Clssc Rck Mssng Lttrs - Nmbr 1 Quiz

Answer: Kill

Surely I'm not the only person who thinks that Burke Shelley of Budgie and Geddy Lee of Rush were separated at birth? Not only do they sound very similar but they could be twins.

Budgie... "Who?" You may well ask! Fact: Budgie was a highly respected, hardworking and exciting live band in their day; that 'day' of course being back in the late 60s and early 70s. Budgie was formed in Cardiff during 1967 by Burke Shelley, Tony Bourge and Ray Phillips and are today considered to be one of the founding fathers of the heavy metal genre. This album, 'In For The Kill', was the band's fourth studio recording and their first commercially successful release reaching, as it did, the number 29 spot on the UK album chart. The band are still together today, if currently on hiatus due to Burke Shelley suffering an aortic aneurism that forced the band to cancel their 2010 European tour. If you don't believe what I say about Burke and Geddy, just listen to songs 'Breadfan', 'In for the Kill' or 'Zoom Club' and let me know what you think!

Answer: Intensities In 10 Cities

I don't believe that there is anyone who doesn't have an opinion about shy, retiring Theodore Anthony Nugent. Politics and lifestyle aside it cannot be denied that the guy can play the guitar! Recorded at venues in cities across North America which include Montreal, Boston, Pittsburgh and Detroit, 'Intensities In Ten Cities' is Ted Nugent's second live album and captures the excitement of live performances of a number of songs from his 1980 North American tour; none of the songs on this album had ever appeared on a Nugent record prior to this release.

The readers of Guitar World magazine voted 'Intensities' as the ninth best live album recording of all time with the album spawning three single releases, 'Jailbait', 'The Land of a Thousand Dances' and 'The Flying Lip Lock'. You might ask "Steve, which is your personal favourite track from this record?" My answer would have to be "That would be the opener 'Put Up or Shut Up'"!

Answer: Bomber

Released in 1977, 'Bomber' was Motörhead's third studio recording and their second commercially successful album; a fitting sequel to the awesome 'Overkill' of just seven months earlier and preparing the ground for their next assault on the British record buying public with the fabulous 'Ace of Spades' in 1980. The title track was inspired by the novel of the same name by writer Len Deighton and examines the bombing campaign over Germany during WW2 from the viewpoint of the RAF crews attacking Germany, the Luftwaffe night-fighter crews defending the Reich and the civilian population who were on the receiving end. 'Bomber' reached the number twelve spot in the UK album chart and the single released on the 1st of December 1979 reached, surprisingly, the number thirty-four spot in the UK singles chart. Lemmy has never compromised on the band's mission statement; at the beginning of every gig he announces - "We are Motörhead, and we play Rock 'n Roll!"

Tragically, on the 28th of December 2015, Ian Fraser Kilmister died suddenly shortly after being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and just four days after his 70th birthday. Apparently, Jack Daniels filed for bankruptcy immediately upon receiving the news of Lemmy's death... RIP Lemmy, we shall not see your kind again.

Answer: Firing On All Six

The British rock band Lone Star was formed in Cardiff, Wales in 1975. With members from varying musical backgrounds, Lone Star had skill and expertise by the bucket load; guitarist 'Tonka' Chapman (Paul to his mum), had performed as a member of UFO where he provided one half of a two guitar aural assault beside none other than the great Michael Schenker. With a highest placing on the UK album chart at the number thirty-six spot, their album 'Firing On All Six' was released in 1977 and was the second and last album before the band split in 1978. Lone Star's music has been described as being akin to that of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple but, unfortunately for them, just as they came to the fore, the Punk movement was reaching the pinnacle of its popularity in the UK.

After Lone Star had split, former members joined the ranks of bands as diverse as Uriah Heep, The Who and the Gary Moore Band. Standout tracks from 'Firing On All Six' for this author include 'Lovely Lubina', 'Hypnotic Mover' and the epic 'Bells of Berlin'.

Answer: Journey

It's such a shame... If comments on sites such as YouTube and their like are anything to go by, it looks as if the great rock band Journey will be mainly remembered for a cover version of one of their songs by the cast of a teen television show. Their album 'Escape', upon which the song 'Mother, Father' appears, was recorded during the spring and early summer of 1981 and was released at the end of July that year. 'Escape' was the bands seventh and, to date, most successful album which has been voted the best AOR, or Adult Orientated Rock, album of all time. If anybody has any doubts to the superb musicianship of the band members, guitarist Neil Schon, drummer Steve Smith, keyboard player Jonathan Cain and the vocal power of singer Steve Perry in particular, might I suggest a viewing of the band playing this song in a live performance...

It's stirring stuff!

Answer: Drastic Plastic

'Drastic Plastic' was the album in which, in my opinion at least, Be-Bop Deluxe left the prog-rock world behind and began an new phase, an experiment with new musical styles and new instruments that he would later continue with after the demise of Be-Bop and the formation of his solo project 'Bill Nelson's Red Noise'. 'Drastic Plastic' was not just the last Be-Bop recording with its most well-known line-up; Charlie Tumahai on Bass, Simon Fox on drums and percussion, Andrew Clarke on keyboards and Bill Nelson himself on guitar, this album was the last Be-Bop Deluxe recording... Full stop. 'Drastic Plastic' was recorded at a chateau in the south of France during the summer of 1977, the location being chosen by Nelson because of its association with the French writer Jean Cocteau, an artist that had influenced Nelson for much of his life.

Some of the tracks on the album were recorded in the open air on the lawns at the chateau with the listener being able to hear dogs barking in the distance - you'll need to listen well, but they are just discernible. Perhaps the most interesting track on the album is 'Superenigmatix (Lethal Appliances for the Home with Everything)' in which Nelson describes living with a machine that is slowly taking over his life.

In 2014, Bill Nelson lost all hearing in his right ear and, although he still writes records and produces music, it is a sad fact that he is unlikely to ever tour or stage live performances in the future.

Answer: Lovedrive

The album 'Lovedrive' is considered to be the international breakthrough album for Scorpions. Released in 1979, 'Lovedrive' was placed within the top 40 on the German, Swedish and UK album charts and achieved the number 55 position on the US Billboard chart.

The album also spawned two singles, 'Another Piece of Meat' and the album title track itself; singles which reached chart positions at 39 and 69 respectively on the UK singles chart. The front of the sleeve features a couple sat in the back of a car; she has one breast exposed and one of his hands appears connected to her breast by a gum-like substance.

The reverse cover features the same couple but in this picture she has her breast clearly exposed whilst she holds a framed picture of the band. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the sleeve artwork was voted the best album cover of 1979 by Playboy magazine. 'Lovedrive' was not the first album sleeve that got this band into trouble.

In 1976 the sleeve art for their album 'Virgin Killer' was banned under obscenity laws for picturing, as it did, a naked pre-pubescent girl!

Answer: Bad Reputation

To be honest, it's surprising that 'Bad Reputation' ever saw the light of day! It is one of those rare albums; written and recorded whilst the band were in turmoil but appearing all the better for it. Guitarist Brian Robertson had been fired as a result of missing a number of tour dates due to an injury to one of his hands, an injury that he had sustained in a bar fight.

A misunderstanding between Jim Fitzpatrick, the band's regular artist, and Phil Lynott led to a meeting being missed and Lynott substituting a photograph of three members of the band on the album sleeve. 'Bad Reputation', which was released in 1977 and which achieved the number four position in the UK album charts, is Thin Lizzy's eighth album and contains another of their most single releases, 'Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in its Spotlight)' which achieved the number fourteen position in the UK singles chart.

The title track has been covered in recordings by other acts such as Smashing Pumpkins, Foo-Fighters and US rock-chicks (is that still an acceptable term?), Phantom Blue.

Answer: Lady Grinning Soul

David Bowie's 1973 release 'Aladdin Sane' was his sixth album and his first as a successful artist. Another of Bowie's alter-ego's 'A Lad Insane' was a continuation of his previous incarnation as Ziggy Stardust. The album received a cool reception to begin with coming, as it did, straight off the back of 'Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' but still appears in the list of the greatest 100 albums of the 1970s and in the list of the top 500 albums of all time. Standout tracks in this author's opinion include 'Drive-in Saturday', the evergreen 'Jean Genie', personal favourite 'The Prettiest Star' and of course the subject of this question, 'Lady Grinning Soul'.

This song is believed to have been inspired by a meeting between Bowie and Claudia Lennear, an American soul singer who, incidentally, must've been a very special and captivating individual as she is also said to have inspired Mick Jagger to write the Rolling Stone's classic 'Brown Sugar'.

Answer: Charlotte Sometimes

The Cure hail from Crawley in West Sussex, a county in the Deep South... Of England! The Cure didn't have an easy start; their debut single attracted accusations of racism but any song title such as 'Killing an Arab' isn't going to go down too well with some sections of the population.

The Cure's first album, 'Three Imaginary Boys' was released in May 1979 and was described as superficial and lightweight; it was a great disappointment at the time but an opportunity to perform with Souixsie and the Banshees set the band in a different direction, a direction which resulted with the gothic rock albums 'Seventeen Seconds', 'Faith' and 'Pornography'.

This single, 'Charlotte Sometimes', is slightly unusual as it was never released as a track on an album, it was recorded purely as a stand-alone single.

It was released on the 5th of October 1981 on both 7" and 12" formats (Hey kids! 7" and 12" format discs were how we used to get our music) and it reached a top position at number 44 on the UK singles chart.