Craig Revel Horwood directs Now musical at Bradford Alhambra

The NOW That’s What I Call Music phenomenon began in 1983, with a compilation of 30 hit singles from that year.

Since then there have been on average three NOW albums a year, featuring everyone from Madonna to Take That. Spin-offs have included Eurovision and Christmas compilations. The franchise has released 116 albums so far, selling an estimated 200 million copies worldwide.

To celebrate 40 years of NOW, a new musical is taking audiences back to the playlist of their lives.

Now That’s What I Call a Musical features Eighties bangers from acts including Whitney Houston, Wham! Blondie, Cyndi Lauper, Tears For Fears and Spandau Ballet. The show is set in Birmingham, 1989. Schoolfriends Gemma and April are busy planning their lives based on Number One Magazine quizzes and dreaming of snogging Rick Astley. Fast forward to Birmingham 2009 and it’s the school reunion, where old friends, and flames, collide and the past starts to slot into place.

The show is partly set at a school reunion Image: Pamela Raith 

Filled with great songs and heartwarming nostalgia, the show is directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood.

“There’s something in it for absolutely everyone,” says Craig. “I think teenagers will associate with the two girls - how they’re living their lives, their hopes and dreams - as much as adults will. Those themes are universal.

“The 80s was a great time for pop, and music in general helps people through emotional journeys in life, especially teenagers because their hormones are running riot.

“As an older person you look back to those moments that made you happy and music is a huge part of that. This show taps into that nostalgia but it will also appeal to younger audiences because a lot of 80s tunes are coming back or they’ve been covered by other artists.”

Adds Craig: “It’s a bit like Stephen Sondheim’s Follies in the fact that it’s set at a reunion and there are flashbacks. The main characters flash back to how they were as teenagers, the music they listened to back in the 80s and the things that led them to live their lives the way they have. It goes through various time zones - it’s a bit like Back to the Future.”

NOW That’s What I Call Music has celebrated its 40th anniversary. Why is it such an enduring brand?

“The albums first came along at a time when people would make compilations for friends and lovers. They were like ready-made mixtapes, where you’d get so many amazing hits on one album or cassette, whereas before you’d have to buy the singles,” says Craig. “Before the NOW albums you’d wait for a song to come on the radio, then record it onto a tape, and you’d never manage to get the full version of it.”

Craig reveals that the first album he “totally fell in love with” was Dare by the Human League: “I loved all the songs, the tone and freedom of it. It was like a whole new experience because it was so modern.”

Craig’s 80s style was “headbands and a long side parting, sort of like curtains”. He adds: “I used to tie rags around my feet and calves, and over my boots. It was a bit weird.”

We know him best to as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing - he’s been on the show since it began 20 years ago - but Craig has directed and choreographed many stage productions, including Sister Act, Follies and The Witches of Eastwick.

He’s excited about the NOW Musical because it’s a new show: “With a brand new musical when you get into the rehearsal room you can be really creative. With this it’s about weaving the songs through the story, as well as making sure the story itself is strong. Comedy is a huge element in the show as well as heartfelt moments.”

For Nina Wadia, who plays Gemma, it’s her first venture into musical theatre. “I’m genuinely terrified,” she admits. “But I love challenges and I’ve tried every genre, I think, thus far apart from musicals. So I thought ‘Why not?’

“Its 80s songs, you can sing them however you like, as far as I’m concerned, so long as it’s with enthusiasm. Then there’s the dancing, which I’ve been looking forward to because Craig’s choreography is fun as hell.”

Nina with Shakil Hussain at the school reunion (Image: PAMELA RAITH)

Nadia, who shot to fame on sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and played Zainab Masood on EastEnders, says of Gemma: “Her life didn’t quite go the way she expected it to. She depended a lot on her best friend, there’s a lot of love between them. I come from that kind of background; my oldest friends are my schoolfriends from the 80s.”

Nina has fond memories of listening to NOW tapes on her Walkman in Hong Kong, where she grew up. “You’d wait until the weekend to buy them. Those songs were the soundtrack to my life. If you fell in love you really fell in love and if you hurt, you really hurt.”

Guest stars including Sinitta, Sonia, Carol Decker and Jay Osmond will appear at venues on the tour, playing themselves giving Gemma and April advice. Nina is already fan-girling: “At the photo shoot I was all over them. They’re as excited as I am about the show. If I wasn’t in it, it’s the sort of thing I’d definitely go to.”

Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre plays host to Jay Osmond, who, with his brothers, stormed the charts with hits such as Crazy Horses and Love Me For a Reason. The Osmonds continued to tour the UK into the 80s and beyond.

“When I heard about this show I thought ‘What a brilliant idea to bring all that great music together and what a great thing to be a part of’,” says Jay. “We really need to remember the happy times and have some fun.”

He agrees with Craig that music speaks to everyone: “You can take any song and it’ll bring back a memory, happy or sad, of where you were when you first heard it. It’s like therapy for the soul.”

Craig says the show will prompt audiences to “reflect on their lives to date and how it’s all worked out for them - what their hopes and aspirations were and how that fuelled whatever passion they had to help them become who they are today.”

* Now that’s What I call a Musical is at the Alhambra from October 15-19. Call (01274) 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk