Food and Drink in Music - A Second Course Quiz

Answer: Red, Red Wine

The UB40 version of 'Red, Red Wine' finally reached number one on the Billboard 100 charts in October 1988, fully 20 years after Neil Diamond reached number 63.

Wine is an alcoholic drink usually made by fermenting grape juice, although wine can be made using just about any fruit or vegetable. It is believed that wine was first produced around about 6000BC in an area now known as Iran or Georgia.

Answer: Bread

With 13 hits on the American 'Billboard 100' between 1970 and 1977 Bread were a fairly sucessful group.


Bread is a staple food world-wide in various guises and probably dates back to neolithic times. There were, and are, many ways to make bread 'rise', natural, airborne yeasts require that the dough is left exposed to the air for a long period of time, Pliny the Elder stated that the 'Gauls and Iberians' scraped the foam from beer to produce a lighter bread. Now-a-days yeast is usually added to the dough which is then allowed to rise naturally.

Answer: Cold Turkey

Cold Turkey and mash, turkey sandwiches, turkey stew, turkey curry. All dishes that we British seem to be eating for weeks after Christmas.

As for the song; John Lennon took sole credit for writing 'Cold Turkey' which was released in 1969. His earlier solo recording 'Give Peace (or Peas) a Chance' was accredited, originally, to Lennon/McCartney, (this was later altered to give John Lennon alone the writing credits). Besides John Lennon, this recording featured, on lead guitar, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr on drums.

Answer: Hot Chocolate

'You Sexy Thing' was one of the top hits for Hot Chocolate charting in the UK charts as a top ten record on no less than 3 occasions, 1975, 1987 and 1997. Another big hit for Hot Chocolate was 'So You Win Again' released in 1975.

Or if you prefer:

A hot drink made with 'shaved' chocolate, cocoa powder or melted chocolate and heated milk or water. Float some marshmallows on the top for a really sticky, delicious drink.

Answer: Whiskey in the Jar

The origins of 'Whiskey in the Jar' (note the Irish spelling) are lost in the mists of time although it is generally believed to date from the 17th century. The basic story is of highwayman who robs a government official only to be betrayed by a woman. There are many versions set in various parts of Ireland and also parts of the United States.

Whiskey is distilled from fermented grain mash with different grains being used for different flavours.
Interestingly the word Whiskey (or Whisky for the Scottish)is derived from the Irish Gaelic 'uisce beatha' and/or Scottish Gaelic 'uisge beatha' which both translate as 'water of life' or, in Latin, 'Aqua Vitae' a phrase which had been applied to distilled drinks since the early 14th Century.

Answer: The Jam

1)Nautical . to head (a sailing ship) as nearly as possible into the wind without putting it in stays or putting it wholly aback. (as a Windjammer)

2)To put or place in position with a violent gesture. (as 'Jam a hat on your head')

3)A difficult or embarrassing situation; fix. (to be 'In a Jam')

Also a fruit preserve (in North America usually known as jelly) made by boiling fruit, sugar and water.

As for 'The Jam', they were a British band who charted on 18 consecutive occasions (British top 40 singles) between 1977 and 1982.

Answer: Meatloaf

Good old Meatloaf. Normally minced beef, breadcrumbs, onions and assorted herbs, pressed into a rectangular baking tin and cooked.

Oh sorry! my mistake, you wanted to know about the singer.

Mr. Aday, aka Meatloaf, has had a varied career starring in films and TV as well as releasing the odd recording - 'Bat Out of Hell' arguably being his most famous album (it sold nearly 43 million copies world wide).

Why did I introduce him as the main course? In 1975 he appeared in 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' as Eddie, a delivery boy, during the film Meatloaf was killed and served up as the main course.

My thanks to Joviwizard for pointing out that Meatloaf was actually born as Marvin Lee Aday.

Answer: Cake

Cake! What can I tell you about cake? A sweet baked food similar to bread, incorporating Eggs, Flour, sugar etc. Some are very 'bread like' - Brioche - whilst others are sweeter and more of a complete pudding - Black Forest Gateau.

'MacArthur park' was a #2 hit, in the US, for Richard Harris and a #1 for Donna Summer and has been covered by many other artistes.

Answer: Brown Sugar

'Brown Sugar' was released in 1971 off of the Rolling Stones 'Sticky Fingers' album, it was also the first single released on 'The Rolling Stones' record label.


Brown sugar is either an unrefined or a partially refined soft sugar, the distinctive brown colour is caused by the presence of molasses, a by product of the sugar refining technique, these days the molasses are usually added to refined white sugar so that a better uniformity of colour can be maintained.

Answer: Bed

Originally recorded in 1969 by Dusty Springfield and covered by many other people, including Justine "Baby" Washington and Shirley Bassey, 'Breakfast in Bed' was written by Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts specifically for Dusty.

UB40 took their name from a form used in the UK to obtain unemployment benefits.

Chrissie Hynde is best known as the lead singer of 'The Pretenders', who had a number of hit records in the UK and the US, including 'Brass in Pocket', 'Back on the Chain Gang' and 'Don't get me Wrong'.