There are two versions of the album being made available. The first is the Special Edition 2 CD/DVD version which contains the remastered album, a bonus CD featuring instrumental versions of some of the songs and a DVD with even more special footage. The, for the real fans, there is the Limited Edition Numbered Box Set which contains all the above plus a Vinyl version of the album and lots of other goodies.

To celebrate the reissue I’ve been given the opportunity of giving away three copies of the remastered album, so if you fancy winning a copy pop on over to the Faith competition entry page now!

1987 then saw the release of his first solo album, entitled Faith, which was entirely written, arranged and produced by George, further cementing the fact that he was a very talented singer and musician. Faith hit the number one spot in the album charts of the UK, USA and several other countries, and went on to sell over 20 million copies!

That impressive sales figure is set to increase now that the album has been remastered and is to be reissued on 27th September 2010. Containing ten tracks, six of which managed to reach the top slot in the singles chart, I’m sure you’ll recognise most of the songs instantly. As well as the song that forms the title of the album, Faith, there’s also Father Figure, Monkey and I Want Your Sex. That last one can probably be played on the radio without any problems these days, but on release many radio stations played the alternative version I Want Your Love instead.

The reissue will be available both as a regular CD release and also in a limited edition numbered box set, a true collectors item for any George Michael fan. As well as the album it also contains a bonus CD of instrumental versions of some of the songs, and a DVD with several of the videos for the songs, plus an interview with George by Jonathan Ross. It also features a hardback book full of photos, a replica of the original Vinyl album, art prints, a poster and some replica tour tickets!

When George first split from Wham! many thought he was making a big mistake, but George proved them wrong and is a shining example of a musician successfully changing their musical style and both retaining their old audience and attracting a new one too. Chances are if he had stayed as part of Wham!, he would not be the household name he is today.

UPDATE 25/09/10! Sony have decided to relaunch the Faith album some time next year now after George’s recent sentencing for driving whilst under the influence of drugs.

UPDATE 31/01/11! The reissue of Faith is now set to go ahead at the end of January 2011.

Obviously Grange Hill’s was at its most popular during the 1980’s, so despite the show running up until recently this album is firmly rooted in the eighties. As well as the obligatory Grange Hill theme tune (apparently officially called Chicken Man fact fans) you’ll find hits from such acts as Adam and the Ants, Queen, Madness, The Human League, Shakin’ Stevens, Wham!, Culture Club, David Bowie and many more (as they always say on the adverts for such albums). You’ll even find Toni Basil’s Mickey and Rupert and the Frog Song on there too!

However, be aware! Make sure you don’t get the confusingly same titled Grange Hill – The Album by mistake. This is actually the album made by the cast of the show in 1986 and is usually available for bargain bucket prices. It’s only highlight is probably the Zammo’s-drug-taking inspired single Just Say No, and even then I’m not sure highlight is the correct word to use.  It’s easy to tell the difference.  The one you want has a picture of the classic sausage on a fork comic book scene, whilst the other has the lame Danny Kendall created “GH” school badge on the front.  Speaking of which, does anyone know why the original Grange Hill school badge looked like two letter S’s made out of knotted rope?  That always confused me…

In 1983 Indiana Jones fever had yet to subside, so the marketing men decided to piggy back on the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark by putting a guy in a leather jacket and holding a whip on the front cover. They even unashamedly stole the logo from Indy as well!

Despite all this though the compilation was actually very good, with a large number of well known and well loved songs. It featured hits by bands such as Culture Club, The Pretenders, Madness and Heaven 17. It even found room for a few of the more novelty songs of the time, including Tony Basil’s Mickey. Probably the most bizarre feature of this compilation though was that it was split into two parts which were sold separately.

The compilation did very well, and I reckon the makers of the Now albums at least used it partially as a model for their own efforts. Raiders of the Pop Charts hit the top of the UK album charts in January 1983, and also holds the current record for the largest jump up the UK album charts, when it climbed 37 places from number 40 to number 3 at the very beginning of 1983.

The number of sales is set to get larger since the album has also just been re-released as the Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition, which has some remixed versions of the songs on it and also comes with a DVD packed with extras, including the much loved 15 minute video to the single Thriller.

It’s no wonder the album was so popular as it is packed with many of Jackson’s best loved hits, including the titular Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean and Girl Is Mine, one of his duets with Paul McCartney. In many ways these songs are probably the most representative of Jackson at the height of his fame, before his nickname of Wacko Jacko started to over shadow his reputation as one of the greatest singers, and dancers for that matter, of the decade.

Anyway, any discussion of Thriller will inevitably mean pulling out the Thriller video for another airing, but that would be obvious. Instead, here’s the Thriller video recreated by the inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippine. Yes, that’s right! 1500 orange garbed prisoners recreate the entire Thriller video from start to finish, complete with the Vincent Price monologue at the beginning. It’s especially funny because of the male prisoner (with long hair of course) who runs about pretending to be Michael’s girlfriend from the video. I know it sounds like a recipe for disaster, but they really are surprisingly good!

One of the biggest problems facing compilation albums was the number of songs you could fit on an album. Remember this was before compact discs and downloadable MP3s music had taken over from vinyl records and cassette tapes, so all the NOW albums were sold on two records or tapes. Double albums had existed before, but they were few and far between and rarely were compilations of songs by many different bands and singers – or “various” as most compilations now get classified! The biggest step NOW made was to release on two albums, giving the average teenager access to 30 or so top songs for little more than the price of a regular album.

The NOW series is still going strong today, almost 25 years later. At the time of writing we’re up to number 67, with NOW 68 due in November. There have also been several spin offs from the series, include separate albums for specific years (e.g. NOW 1980) and genres of music (e.g. NOW Dance). But what was on that original now album, I hear you cry? Well, here’s a track listing:-

Disc one

1. Phil Collins : You Can’t Hurry Love
2. Duran Duran : Is There Something I Should Know
3. UB40 : Red Red Wine
4. Limahl : Only For Love
5. Heaven 17 : Temptation
6. KC & the Sunshine Band : Give It Up
7. Malcolm McLaren : Double Dutch
8. Bonnie Tyler : Total Eclipse of the Heart
9. Culture Club : Karma Chameleon
10. Men Without Hats : Safety Dance
11. Kajagoogoo : Too Shy
12. Mike Oldfield : Moonlight Shadow
13. Men at Work : Down Under
14. Rock Steady Crew : (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew
15. Rod Stewart : Baby Jane

Disc two

1. Paul Young : Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)
2. New Edition : Candy Girl
3. Kajagoogoo : Big Apple
4. Tina Turner : Let’s Stay Together
5. Human League : (Keep Feeling) Fascination
6. Howard Jones : New Song
7. UB40 : Please Don’t Make Me Cry
8. Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack : Tonight I Celebrate My Love
9. Tracey Ullman : They Don’t Know
10. Will Powers : Kissing With Confidence
11. Genesis : That’s All
12. The Cure : Love Cats
13. Simple Minds : Waterfront
14. Madness : The Sun and the Rain
15. Culture Club : Victims