NOW 10 - Autumn ‘87: Sue Charles

Welcome back to 1987! The decade of decadence, extravagance, elegance and other words that end in -nce was powering its way towards the later end of its cultural tenure. And whilst there is no doubt that perceived wisdom (or, the internet as we now call it) would tell us that 1987 was the year of big hair, big shoulder pads, and big mobile phones, those of that were there can tell a different story too. The year of POP aspiration was also one of smoke and mirrors. The big suits and big statements across our TV and radio were often wonderfully deceptive. Whilst the music industry had loadsamoney to spend, those acts climbing the charts and filling the pages of Smash Hits were doing so often in the most homemade and, frankly subversive way possible. And in doing so, the genres were flowing, the hits were coming and our pop landscape was as colourful and diversive as we could possibly have wished for. Step forward then the leading compilation series (other slightly inferior ones were OBVIOUSLY available) to deliver its tenth volume. I know, double figures!! Now, That’s What I Call Music 10 shines brightly with its neon signage casting a glittering pop beacon over the wasteland of…..(enough with the imagery, get to the songs, Ed!) Step forward also the utterly imperial Pet Shop Boys, the incredibly sophisti-poptastic Curiosity Killed The Cat, the completely covered in plaster-of-Paris Hue and Cry and many other to lead the hits-filled charge into Autumn ‘87. And joining me to provide her very own unique view of this pop snapshot is TV and radio presenter Sue Charles. Join us as we find out about Sue’s journey across Radio1 AND 2, from 'Newsbeat' and 'Steve Wright in the Afternoon' to reporting behind the scenes at TOTP and to becoming one of the most familiar voices and faces across BBC Wales. And of course, dive deep back into the pop culture of 1987 that includes The Style Council, Casey Kasem, Andy Warhol, Shrewsbury(!), Sir William of Idol, Cliff, claymation Jazz, the glorious return of Squeeze and some genuine love for one of Wales’ musical legends Mike Peters. All of this plus some amazing missing in action ‘87 stars and not a single mention of Michael Fish! Ain’t no doubt about it, this is The Real Thing! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to NOW 10 - Autumn ‘87: Sue Charles online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

NOW 10 - Autumn ‘87: Sue Charles is an episode from Back to NOW! by Iain McDermott.

This episode is 1:10:50 long.

This episode was published on Feb 24, 2026.

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