Britain and Ireland Trivia Quiz

Answer: London

This song was the turning point of Ralph McTell's career, and the song has since been covered by artists such as Roger Whittaker, Sinead O'Connor and Christy Moore. The lyrics for the chorus are, "So how can you tell me you're lonely, and say for you that the sun doesn't shine? Oh let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London. I'll show you something to make you change your mind."

Answer: Dover

Dame Vera Lynn is well-known for touring war zones, becoming affectionately known as "The Forces' Sweetheart". The song also had top 20 success in the US with Glenn Miller, Kate Smith, Sammy Kaye and Jimmy Dorsey. It starts, "There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover, tomorrow, just you wait and see.

There'll be love and laughter and peace ever after, tomorrow, when the world is free."

Answer: Essex

David Essex was born in 1947 and was voted No.1 British Male Vocalist of 1974. He rose to fame after playing the role of Jesus in the stage musical "Godspell" in 1971/72, paving the way for a highly successful theatre, film and music career. His other appearances include roles in "Evita", "Silver Dream Racer", "Mutiny" and "She Stoops To Conquer".

Answer: Carlisle

Belinda Carlisle was born in Hollywood in 1958 and was the lead singer of the all-girl rock group, The Go-Gos. Her other hits in the British charts as an individual artist include, "Circle In The Sand" (1988), "Leave A Light On" (1989) and "(We Want) The Same Thing" (1990).

Answer: Bolton

Born in Connecticut in 1953, Michael Bolton first performed under his real name, Michael Bolotin and was the frontman in the groups, The Nomads and Blackjack. His other most famous hits are, "How Can We Be Lovers", "When A Man Loves A Woman" and "Can I Touch You ... There".

Answer: Warwick

Dionne Warwick, born in New Jersey in 1940, also had Top 10 hits in the UK with, "Walk On By" (1964), "Do You Know The Way To San Jose" (1968) and "All The Love In The World" (1982). In 1971, she added an "e" to the end of her surname which would have made her ineligible for this quiz, had she not changed it back in 1975. Dionne is the cousin of one of the most famous female vocalists of all time, Whitney Houston.

Answer: Wembley

The "new" Wembley Stadium is due to open in 2006 but this date is by no means assured. Until then, the FA Cup Final will continue to be played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Incidentally, Twickenham is the home of English rugby union, Hampden Park is where the Scottish Cup Final is held, and Highbury is home to Arsenal of the English Premier League.

Answer: Mersey

The River Mersey gave its name to a whole new musical sound in the 60s and the most famous pioneers of Merseybeat are undoubtedly The Beatles. Gerry and the Pacemakers were the first band in history to top the UK charts with their first three singles, "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" and "You'll Never Walk Alone".

The song, "Ferry 'Cross The Mersey" was re-recorded in 1989 by The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden and Stock Aitken Waterman to raise funds for victims of the Hillsborough Disaster where 96 football fans lost their lives during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield. The match was halted after six minutes as it became apparent an influx of supporters at the Liverpool end of the stadium was causing a crush against the fencing around the pitch. Fencing has since been banned at all stadia and all-seater policies have also been introduced.

Answer: Scarborough

The song, "Scarborough Fair" dates back to the Middle Ages. Although the original writer is unknown, it was popularised by Simon and Garfunkel after its release on their 1966 album, "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme". The first verse is, "Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Remember me to one who lives there, for once she was a true love of mine."

Answer: Penny Lane

This song was first released in the UK on 17th February 1967 as part of a double A-side with, "Strawberry Fields Forever". Perhaps surprisingly, it 'only' reached number 2 in the UK charts. "Abbey Road", released in 1969, is the title of the Beatles' best-selling album of all time.

The road itself is to be found in the St. John's Wood district of London and the Abbey Road Studios were home to virtually all of the band's recordings between 1962 and 1970.

Answer: Galway Bay

The lyrics to the chorus are, "The boys of the NYPD choir were singing "Galway Bay", and the bells were ringing out for Christmas Day". The only other Pogues song to reach the Top 10 in the UK was "The Irish Rover", also released in 1987. Galway is situated among spectacular scenery on the Irish Atlantic coast with the Connemara Mountains to the right and the Aran Islands 30 miles out to sea on the left.

Answer: London

The first verse of this song taken from his hugely successful album, "Sing When You're Winning" is, "Oh, it seemed forever stopped today. All the lonely hearts in London caught a plane and flew away. And all the best women are married, all the handsome men are gay. You feel deprived." Robbie Williams recently held the largest concert in UK history at Knebworth where he entertained well over 350,000 fans on three consecutive nights.

Answer: Mull of Kintyre

"Mull of Kintyre" is one of the very few songs to have sold over two million copies in the UK alone. Geographically it is one of the closest points to the Irish mainland and is home to a variety of interesting plants and animals, including golden eagles. Paul McCartney bought an old farmhouse nearby in the 70's and converted it into a recording studio.

He spent many summers there, citing the peace and quiet as the main attraction.

Answer: Loch Lomond

The folklore says that two soldiers were captured, one of whom was killed. The one who lived returned home to Scotland via the high road, whereas the executed soldier returned via the low road. "O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road, and I'll be in Scotland afore ye. But me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond."

Answer: Inverness

The lyric is, "When it gets to closing time and if you still want more, I know a pub in Inverness that never shuts its door". The thing that makes this song for me is the lead singer (Campino)'s GRRREAT Scottish accent!

Answer: London Bridge

"London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady". The very first London Bridge spanning the River Thames was built by the Romans in the first century AD. Built out of wood, it was at one point washed away.

This is reflected in two later verses of the nursery rhyme, "Build it up with wood and clay...." and, "Wood and clay will wash away...." When the Vikings came along, they built a new bridge out of stone: "Build it up with stone so strong....", "Stone so strong will last so long...."

Answer: York

"Oh, the grand old Duke of York, he had ten thousand men. He marched them up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again. And when they were up, they were up, and when they were down, they were down, and when they were only half way up, they were neither up nor down." The War of the Roses was a series of battles spanning 30 years between Lancashire (red rose) and Yorkshire (white rose).

The Lancastrians allegedly came up with this mocking song after slaying Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460.

The war eventually ended in 1485 with the Battle of Bosworth Field.

Answer: Manchester

The first two lines of the song are, "Panic on the streets of London. Panic on the streets of Birmingham" and later, "But there's Panic on the streets of Carlisle, Dublin, Dundee, Humberside". Manchester is, however, the home town of the band who had their first UK Top 10 hit in 1984 with, "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now". Among their notable achievements is their having seven albums simultaneously in the UK chart in 1995.

Answer: Belfast

The first verse is, "When my love said to me, meet me down by the gallow tree, for it's sad news I bring, about this old town and all that it's suffering. Some say troubles are bound. Someday soon they're gonna pull the old town down. One day soon we'll return here, when the Belfast child sings again".

Although the band only had one number 1 UK single, five of their albums entered the UK chart at the top spot.

Answer: Jerusalem

"And did these feet in ancient time" was the Blake poem, from the early 18th century and set to music about a hundred years later. The most familiar orchestration was by Elgar.

England does not in fact have a national anthem, but there are a few contenders for the title: "Jerusalem"; "Land of Hope and Glory",; "I Vow to Thee My Country" (from "Jupiter"); and "God Save the King/Queen". In a poll in 2010, on the occasion of the Commonwealth Games, "Jerusalem" came in at 52%.