Desert Island Discs Part Five Trivia Quiz

Answer: Flirt

"Little Town Flirt" was a number four hit for Del Shannon on the UK singles chart in 1963. It reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year.

The first Del Shannon record that I bought was "Hey Little Girl" in 1962. I started out trying to buy "You Never Talked About Me" after seeing him sing it in the pop music movie "It's Trad Dad" but I didn't realize it was the B-Side until I left the record shop with it. Unfortunately Del Shannon, Roy Orbison and many others suddenly became yesterdays heroes when The Beatles hit their stride in 1963. I am glad they hung on for a few years because even though I became a big Beatles fan I was still buying their records.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie

Answer: Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet

As an emotional piece, it takes some beating. Apart from making us weep and wonder, it should make us be grateful for our lot. Catch it on on You Tube and you will see why I chose it for one of my desert island discs. It will remind me that even an old, sick and homeless man found some reason to hope.

Question supplied by Waitakere.

Answer: Sky Pilot

"Sky Pilot" is the story of a military chaplain, also know as a "Sky Pilot". In the beginning of the song, he is giving his blessings to a troop of young soldiers about to go into battle. Then all he can do is wait until the men return. In the middle of the song, we hear the sounds of the battle. Then the men (those that are still alive, that is) return.

"In the morning they return
With tears in their eyes
The stench of death drifts up to the skies
A soldier so ill looks at the sky pilot
Remembers the words
'Thou shalt not kill'".

This one is my personal favorite of The Animals' songs.

Question submitted by kennell

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

"Dance of the Knights", also known as "Montagues and Capulets", is from the ballet "Romeo and Juliet" which was written by the Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev in 1935. He based the ballet on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The ballet had its premiere in 1938 in Brno in the present-day Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia). "The Dance of the Knight" is the 13th piece of music in the ballet, and is heard in Scene Two of Act One.

"Montagues and Capulets/Dance of the Knights" has been used many times in film and television. It is well known in the UK for the British and Irish versions of "The Apprentice". It has been used in "The Simpsons", in a Canadian TV show, a French TV commercial for a Chanel's fragrance and in ads on Japanese TV. The music was also used as the film title music for "Caligula". The music has also been used by UK football clubs, and in a video game.

Question submitted by wenray.

Answer: God Only Knows

Paul McCartney has said this is favourite song of all time and Bono also rates it highly. The music was written by Brian Wilson and the lyrics by Tony Asher.

It came in at number 25 in the Rolling Stone magazine's best 500 songs of all time, deservedly so in my opinion! However, it has seldom been chosen on Desert Island Discs. Amongst those who have chosen it are Tim Smit (founder of the Eden Project), actor Gorden Kaye (René Artois in "'Allo 'Allo!"), singer David Essex, and screenwriter/novelist Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

"Help Me, Rhonda" came out in 1965 and was featured on the album "Today!". "Then I Kissed Her" wasn't a Beach Boys original but their take on The Crystals' hit "Then He Kissed Me". The Beach Boys version came out in 1967. "Barbara Ann" isn't a Beach Boys original either, but they did release a version in 1965.

Question supplied by scotsbluebell now a member of the Kilted Kangas team.

Answer: Chimes of Freedom

This is from the LP "Another Side of Bob Dylan". Bob explores the plight of people who are oppressed or otherwise treated unjustly. Yes, I know many, many Bob Dylan songs fit that description, but this one is definitely my favorite.

Bruce Springsteen never released it as a single, but it got to number 16 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Question supplied by rebelyank.

Answer: John Coltrane

By the time Coltrane recorded the album "Olé Coltrane", he was already recording for another label (Impulse), but don't you dare think it a throwaway contract-filler (for Atlantic), and I doubt he thought in those terms.

The title track, just called "Olé", doesn't really fit in with the rest of the album which explores African musical themes rather than Hispanic, and actually the album doesn't really work as a complete piece in the way that Coltrane's later albums do (think "Love Supreme"). Nevertheless, it's a fantastic track, and the one I put on most often, although choosing a favourite Coltrane track is as hard as deciding which fine red wine to go with your birthday steak. Coltrane plays soprano saxophone on the track, and it also features two of my other favourite jazz legends, McCoy Tyner on piano and Elvin Jones on the drums.

I'm taking it to the desert island as it's one of the few tracks I can listen to again and again back to back (despite it lasting over 18 minutes) and always hear something new.

The red herrings: Coltrane worked with Miles Davis for a very fruitful yet intense period in the 1950s. Coltrane was a huge admirer of Charlie Parker and performed with him in the 1940s. John Coltrane and Duke Ellington made a great album together in 1962.

Question supplied by thula2.

Answer: 12 years

Tolkien took 12 years to write "Lord of the Rings". He commenced writing it in 1937, after he had finished "The Hobbit". He wrote the book in stages, mostly during World War II, and completed it in 1949. The book is one of the best-selling novels ever written, and has sold over an estimated 150 million copies.

"Lord of the Rings" was first published in three volumes, the first on 21 July 1954, the second on 11 November 1954 and the third on 20 October 1955. Tolkien originally wrote the novel as a serial for his son Christopher, and he sent chapters to Christopher whilst Christopher was serving in South Africa with the Royal Air Force. The original manuscript, which is now in a museum, totalled 9,250 pages.

The book has been adapted for radio, firstly in 1955 and 1956, when it was broadcast by the BBC as a 12-part radio serial. It has been adapted for radio many times since.

An animated film was made in 1978. It was intended that two films would be made to tell the complete story, but only one was ever made, and therefore was incomplete, however a made-for-TV sequel was made in 1980. New Zealand director, Peter Jackson, made three blockbuster movies of the novel, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001), "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002), and "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" (2003). The third movie won 11 Oscars.

Question supplied by wenray.

Answer: pillow

The older (and wiser) I get, the more I realize the importance and value of a good pillow. Have you ever gone camping or some other outing and forgotten a pillow? Pure torment!

Question supplied by rebelyank.

Answer: Visual artist

The Turner Prize, which takes its name from the Romantic English painter J. M. W. Turner, was started in 1984 and annually awards a British artist with a lump sum of money. Beyond the pecuniary benefit of winning, the exposure gained is priceless despite the fact that as far as the general public is concerned the event is seen as a sham, as is the bulk of contemporary art.

When Grayson Perry won for his extraordinary ceramic vases, which often have semi-biographical scenes depicted upon their surfaces, the media circus tended to focus on his transvestism rather than his art. When his work was discussed, the unconventional eroticism and dark violence were deemed obscene. However, on closer inspection they display a huge array of emotions, from tenderness to fragility, and prove Perry to be one of the art world's most brutally frank and open artists. On the show, the host Kirsty Young reminds him that fellow-Turner-Prize-winner Damien Hirst said "If he hadn't been an artist, he would have been a serial killer", at which Perry guffawed.

Perry chose The Fall's "Hip Priest" from 1982's "Hex Induction Hour". The Motörhead track was "Killed By Death", which was released as a single in 1984. He was the first ever guest to choose Motörhead.

Question supplied by thula2.