Hit and Myth Trivia Quiz

Answer: Roxy Music

The single reached number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart while the album was number one on the UK Albums Chart. As well as 'Avalon', the song 'More Than This' was also released as a single, getting to number six on the UK Singles Chart.

The mythical Avalon, meaning the 'isle of apples', is associated with the legendary King Arthur. His sword, Excalibur, was made there and it is also Arthur's resting place after his final battle with Mordred.

The photographic clue shows the Mersey Ferry to tie in with the name of Roxy Music's singer, Bryan Ferry.

Answer: Blue jeans

'She's Venus in blue jeans, Mona Lisa with a ponytail' are the opening lines to the song. It reached the top ten in the USA for Jimmy Clanton and Mark Wynter's version was also a top ten entry in the UK.

Venus is the Roman goddess of love and her name has given inspiration to at least three different chart songs: 'Venus', by Frankie Avalon, 'Venus' by Shocking Blue and Bananarama, and 'Venus' by Lady Gaga.

The clue is not the zip itself, but the clothing in which it appears.

Answer: London

'Werewolves of London' was Zevon's biggest success on the mainstream charts - it reached number twenty-one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was sampled by Kid Rock for his worldwide hit 'All Summer Long' in 2008, along with 'Sweet Home Alabama'.

Werewolves are also called lycanthropes, and are humans who can transform into wolf like creatures particularly on nights where there is a full moon.

The photo is of a typical London black taxi, in case you haven't heard of the song.

Answer: The Zombies

The Zombies did rather better in the USA than in their home country of the UK with their first hit, called 'She's Not There'. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 but only number twelve on the UK Singles Chart. Their other big North American hit came in 1969 with 'Time of the Season', which did well in both Canada and the USA. It was not released as a single in the UK.

Zombies are reanimated corpses and are very popular in films and video games. There is a very long list of films featuring zombies, with 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968) being just one of them.

Since zombies are particularly associated with Haiti, you have a picture of the country's flag as an additional clue.

Answer: A Whiter Shade of Pale

'We skipped the light fandango; turned cartwheels across the floor' are the opening lyrics to this Procol Harum song. The 'sixteen vestal virgins' were leaving for the coast' apparently. Despite the obscurity of the lyrics, the song was a great success, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.

The Vestal Virgins come from Roman myth, where they were guardians of the sacred fire of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. There weren't sixteen of them, though. Most sources give six as the maximum number at any time.

The photo shows a bucket, also known as a pail.

Answer: They Might Be Giants

The song was 'Birdhouse in Your Soul', which was a big hit for the band, reaching number six on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart, which features 'alternative rock'. According to some sources, the song is about a guardian angel.

Jason, and his Argonauts, are famous in Greek myth for their search for the Golden Fleece.

The picture shows part of the Cerne Abbas Giant, a chalk figure located near the village of the same name, in Dorset, England.

Answer: The Chimera

The album was successful, particularly in the USA, where it reached number four on the Billboard 200. The band is probably best known for their second album, 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' from 1995. 'The Chimera' was not released as a single.

The mythical chimera, or chimaera as I would normally spell it, was made up of three different creatures - a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent for its tail. Some illustrations show it with three heads, one of each creature. It was killed by Bellerophon, riding on Pegasus.

Since the song is not amongst the best known, the picture clue is more explicit than most, showing the actual mythical beast or, at least, one version of it.

Answer: Sam Cooke

Cupid, the Roman god of love, is a popular choice when it comes to writing songs. Connie Francis had a 1958 hit with 'Stupid Cupid', part written by Neil Sedaka. Sam Cooke took his song, which he wrote himself, to number seventeen on the US Billboard Hot 100 and to number seven on the UK Singles Chart. It has been covered numerous times since. You know it - 'Cupid, draw back your bow and let your arrow go'.

The mythical Cupid is usually depicted with his bow and arrow and has long been associated with making couples fall in love with each other.

The picture clue of someone cooking might have helped those of you too young to remember 1961.

Answer: New Orleans

The song is about Marie Laveau, a voodoo practitioner who became well known in the nineteenth century. The song, by the group called Redbone, was called 'The Witch Queen of New Orleans' and was particularly successful in the UK, where it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. The band's other major chart success was in 1974, with 'Come and Get Your Love'.

Witches appear in numerous legends from around the world. History gives us many examples of women (mainly) losing their lives following accusations of witchcraft.

The photo clue shows a dog's toy - a rubber red bone.

Answer: ELO

This wasn't the only song about Xanadu. The 1960s band called Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick and Tich had a number one UK hit with 'The Legend of Xanadu'. Olivia Newton-John teamed up with ELO, lead singer Jeff Lynne, to sing 'Xanadu', which came from the film of the same name. The song was a top ten hit in many countries around the world in 1980.

Xanadu was the capital of Kubla Khan's dynasty and was razed in 1369 by the army of the Ming dynasty. Its legendary status comes from descriptions of it by Marco Polo and from the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, called 'Kubla Khan', published in 1797.

The full and original name of ELO is the Electric Light Orchestra, which soon became abbreviated to the initials, so your photo clue relates to the band name.