Sorry Trivia Quiz

Answer: Elton John

"It's sad, so sad
It's a sad, sad situation.
And it's getting more and more absurd.
It's sad, so sad
Why can't we talk it over?
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word."

Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" reached number 11 in the UK, number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three in Canada in 1976. The British band Blue took it to number one in the UK in 2002.

Unusually, John wrote the music first and most of the lyrics and Taupin finished it off.
Taupin later said: "...it's one of the rare occasions when Elton played me a melody line that inspired a lyric, as opposed to our routine of the lyrics always coming first. He was messing around on the piano one day and was playing something and asked me what did I think. It was actually pretty immediate, the title and the first couple of lines came into my head in a way that I guess I felt they were already there and just needed a little prompting."

Answer: Mel Gibson

In 2006, Gibson was stopped on suspicion of drinking and driving. While in custody, he insulted and abused the arresting officers.

He later conceded he had been driving while he should not have been and the LA County Sheriffs who stopped him were doing their job

He said: "I am deeply ashamed of everything I said. Also, I take this opportunity to apologise to the deputies involved for my belligerent behaviour. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself.

"I disgraced myself and my family with my behaviour and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse.

"I apologise for any behaviour unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health."

Answer: Mark McGwire

He also said: "The only reason I took steroids was for my health purposes. I did not take steroids to get any gain for any strength purposes" and "performance-enhancing drugs are an illusion. I wish I had never gotten involved with steroids. It was wrong. It was stupid."

It should be pointed out that while the substances McGwire took were banned by many international sporting organisations, they were not prohibited at the time by the Major Baseball League.

Born in California in 1963, "Big Mac" hit 49 home runs in his rookie year, 1987, with the Oakland Athletics. He later played with the St Louis Cardinals.

When he retired in in 2001, he had a career record of 10.61 bats per home run. That put him ahead of such illustrious figures as Babe Ruth (11.76) and Barry Bonds (12.92).

McGwire turned to coaching after he retired.

Answer: Alec Baldwin

Born in New York City in 1958, Alec Baldwin was the oldest of four acting brothers.

He had a string of notable movie and television roles, and reached new heights of popularity/unpopularity (delete according to your own personal political prejudices) when he lampooned Donald J. Trump on "Saturday Night Live".

He also had a difficult personal life, including a stormy marriage to Kim Basinger, with whom he had a daughter, Ireland.

In 2007. Baldwin left a message on the phone of his 11-year-old daughter accusing her of being a "rude thoughtless pig" - among other things.

Answer: Patti Smith

Patti Smith was born in Chicago in 1946 and built a career as a singer, songwriter and artist.

A leading member of the US punk scene in the 1970s, her biggest hit was "Because the Night", a Billboard Hot 100 number 13 in 1978. She co-wrote it with Bruce Springsteen.

In 2016, she accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature on behalf of Bob Dylan when Dylan was "too busy" to pick it up himself.

Answer: Tiger Woods

Born in California in 1975, Woods was a golfing sensation.
Between 1997 and 2008, he won 14 'major' championships and was rated the word's number one player in terms of tournaments and prizemoney won.

Woods was also a sponsor's delight and made a fortune from endorsements.

It all came crashing down around him in 2009 (almost literally) when an extra-marital affair was revealed. A car crash following a row with his wife was also exposed.

In February 2010, Woods held a press conference and confessed: "I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame.

"I have let my family down, and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behaviour my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect."

Answer: Rupert Murdoch

Appearing before a House of Commons committee in 2011, Robert Murdoch also said "This is the most humble day of my life".

Newspapers that were part of his News International empire were guilty of hacking the mobile phones of a wide cross-section of society in order to publish scoops.

Many appeared in the "News Of The World". Famous, or infamous, for its salacious stories, the NOTW was once the most widely sold Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom. Scandals, particularly if they involved people dallying with partners they should not have been been dallying with, were a particular forte.

Answer: Australia

National Sorry Day was inaugurated in Australia in 1998 in order to mark the treatment of the indigenous Aborigine people since the arrival of western settlers.

In February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a speech formally apologising for the mistreatment of the native people.

In part he said: "We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

"The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

"We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians."

Answer: Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut in 1964, but later moved with his mother to New York City and then to Toronto.

He began acting in the theatre as a child and his first move role came in 1986. His first meaty role was in "River's Edge" later that year.

In the 1990s, a string of popular movies were made. He was rarely out of work after that on both the big screen and in television roles.

Answer: Connie Francis

"Who's sorry now? 
Who's sorry now?

Whose heart is achin' for breakin' each vow?

Who's sad and blue, who's cryin' too?
Just like I cried over you."


Published in 1923, "Who's Sorry Now?" became a Billboard Hot 100 number four for Connie Francis in 1958. It topped the charts in the United Kingdom.

Earlier it had featured in the the Marx Brothers movie "A Night in Casablanca" (1946).

The song saved the career of Connie Francis. Her record company was ready to drop her after a less-than-steller recording history of one modest hit in 20 releases.

Indeed, Francis had not wanted to record the song, but it was a favourite of her father and he convinced her to do it.

In a magazine interview she later said: ""We threw it in at the end of the [recording] session knowing that there was no way I was going to do four songs on that date. But there was 16 minutes left. So over the intercom I said, 'That's it, fellas, thanks a lot, we haven't got time.' My father said 'wait a second, you got 16 minutes left, cut the damn song.' So it was like pulling teeth. I looked at the arranger and said, 'okay, let's go through this turkey. My father likes this song.' He said 'alright, let's do it.' So we did it. And I did half a take, and the tempo was wrong. I did one other take and that was it. That's all there was time to do. That's how the record came out."