NOW 12 - Summer '88: Tom Doyle episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 17, 2026 · 1H 23M

NOW 12 - Summer '88: Tom Doyle

from Back to NOW!

Oh, that’s bad!No, that’s good!If you know your 80s dancefloor bangers, you’ll recognise that S-Express vocal insert and will already be donning your sparkly bellbottoms, possibly even getting right-on one (matey) because it’s Summer 1988! What was making the headlines? (shuffles papers, looks directly into camera in a serious way):Poll tax announced!Gay rights activists invade the six o'clock news and mildly fluster Sue Lawley!Glasgow Garden festival takes place! Every school in Scotland goes on a trip (not like that!)England finish bottom of their Euro88 group having lost all three games! (Sports presenter wink to camera)But, BUT, amidst all of this and many other exciting things, POP was still very important indeed and - hurrah - NOW That’s What I Call Music 12 was here to make a splash! (Yes, the one with the pool on the cover, ahem).And a young, impressionable starry-eyed journalist from Dundee was starting his glittering career at Smash Hits, in London Town! With the BIG names! Yes, even Tiffany and Glenn Medeiros!Yes, head back to a very eventful summer for acclaimed music journalist, author and Smash Hits alumnus Tom Doyle!Join us as we dive into the swimming pool of pop (enough already!) and meet amongst others Climie Fisher having a picnic, Carol Decker playing poker, Bananarama being a trio (just) and Jermaine Stewart not being in Shalamar.And on top of this, get ready for some fantastic 1988 anecdotes from Tom’s giddy time at Ver Hits (and possibly Patches before that!). Wet Wet Wet on an open-top bus in Glasgow with lots of rock n roll mouthwash!Aswad’s recreational horticultural escapades!Sitting next to Hollywood royalty (well, Richard Gere) at the Nelson Mandela concert!Rubbing shoulders with U2 AND David Bowie in a factory! (Possibly, no actually!)Tom’s first singles reviews - and what was his single of the fortnight?? (it’s not on NOW12)And also stay around for lots of fabulous pop reminiscing about the truly wonderful Danny Wilson, the truly bonkers Bill Drummond and the truly hairy (!) Glenn Medeiros. All of this - delivered in Tom’s inimitable fashion - and so much more that we could just about fit it into Natalie’s Pink Cadillac (oo-er!)Summer 1988 - what a lark eh pop kids? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 17, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

NOW 12 - Summer '88: Tom Doyle

0:00 1:23:20

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Back to NOW!?

This episode is 1 hour and 23 minutes long.

When was this Back to NOW! episode published?

This episode was published on April 17, 2026.

Can I download this Back to NOW! episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!