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Quiz about Boomtown Rats I Dont Like Mondays

Boomtown Rats: I Don't Like Mondays Quiz

The Boomtown Rats song and the real-life events that inspired it.

A multiple-choice quiz by ubermom. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
ubermom

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
312,482

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
502

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. "I Don't Like Mondays" was inspired by a story that came over the telex while Bob Geldof was in a radio station, waiting to be interviewed.

True

False

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Question 2 of 10

2. The song's title and repeated line, "I Don't Like Mondays", is an actual quote. Who was Bob Geldof quoting? Hint

Burton Wragg, principal of the school, speaking to a teacher just before the shooting began

Brenda Spencer, explaining why she'd shot out her window at children

Wallace Spencer, Brenda's father, making a cryptic comment nobody could make any sense of

Richard Sachs, the District Attorney, pondering why the worst crimes seemed to happen on Mondays

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. "All the playing's stopped in the playground now," Geldof sings. But though the line is poetic, the children weren't actually playing in the playground when Spencer opened fire.

True

False

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. "And school's out early and soon we'll be learning and the lesson today is how to die," Geldof sings. How many children were killed in the shooting? Hint

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Question 5 of 10

5. "Sweet sixteen ain't so peachy keen," Geldof sings. What is this a reference to? Hint

The age of one of Spencer's victims

The age of shooter Brenda Spencer

The fact that Brenda Spencer got the gun for her 16th birthday

Nothing; Spencer was actually 17 at the time, but 16 made a better rhyme

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Question 6 of 10

6. "I Don't Like Mondays" was first performed less than a month after the shooting.

True

False

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "I Don't Like Mondays" was a bigger hit in the US, where the shooting had happened, than in the UK, on the Boomtown Rats' home turf.

True

False

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. "There are no reasons," Geldof repeatedly sings of Brenda Spencer's shooting rampage. But according to Spencer, this wasn't true. Why did she later say she shot at the children? Hint

She had been molested by her father

She was trying to commit "suicide by cop"

She was strung out on drugs at the time

All of these

9. "I Don't Like Mondays" was written in the pre-digital age, when songs were released as 45-rpm singles with an "A" side (the song considered most marketable) and a "B" side. Did Geldoff originally intend "I Don't Like Mondays" as an "A" side release?

Yes

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Question 10 of 10

10. One piece of truly useless trivia: Which British actor played the piano opening of "I Don't Like Mondays" in character on a US television show? Hint

Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard

Hugh Laurie as Dr. House

Tim Curry as Roger in an episode of "Roseanne"

Eric Idle as Chuck in an episode of "Frazier"

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "I Don't Like Mondays" was inspired by a story that came over the telex while Bob Geldof was in a radio station, waiting to be interviewed.

Answer: True

"The telex machine is kept so clean and it types to a waiting world." In this case, it was typing the story of how 16-year-old Brenda Spencer broke up her dull Monday by shooting out her bedroom window at children in the school playground across the street.

2. The song's title and repeated line, "I Don't Like Mondays", is an actual quote. Who was Bob Geldof quoting?

Answer: Brenda Spencer, explaining why she'd shot out her window at children

A reporter using a reverse telephone directory called Brenda Spencer's house and asked her why she was firing shots into a school playground. She replied, "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day." Geldof was struck by the meaninglessness of the answer.

The principal, Burton Wragg, was killed in the shooting as he tried to usher children into the safety of the building. Head custodian Mike Suchar had rushed over to help Wragg and was also shot dead.

District Attorney Richard Sachs' comment on Spencer was, "She probably was and still is a miserable person through and through. But her way of dealing with the misery was to spread it around." Wallace Spencer had given Brenda the gun for Christmas. She said she'd asked for a radio.

3. "All the playing's stopped in the playground now," Geldof sings. But though the line is poetic, the children weren't actually playing in the playground when Spencer opened fire.

Answer: true

Recess had just ended, and the children were filing back into the building.

4. "And school's out early and soon we'll be learning and the lesson today is how to die," Geldof sings. How many children were killed in the shooting?

Answer: 0

Principal Burton Wragg and head custodian Mike Suchar died heroically ushering the children into the safety of the building. Eight children were wounded, as was a police officer.

5. "Sweet sixteen ain't so peachy keen," Geldof sings. What is this a reference to?

Answer: The age of shooter Brenda Spencer

Brenda got the gun for Christmas, not for her birthday. The children she shot at were all elementary school aged.

6. "I Don't Like Mondays" was first performed less than a month after the shooting.

Answer: true

Boomtown Rats first performed the song at Fox Theatre, San Diego on February 27, 1979 -- in the city where the shooting had taken place, just 29 days after the rampage. However, San Diego radio stations didn't play the track for several years, out of respect for the sensitivities of those affected by the shooting.

7. "I Don't Like Mondays" was a bigger hit in the US, where the shooting had happened, than in the UK, on the Boomtown Rats' home turf.

Answer: false

"I Don't Like Mondays" was a U.K. #1 hit from July 28 to August 18, 1979. But in the United States, it never rose higher than #73 on Billboard's Hot 100.

8. "There are no reasons," Geldof repeatedly sings of Brenda Spencer's shooting rampage. But according to Spencer, this wasn't true. Why did she later say she shot at the children?

Answer: All of these

Wallace Spencer never commented on the case himself, or about the molestation claims. Coverage of her parole hearings mention Spencer's claims of molestation, drug use, and suicidal depression, but indicate that though Brenda Spencer was emotionally volatile and unstable, there was never any real evidence to support her claims. So perhaps there really were no reasons.

Answer: no

The Boomtown Rats only released "I Don't Like Mondays" as an "A" side after it proved very popular in their US concert tour.

10. One piece of truly useless trivia: Which British actor played the piano opening of "I Don't Like Mondays" in character on a US television show?

Answer: Hugh Laurie as Dr. House

Although those other British actors really did play those parts on American television, only Hugh Laurie tickled the ivories with "I Don't Like Mondays". In the episode, "Half Wit", Dr. House plays the piano for a patient with musical dystonia. The patient exactly replicates Dr. House's performance.

Source: Author ubermom

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