Dead Singers Society UK Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lonnie Donegan

Lonnie Donegan was born Anthony James Donegan in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1936. He died in Peterborough, England, in 2002 aged 71 after suffering a heart attack while on a tour of the UK.

Lonnie Donegan's first UK hit was "Rock Island Line" which reached number eight on the chart in 1956. It also reached number eight on the US pop chart the same year. His last UK hit was "Pick A Bale Of Cotton" which reached number 11 on the chart in 1962, (just under two months before The Beatles hit the UK chart for the first time and changed everything). It did not chart in the US. He had 28 successive UK Top 30 hits (not all Skiffle music) between 1956 and 1962. Seventeen of these were Top 10 hits and three of those, "Cumberland Gap", "Gamblin' Man/Putting On The Style" and "My Old Man's A Dustman" reached number one. He was the first British male singer to have two US Top 10 hits.

Answer: Adam Faith

Adam Faith was born Terence Nelhams-Wright in London, England, in 1940. He died in Stoke-On-Trent, England, in 2003 aged 62. He was taken ill after a stage performance with a touring production of "Love And Marriage" and died of a heart attack in hospital the next day. He was the eponymous hero of the UK TV series "Budgie" (he played Ronald "Budgie" Bird) which ran from 1971 to 1972.

Adam Faith's first UK hit was "What Do You Want" which reached number one for three weeks in 1959. It did not chart in the US. His last UK hit was "Cheryl's Goin' Home" which reached number 46 in 1966. It did not chart in the US. He had 20 UK Top 30 hits between 1959 and 1966. Eleven of these were Top 10 hits and two of those, "What Do You Want" and "Poor Me" reached number one. He had two US Hot 100 hits "It's Alright" reached number 31 in 1965 and "Talk About Love" which reached number 97 in 1965. Neither of these charted in the UK.

Answer: Johnny Kidd

Johnny Kidd was born Frederick Albert Heath in London, England, in 1935. He died in Breightmet near Bury, England, in 1966 aged 30. He was killed in a car crash while on tour but if not for a cancelled performance in Bolton, he may never have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Johnny Kidd and The Pirates first UK hit was "Please Don't Touch" which reached number 25 on the chart in 1959. It did not chart in the US. Their last UK hit was "Always And Ever" which reached number 46 on the chart in 1964. It did not chart in the US. Johnny Kidd and The Pirates had seven UK Top 30 hits between 1959 and 1964. Two of these were Top 10 hits and one of those "Shakin' All Over", reached number one for one week in 1960. They had no chart hits in the US.

Answer: Billy Fury

Billy Fury was born Ronald Wycherley in Liverpool, England, in 1940. He died in London, England, in 1983 aged 42 of heart failure in hospital after being found unconscious at home. He had recently been recording new songs and a performance for TV.

Billy Fury's first UK hit was "Maybe Tomorrow" which reached number 18 on the chart in 1959. It did not chart in the US. His last UK hit was "Forget Him" which reached number 59 on the chart in 1983. It did not chart in the US.
He had 23 Top 30 hits between 1959 and 1966. Eleven of these were Top 10 hits but he never achieved a number one hit. "Jealousy" was his biggest hit, it reached number two in 1961. He never had a chart hit in the US.

Answer: Matt Monro

Matt Monro was born Terence Edward Parsons in London, England, in 1930. He died in London, England, in 1985 aged 54 from liver cancer.

Matt Monro's first and biggest UK hit was "Portrait Of My Love" which reached number three on the chart in 1960. It did not chart in the US. His last UK hit was "And You Smiled" which reached number 28 on the chart in 1973. It did not chart in the US. He had nine UK Top 30 hits between 1960 and 1973. Five of these were Top 10 hits but he never achieved a number one hit. He had three hits on the US Hot 100 between 1961 and 1964. "My Kind Of Girl" was his only US Top 20 hit, it reached number 18 in 1961.

Answer: Lord Sutch

Self titled Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow was born David Edward Sutch in London, England, in 1940. He died in London, England, in 1999 aged 58. Suffering from depression he committed suicide by hanging.

Known as Screaming Lord Sutch and backed by his band The Savages he released numerous records but never had a hit on the UK chart. He was well known for his horror themed stage shows. One of the most popular was when he dressed as Jack the Ripper which was also the title of his best known record, released in 1963. He stood for parliament for the National Teenage Party in 1963 and got 208 votes. In the General Election of 1964 he stood against the serving Prime Minister Harold Wilson and got 518 votes. He formed the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 1983 and was it's leader until 1999, standing in over 40 elections. He may have been immortalized in The Rolling Stones record "Get Off Of My Cloud". He may be the guy in the line, "Then in flies a guy who's all dressed up just like a Union Jack". The story is that he turned up uninvited in Mick Jagger's room. Or it could allude to Pete Townshend of The Who, who wore a Union Jack jacket. I sent a text to Mick about it but as of this time he has not got back to me. Perhaps when he plays the quiz he will send me a correction notice if necessary.

Answer: The Tornados

Heinz was born Heinz Henry George Burt in Detmold, Germany, in 1942. He died in Eastleigh, England, in 2000 aged 57 after suffering from motor neurone disease.

Before he left to go solo in 1963, Heinz was the bass player with the UK group The Tornados. The Tornados first UK hit was "Telstar" which was number one for five weeks on the chart in 1962. It was number one for three weeks on the US chart the same year. Their last UK hit was "Dragonfly" which reached number 41 on the chart in 1963. It did not chart in the US. Heinz's first UK hit was "Just Like Eddie" (a tribute to Eddie Cochran) which reached number five on the chart in 1963. It did not chart in the US. His last UK hit was "Diggin' My Potatoes" (Heinz and the Wild Boys) which reached number 49 on the chart in 1965. It did not chart in the US. Heinz who recorded for record producer Joe Meek, owned the shotgun that Meek used to kill his landlady and himself in 1967.

Answer: The Searchers

Tony Jackson was born Anthony Paul Jackson in Liverpool, UK, in 1940. He died in Nottingham, England, in 2003 aged 63 after being admitted to hospital suffering from cirrhosis of the liver.

Before he went solo in 1964, Tony Jackson was the bass player and vocalist with the UK group The Searchers. The Searchers first UK chart hit was "Sweets For My Sweet", a number one hit for two weeks in 1963. It did not chart in US. Their last UK chart hit was "Have You Ever Loved Somebody" a number 48 hit in 1966. It reached number 94 on the US pop chart the same year. Tony Jackson & The Vibrations only UK chart hit was "Bye Bye Baby" which reached number 38 in 1964. It did not chart in the US. Tony Jackson had a number of medical problems over the years and a life long problem with alcohol. If he had not fallen off stage drunk at the Cavern club in front of Brian Epstein who may have signed up The Searchers, their careers and his life may have turned out very different.

Answer: Frankie Vaughan

Frankie Vaughan was born Frank Abelson in Liverpool, UK, in 1928. He died in Oxford, England, in 1999 aged 71 from heart failure.

His first UK chart hit was "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" which reached number 11 in 1954. It did not chart in the US. His last UK chart hit was "Nevertheless" which reached number 29 in 1968. It did not chart in the US. Frankie Vaughan had two number one hits on the UK chart. "The Garden Of Eden" was number one for four weeks in 1957 and "Tower Of Strength" was number one for three weeks in 1961. Neither of these records charted in the US. His only chart hit in the US was "Judy" which reached number 22 in 1958, it did not chart in the UK. He made several movies, among them was the 1960 movie "Let's Make Love" starring Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand and Tony Randall.

Answer: Marc Bolan

Marc Bolan was born Mark Feld in London, UK, in 1947. He died in Barnes, England, in 1977 aged 29. He was a passenger in a car when the driver lost control less than a mile from his home, hitting a tree and killing him instantly.

His first UK chart hit (as Tyrannosaurus Rex) was "Debora" which reached number 34 in 1968 and number seven in 1972. It did not chart in the US. His last UK chart hit (in his lifetime), as T. Rex was "The Soul Of My Suit" which reached number 42 in 1977. It did not chart in the US. He had eighteen UK Top 30 hits between 1968 and 1977. Eleven of these were Top 10 hits of which four reached number one. His second UK number one hit "Get It On" was number one for three weeks in 1971. As "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" it reached number 10 on the US chart in 1972, it was his only US Top 40 hit.