Short and Sweet Trivia Quiz

Answer: Them

Them formed in the Maritime Hotel, Belfast when Van Morrison teamed up with The Gamblers from East Belfast. Besides "Gloria" (1964), their other big hit was a cover of Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" (1964). The group toured the US in 1965, marketed as part of the British Invasion but split apart whilst touring with Van Morrison going on to have a successful solo career.

Answer: Lobo

It was 1971 and it was a big welcome to the Billboard Hot 100, Lobo. His debut single soared to number five on these charts and paved the way for a string of similar styled "easy listening" tracks. Lobo, real name Roland Kent LaVoie, would follow this success with tracks such as "Simple Man", "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend" and "I'd Love You to Want Me" in the following year. Lobo continued to record for a number of years but the record to achieve anything in line with the above songs was "Where Were You When I Was Falling in Love" in 1979.

Answer: INXS

INXS rose from a Perth band called the Farriss Brothers who combined hard edged pub rock with funk and dance elements to create their own unique sound. Lead by their charismatic lead singer Michael Hutchence, they rose to prominence across the globe with a string of successful albums such as "The Swing" (1984), "Listen Like Thieves" (1985) and "Kick" (1987).

They would be nominated for Grammys on three separate occasions; 1988: "Kick", 1990: "Suicide Blonde" and 1994: "Beautiful Girl".

Answer: Bush

In 1992 Gavin Rossdale from Midnight met former King Blank guitarist Nigel Pulsford as they shared a fondness for The Pixies, an American alt-rock group. Bassist Dave Parsons and drummer Robin Goodridge were recruited. They struggled but success came when they sent a copy of their debut album to KROQ in Los Angeles.

They never looked back. Four singles came from "Sixteen Stone", the most well known, "Glycerine" won an MTV Music Award. They were nominated in 1998 for a Grammy in the Best Hard Rock Performance.

In 2017, they released their seventh studio album, "Black and White Rainbows".

Answer: Sade

After brief stints as a fashion designer, model and backing singer for the band Pride, Sade formed her own band, signed to Epic Records and released her debut album "Diamond Life" in 1984. It sold over six million copies to become the best selling debut album by a British female vocalist. Little wonder it succeeded, boasting the sexy smooth "Your Love is King", the wistful "Hang On to Your Love" and the totally sublime "Smooth Operator".

In 1986 she and her band would win the Grammy for Best New Artist.

Answer: Muse

The three members of Muse met at college in Devon, England in the early 90s and formed Carnage Mayhem which became Rocket Baby Dolls with a Goth/Glam image. They changed their name to Muse, and released the "Muse" EP in 1996. Their distinctive style featured Matt Bellamy's falsetto singing voice and arpeggiated guitar came to the fore and the popularity of the group exploded with the release of their second album.

Their sound can range from progressive metal through to art rock. They are influenced by literature, in particularly science fiction.

They won their first two Grammys for Best Rock Album in 2011 ("The Resistance") and 2016 ("Drones").

Answer: Cat

Born Steven Demetre Georgiou he performed initially as Cat Stevens before changing his name to Yusuf Islam. Stevens came to prominence in the late 1960s, early 1970s in what was the era for guitar wielding singer-songwriters. His debut album "Matthew and Son" would climb into the Top Ten of the UK album charts in 1967 but it was his albums "Tea For the Tillerman" (1970) and the follow-up "Teaser and the Firecat" (1971) that would rocket him to stardom.

These two albums, containing the songs in the question, would both be certified triple platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

In 1977 he converted to Islam. Two years later he auctioned off his guitars and devoted himself to promoting education with the Muslim communities.

Answer: Live

This line-up (originally known as First Aid) - the classic two guitars, bass and drums with the rhythm guitarist Ed Kowalczyk singing lead and the main songwriter, have sold over 20 million records in the US alone. By far the biggest was "Throwing Copper" in 1994 featuring two massive singles, "Selling the Drama" and "Lightning Crashes".

It reached thenumber one position on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1995 after 52 weeks on the chart. It has sold overeight million copies.

Answer: Aqua

Aqua had a massive worldwide hit with their single "Barbie Girl" in 1997. The song was laced with a number of sly double entendres and Mattel jumped up and down that this had placed a slur on the wholesome image of their "Barbie" doll and damaged the brand. Judge Alex Kozinski writing for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit basically told them to "Chill".

Answer: Devo

This group (like The National) featured two sets of brothers in their line-up. Known for their science fiction themes, cynical lyrics and dry humour, this band developed a cult following. They secured a Warner Brothers recording contract with the recommendations of David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

Despite their nine studio albums between 1978-2010, their recording success did not match their popularity when they played live. "Beautiful World" hit top twenty in Australia in 1981 but the group could never emulate the success of 1980's "Whip it" which reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.

Answer: Asia

Asia was a "prog-rock" from the UK with an extraordinary amount of talent. John Wetton, the lead vocalist and bass guitarist, came from King Crimson, Carl Palmer was from Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Steve Howe (guitar) and Geoff Downe (keyboards) were both from Yes. Geoff Downe was also with The Buggles ("Video Killed the Radio Star") for a while.

Their self titled debut album, released in 1982, spawned the hits "Heat of the Moment" and "Only Time Will Tell" and went to number one in several countries around the globe.

The band has continued to perform since but has endured numerous line-up changes and has never matched the success of its first album.

Answer: T.Rex

Formed in 1967, by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan, this group was originally called Tyrannosaurus Rex, it was shortened to T.Rex in 1970. Their success was compared to the Beatles with 11 consecutive UK top ten singles. Four went to number one between 1970 and 1973: "Hot Love"; "Get It On"; "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru".

Their 1970 Album"Electric Warrior" reached number one in the UK. It was seen as the pioneer glam rock album. The group fell apart after Marc Bolan died in a car crash in 1977.

Answer: Blur

The single is called "Song 2" and it is often, erroneously, called "Woo Hoo". The track appears on the band's 1997 self titled album and it "Song 2" appropriately reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, number four in Australia and as high as six on Billboard's Alternative Charts. Led by the incredibly talented Damon Alban the band formed in 1988 and released a string of successful albums such as released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995), which placed them at the front of the Britpop movement.

Answer: Cure

Since forming in 1976 the band has seen numerous line-up changes. Smith, their principal songwriter, has been their one constant. The band drew criticism and controversy with their debut single "Killing An Arab" (1978) but managed to put this behind them and shot to global success with tracks such as "Let's Go To Bed" (1982), "Lovesong" (1989) and "Friday I'm in Love" (1992).

Answer: KISS

KISS were on tour, their 1974 album "Hotter Than Hell" was dying in the charts and their record label was peeved that the band had failed to capture the incredible energy that they radiated on stage, on vinyl. They called them back to the studio and demanded results. With no new songs the band dipped into their back catalogue and came up with the idea of an arena style anthem in the vein of "I Want to Take You Higher", a Sly and the Family Stone hit.

A frustrated Stanley came up with the line "I want to rock and roll all night, and party every day". Gene Simmons (reportedly) suggested an old number "Drive Me Wild" would work well with it.

The song "Rock & Roll All Nite" (1974) was born and the rest is history.