deepest Blue

It's rare to see a self-titled single make the series, but this debut single from dance production Deepest Blue is one very smooth and slick dance song, very chilled and atmospheric and overall just a brilliant production from start to finish.

 

Disc 2 Favourite: Ja Rule feat. Ashanti – Mesmerize

Nothing at all on this second CD / tape stands out to me as a favourite at all. In the end I went with one of my favourite artists at the time, no not Ja Rule, but Ashanti, whose smooth vocals made this another enjoyable listen, and I liked the music video too.

 

Disc 3 Tracklist:

(A concept of what a third disc might look like if other hits from the era were used)

 

1. Evanescence – Bring Me To Life 3:56 {1}

2. Christina Aguilera – Fighter 4:06 {3}

3. DMX – X Gon' Give It To Ya 3:37 {3}

4. The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army 3:50 {7}

5. Electric Six – Gay Bar 2:20 {5}

6. The Darkness – Growing On Me 3:29 {11}

7. Stereophonics – Madame Helga 3:54 {4}

8. Good Charlotte – Girls & Boys 3:03 {6}

9. D-Side – Speechless 3:37 {9}

10. Jennifer Lopez feat. LL Cool J – All I Have 4:14 {2}

11. Busta Rhymes & Mariah Carey feat. Flipmode Squad – I Know What You Want 4:12 {3}

12. B2K – Girlfriend 3:24 {10}

13. Blazin' Squad – We Just Be Dreamin' 3:28 {3}

14. Abs – Stop Sign 2:54 {10}

15. Kelly Rowland – Can't Nobody 3:51 {5}

16. Mis-Teeq – Can't Get It Back 3:34 {8}

17. Big Brovaz – Favourite Things 3:15 {2}

18. Sean Paul – Get Busy 3:32 {4}

19. Love Inc. – Broken Bones 2:54 {8}

20. Avril Lavigne – I'm With You 3:42 {7}

21. Christina Aguilera – Beautiful 3:58 {1}

22. Delta Goodrem – Born To Try 4:12 {3}

----------

Total time: 1:19:02

 

Overall Rating: 6/10 Good

I wanted to rate this volume higher, mainly for having what I've chosen as the best artwork in the entire series, but that second disc is rather disappointing for me. I'm especially grieved not to see Evanescence on this volume with their massive #1 hit, and with over 8 minutes of space across both discs, there was more than enough room for it to fit on. I would still call this a good volume for what's on Disc 1 and the artwork alone.

 

Andrew's Best 5 (as of August 2017)

1. Deepest Blue – Deepest Blue

2. Tomcraft – Loneliness

3. DJ Sammy – Sunlight

4. Benny Benassi pts. The Biz – Satisfaction

5. R Kelly – Ignition - Remix

 

Andrew's Worst 5 (as of August 2017)

1. Mariah Carey feat. Cam'Ron – Boy (I Need You)

2. Appleton – Everything Eventually

3. Ronan Keating – The Long Goodbye

4. Jay-Z – Excuse Me Miss

5. Tiga feat. Jake Shears – Hot In Herre

Disc 1: Justin Timberlake

Disc 2: Sugababes

 

Disc 2 is absolutely appalling on this edition :(

Disc 2 is absolutely appalling on this edition :(

Yeah I'm with you on that. :(

 

Here's some other omissions that I didn't select to include on a third disc;

 

Craig David & Sting – Rise & Fall {2}

Madonna – American Life {2}

S Club – Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You {2}

Delta Goodrem – Lost Without You {4}

Radiohead – There There {4}

Blur – Out Of Time {5}

Dannii Minogue – Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling {5}

Cheeky Girls – Take Your Shoes Off {6}

Jennifer Ellison – Baby I Don't Care {6}

Shania Twain – Forever And For Always {6}

Bon Jovi – All About Lovin' You {9}

Metallica – St. Anger {9}

Jennifer Lopez – I'm Glad {11}

Feeder – Forget About Tomorrow {12}

Tommi – Like What {12}

Gary Numan vs. Rico – Crazier {13}

Marilyn Manson – mOBSCENE {13}

Mr. Reds vs. DJ Skribble – Everybody Come On (Can You Feel It) {13}

Ocean Colour Scene – I Just Need Myself {13}

Erasure – Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me {14}

Deftones – Minerva {15}

Jemini – Cry Baby {15}

Linkin Park – Faint {15}

The Androids – Do It With Madonna {15}

Edited August 20, 20177 yr by ⓐⓦⓐⓡⓓⓘⓝⓐⓡⓨ

here is the full version of the NOW! advert, which for some reason the official NOW! channel doesn't have.

 

 

that is a really poor Disc 2, I'd say my favourite out of that lot is 'Big Sur' but I'm not overly keen on that song either. I'm now temped to just play your Disc 3 in the plug session instead. :lol:

 

Disc 1 has a lot of goods though, Ignition, In Da Club, Cry Me A River, Fast Food Song (:blush:), Fly on the Wings of Love, Loneliness, Satisfaction and Damaged are all really good. Out of those I have to choose Loneliness.

 

Artwork is a 7, overall it's a 5.

Great Now, summery cover as well.

 

Went for Girls Aloud - No Good Advice (easily one of their best and a classic) and David Sneddon - Don't Let Go (under rated gem)

 

Disc 1 is great - close runners up are S Club 8, t.A.T.u, Tomcraft and Deepest Blue.

here is the full version of the NOW! advert, which for some reason the official NOW! channel doesn't have.

I've added that advert to the opening post.

 

If you want to play that's Disc 3 on plug I'm sure many would appreciate some of those tracks more. :lol:

I'll play at least one minute of every song on each disc for completion but if it's getting no love then I may as well skip it and play a disc 3 fave. Last time I hosted I skipped Idlewild halfway through and no one seemed to mind.

One of my favourite summer Nows this one. I must admit I'm a little sad to see so many people saying how they're not fond of CD2. If anything the tracklist on that one is pretty near perfection for me because of many of my favourites appearing on it.

 

The dearth of number ones is noticeable on this but as you pointed out Andrew, the turnover slowed down radically as single sales generally started to take a hit so number one singles were spending longer at the top - that God awful R Kelly track that kicks off CD1 for one (sorry but I really don't like it, or him).

 

As I touched on last week this was a strange time for me where music was concerned. S Club had just split, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit mortified by that even if it'd been obvious since 'Alive' that it was coming whether I liked it or not, and some of the other artists I was into at that time were suddenly not 'cool' to like as I entered that excruciating teenage period of my life.

 

It felt like the end of an era but with hindsight, was the beginning of another brilliant era that would extend over the next two years for me personally. Anyway. Top 5 from each as always:

 

CD1

1. Justin Timberlake (I will literally never get bored of this one. Hands down one of the best things Justin has done solo so far, the Timbaland production is flawless, the vocals, THAT video. Pop perfection)

2. Girls Aloud (aka the point where I knew GA were gonna be in it for the long run. So stroppy and rebellious with the slight new wave/ punky Blondie feel to it - R Kelly holding this off number one was nothing short of a travesty)

3. Wayne Wonder (aka the start, along with Sean Paul's 'Get Busy' of the Diwali riddim use in R&B/reggae songs. Perfect summer song for me even now)

4. Deepest Blue (one of the few dance records at that time I could actually listen to repeatedly. So atmospheric, reminded me of the Daft Punk and Modjo singles we met a few weeks ago on Now 47/50)

5. Tomcraft (one of those dance tracks I wasn't keen on at the time but that I like now, and which has actually held up surprisingly well with age. Also sampled to great effect by Will Young recently)

 

CD2

1. Busted (well deserved first number one for the lads. I remember listening to Radio 1's Chart Show with Wes when he phoned them to tell them they'd done it. The start of their imperial phase for sure. Just gutted the single of theirs we meet next week didn't follow it to number one)

2. The Thrills (LOVED The Thrills. I had the 'So Much for the City' album and this just scratches the surface on their brilliance. Should've been bigger)

3. Coldplay (second 'non' single of Coldplay's to make it to a Now, following Don't Panic on Now 48. Probably the most evocative of their debut from their second album, I love the lyrics in this)

4. Appleton (I realise I stan quite hard for the Appletons both then and now, and I know the lyrics got a round kicking from the press when this came out because of their hatred of Nat and Nic that probably contributed to its flop and their being dropped, but I loved the simplicity of its subject matter, about not taking every day life for granted and living it to the full. A true lost pop gem that deserves more than the unfortunate reception it got)

5. Amy Studt (still a really smart and engaging listen this. Such a shame this was her only really big hit, I loved the 'False Smiles' album too)

 

Good disc 3 choices - the only two I'd have added were Madonna 'Hollywood' and Siobhan Donaghy - 'Overrated' so perfect otherwise!

Edited August 20, 20177 yr by ThePensmith

I voted for Fly On The Wings Of Love and Say Goodbye.

 

Summer 2003 was absolutely scorching so this cover is rather apt, and indeed very good. Lots of the defining songs of the period are here and the equivalent Hits 56 didn't get Evanescence either and was in fact the weakest Hits album for quite a while. So the Now compilers did pretty well with what was available to them with this.

 

My other main faves on this are Ignition, No Letting Go, Real Things, No Good Advice, Not Gonna Get Us, Loneliness, Deepest Blue, Sunlight, The Night, You Said No, Misfit (genius forgotten track), Big Sur (good memories attached to this) and On The Horizon.

 

Looking at the omissions, the following I think Now could have got if they'd wanted them, taking into account label wrangles:

 

Abs – Stop Sign

S Club – Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You

Shania Twain – Forever And For Always (did Shania switch labels at this point? She wasn't on Hits either during this era)

Erasure – Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me

 

Shania aside, and I guess that was out of their control, I don't think the above are particularly sad losses...Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You was such an underwhelming track.

I voted for Fly On The Wings Of Love and Say Goodbye.

 

Summer 2003 was absolutely scorching so this cover is rather apt, and indeed very good. Lots of the defining songs of the period are here and the equivalent Hits 56 didn't get Evanescence either and was in fact the weakest Hits album for quite a while. So the Now compilers did pretty well with what was available to them with this.

That's surprising because I remember Evanescence being on Huge Hits 2004 (it was track 3) which I bought at the time as well as NOW 56.

That's surprising because I remember Evanescence being on Huge Hits 2004 (it was track 3) which I bought at the time as well as NOW 56.

 

Indeed, presumably they couldn't get the license in time but it was freed up by the end of the year.

I voted for Fly On The Wings Of Love and Say Goodbye.

 

Summer 2003 was absolutely scorching so this cover is rather apt, and indeed very good. Lots of the defining songs of the period are here and the equivalent Hits 56 didn't get Evanescence either and was in fact the weakest Hits album for quite a while. So the Now compilers did pretty well with what was available to them with this.

 

My other main faves on this are Ignition, No Letting Go, Real Things, No Good Advice, Not Gonna Get Us, Loneliness, Deepest Blue, Sunlight, The Night, You Said No, Misfit (genius forgotten track), Big Sur (good memories attached to this) and On The Horizon.

 

Looking at the omissions, the following I think Now could have got if they'd wanted them, taking into account label wrangles:

 

Abs – Stop Sign

S Club – Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You

Shania Twain – Forever And For Always (did Shania switch labels at this point? She wasn't on Hits either during this era)

Erasure – Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me

 

Shania aside, and I guess that was out of their control, I don't think the above are particularly sad losses...Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You was such an underwhelming track.

 

Shania was still on Mercury (in the UK) when she released "Up!" but I can see two reasons why she didn't appear. Getting the correct Red Radio Versions costed more money and it'd be hard to find a place for Shania on a R&B/Dance/Pure Pop compilation. Especially since her singles sounded more Country than Pop for this era.

Disc 1 here is really strong but again Disc 2 is pretty poor :drama: I look forward to when Disc 2s stopped being bland and morphed into the more dancey disc. Anyway, my Disc 1 favourite here is 'Bhangra Knights' *.* I love bhangra music and this song is such an earworm. Hearing it on the One Hit Wonders show a couple of years ago completely reignited my love for it <3 then for Disc 2 it's pretty slim pickings but I went for 'Come Undone' by Robbie Williams as it's my favourite Robbie song! I have always found the chorus quite compelling.

My fave from Disc 1 is 'The Night' by Scooter (one of their best I think, I like the emotive high pitched vocal and the melody of the synths in the rest of it) with Plummet - Damaged in a very close second. From the first CD Loneliness, Husan, Satisfaction and Fly On The Wings Of Love are all great I think.

 

The second CD is mostly not great. Definitely one of the worst Now CDs of the 00s. My fave from Disc 2 is Darius – Incredible (What I Meant To Say)

 

Summer 2003 was absolutely scorching

Didn't know that! The cover art is amazing anyway!

 

Disc 2 is pretty poor drama.gif I look forward to when Disc 2s stopped being bland and morphed into the more dancey disc.

 

There was less dance doing well in the charts by this point. There are no dance top 10s from 21st September 2003 to the end of that year. I just looked at the tracklist for Now 56 and there are only 3 dance songs on it :( The second lowest number of dance songs I think on a Now album in the 00s apart from Now 62 (released November 2005) which only has two.

Edited August 24, 20177 yr by Hiß

Love Inc. – Broken Bones is a tune! Definitely should have been included.

 

Also what you could have put on the third disc is Snap - Rhythm Is A Dancer (CJ Stone Remix) making #17 in May 2003. It is even better than the original I think!

 

There was less dance doing well in the charts by this point. There are no dance top 10s from 21st September 2003 to the end of that year. I just looked at the tracklist for Now 56 and there are only 3 dance songs on it :( The second lowest number of dance songs I think on a Now album in the 00s apart from Now 62 (released November 2005) which only has two.

Well we are approaching that dreadful week when there were zero dance songs in the top 40 so I can't say I'm surprised. Angel City who were still Dance #1 when they left the top 40 will be appearing on NOW! 56 anyway.

 

2003 really wasn't the best year for dance music in the charts, though we did get a few greats like some of the ones on this compilation.