Artless, Breathless, or Even Less Quiz

Answer: Dick Tracy

'I'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film "Dick Tracy"' was released in 1990, as part of the promotional package for the subsequent release of the film. 'Dick Tracy' was based on the comic strip that debuted in the 1930s, and starred Warren Beatty in the title role, with Glenn Headley playing Tess Trueheart, his true love, and Madonna's character trying to steal his affections. Other villains were played by Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman and James Caan, among many others.

As the album title suggests, most of the songs on 'I'm Breathless' are written and performed in styles reminiscent of the late 1930s and 1940s. 'Vogue', however, is more of a 1980s song, with a clear disco feel to it. Its contemporary feel may explain why it was chosen as the first single to be released from the album, and account for its subsequent worldwide popularity.

The other films in the answer options are also related to Madonna: 'A Certain Sacrifice' was her 1979 film debut; 'Evita' earned her a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in 1997; the 2008 release of 'Filth and Wisdom' marked her directing debut.

Answer: Jerry Lee Lewis

While all of the listed performers, and more, have released versions of 'Breathless', it was Jerry Lee "The Killer" Lewis who was the first to do so. Along with 'Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On' and 'Great Balls of Fire' (also written by Blackwell), it was one of five singles released before his first album, the 1958 'High School Confidential'. 'Breathless' was released by Sun Records, with 'Down the Line' as the B-side.

Otis Blackwell was also responsible for writing such well-known songs as 'All Shook Up', 'Don't Be Cruel', 'Return to Sender' (recorded by Elvis Presley), and 'Fever', which became Peggy Lee's signature tune.

Answer: Paul Simon

'Paul Simon' was released in 1972, two years after he and Art Garfunkel had split up following the release of the iconic album 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'. It was followed by 'There Goes Rhymin' Simon' (1973) and 'Still Crazy After All These Years' (1975); 'Graceland', released in 1986, brought him back to commercial prominence after a period of little musical activity.

'Mother and Child Reunion' was recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, with a reggae backing group. It marked one of Simon's earliest attempts to integrate music from other cultures into his work. This urge had also been seen in 'El Condor Pasa', a cover version by Simon & Garfunkel of a Peruvian song (which Simon believed to be a traditional folk song rather than a composition based on them - but that's another story), and reached full expression in 'Graceland', which featured performances with a number of South African bands, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Answer: Breathless

This 1978 album had nine tracks, including the title track and the song 'Echoes', which became one of the band's most popular songs. It was also the last album to include Peter Bardens, the original keyboard player for the group. Camel evolved from a trio called The Brew (Andrew Latimer, Andy Ward and Doug Ferguson) who recruited Bardens and performed with him once under the name Peter Barderns' On before adopting the name Camel in 1971.

The band stopped working in 1984, but Latimer revived the name (with a new lineup) in the 1990s.

Answer: 'Abattoir Blues'/'The Lyre of Orpheus'

'Abattoir Blues' / 'The Lyre of Orpheus' was the 13th studio album released by this Australian alternative rock band. 'Abbatoir Blues' had nine tracks, and 'The Lyre of Orpheus' had eight, including 'O Children' and 'Breathless'. An alternate mix of 'Breathless' was released as a single, both as a CD and on vinyl. Interestingly, the two CDs released as a pair used different drummers, as it was felt that their musical styles had significantly different requirements.

'O Children', the only song used in any Harry Potter film that was not specifically written for the movie, was used in the scene where Harry and Hermione dance in their tent.

Answer: Even Less

'Even Less' appeared on the album 'Stupid Dream', originally released in March of 1999. Actually, the album only included the first seven minutes of the song's original 17! A totally different section of the song was included on a CD single from the album, 'Stranger by the Minute' (but not the vinyl single); the 2001 compilation album 'Recordings' has a combination of these two fragments.

This last version is included as a bonus track on the 2006 re-release in DVD-A format.

Answer: Dominic Appleton

Breathless, composed of Dominic Appleton, Gary Mundy, Ari Neufeld and Tristram Latimer-Sayer, released their first single 'Waterland' / 'Second Heaven 7"' in 1984, and their first album 'The Glass Bead Game' in 1986, both on the Tenor Vossa label. In 1987 Martyn Watts replaced Tristram Latimer-Sayer as percussionist.

Dominic Appleton appeared on the 1986 album 'Filigree and Shadow', recorded by This Mortal Coil, on which he is given vocal credits for 'The Jeweller', 'Tarantula', and 'Strength of Strings'.

Answer: Pagan Lorn

'Artless Treatment' was the third track on the band's first CD, 'Black Wedding', released in 1996. Pagan Lorn had a brief but impactful recording career, producing a demo tape in 1995 and a second CD called 'Nihilennium' released in 1998, as well as 'Black Wedding'. The song 'Artless Treatment' describes life as a process of creating yourself in the same way that an artist creates a work of art, as can be seen from this sample of the lyrics:

"Your life turns into art
You become your own work

Time is the hammer
Pain is the chisel
You are the artist
Obey your master
Love your scars
Kiss your wreck
A body tells a story
You have to write it

A masterpiece needs time
A good life needs scars
An artwork needs pain
A human body needs signs
A new art needs energy"

Answer: Eurovision Song Contest

Sonia Dronier was born in France, but has spent most of her musical life in Belgium, host country for the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest. She adopted her stage name from a character in the 1942 film 'Casablanca' - Viktor Lazlo (Paul Henreid) is married to Ilse Lund (Ingrid Bergman), who arrives in the Casablancan nightclub run by Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) to seek Rick's assistance in helping her husband elude the Nazis who are pursuing him following his escape from a concentration camp. You know the rest. Viktor Lazlo (the singer) has released over ten albums, often with bilingual releases - a French version, and an English version for worldwide release.

The Eurovision Song Contest is a European institution, in which member countries of the European Broadcasting Union participate. Each country nominates an act to perform live on television, and be voted on by panels from the competing countries. The competition structure is too complex to explain here, but it makes oddly compelling television, and is one of the largest non-sports events (in terms of viewing audience) on television. The contest is held in the country whose representative won the previous year's competition. Since the Belgian singer Sandra Kim won the 1986 Eurovision, the 1987 contest, which was the 32nd time the event had been held, was held in Brussels, and was won by the representative of Ireland, Johnny Logan, who became the first performer to win the contest twice. In 1974, ABBA rose to world attention with their winning entry for Sweden, 'Waterloo'; in 1988 Celine Dion represented Switzerland with 'Ne partez pas sans moi', and won.

Answer: Less is More

Even formed in 1994 when Ashley Naylor (lead vocals / guitar) and Wally Kempton (bass / backing vocals), who had been playing together since high school, teamed up with Matthew Cotter (drums). Their first album, 'Less is More', was released in 1996 on the Rubber label, following the release of three EPs earlier in the same year.

It was a critical success, and was nominated for Best Independent Release at the ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) Awards. In 2008, it was included in a list of the Top 50 Australian Albums of All Time produced by the Melbourne newspaper 'The Age'.