Debut UK Chart Singles (1950s-60s) Quiz

Answer: "What Do You Want?"

Terence "Terry" Nelhams-Wright was born in 1940 in Acton in west London and performed under the name Adam Faith. He released three singles that failed to chart before releasing "What Do You Want?" in 1959: this was not only his first chart single but also the first of his two number ones. (His next release, "Poor Me", was his other number one.)

Answer: "The Little Shoemaker"

Singer, actress and composer Petula Sally Olwen Clark CBE was born in 1932 in the Surrey market town of Epsom. She released her first single in 1949 but neither that nor any of her first twenty releases made it into any chart.

Her first chart entry was with "The Little Shoemaker" in 1954, which climbed to number seven in the UK and topped the Australian singles chart. It would be another seven years before Clark scored the first of her two UK number ones, with "Sailor" in 1961. ("This is My Song" was her other UK number one, in 1967.)

Answer: "Don't Treat Me Like a Child"

Pop/jazz singer and actress Helen Kate Shapiro was born in 1932 in the northeast London borough of Bethnal Green. Her first UK chart single, "Don't Treat Me Like a Child", made it to number three in 1961. That same year, Shapiro scored the first of her two number one singles, with "You Don't Know". (Her third release, "Walkin' Back to Happiness", also in 1961 and now recognized as her signature song, was her second and last number one.)

Answer: "The Banana Boat Song"

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey DBE was born in 1937 in the Tiger Bay district of Cardiff in South Wales. Her first three singles, released in 1956. failed to chart, but "The Banana Boat Song" climbed to number eight in the UK chart in 1957. This was the second single released from her upcoming album, "The Bewitching Miss Bassey", released in 1959.

She scored her only two UK number one singles with "As I Love You" in 1959 and "Reach for the Stars"/"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" (double A-Side) in 1961.

Answer: "How Do You Do It?"

Formed in Liverpool in 1959, Gerry and the Pacemakers consisted of brothers Gerry and Fred Marsden, Les Chadwick and Arthur McMahon. Released in march 1963, "How Do You Do It?" rocketed to the top of the UK singles chart, and was quickly followed there by the group's next two releases that same year, "I Like It" and the iconic Merseyside anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone" (which also topped the Australian chart).

Those would be the band's only number one singles. The other single for which they are particularly remembered today, "Ferry Cross The Mersey" released in December 1964, reached only number eight in the UK and number six in the US chart.

Answer: "Do You Want to Know a Secret?"

William Howard Ashton was born in 1937 in the Merseyside borough of Bootle, Lancashire. Performing as Billy J Kramer, he fronted the Manchester-based band The Dakotas.

The band scored their first UK chart single under the name of Billy J Kramer & the Dakotas with a 1963 cover of a John Lennon composition. "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" appeared on The Beatles' "Please Please Me" album, but the group never released it as a single.

The Dakotas' second and fourth single releases, "Bad To Me" (also in 1963 and another Lennon composition) and "Little Children" (in 1964), both topped the UK chart. They also gave them their only US Top 10 singles.

Answer: "Do You Love Me"

The Dave Clark Quintet were formed in north London in 1957 and named for their drummer. The line-up which followed The Beatles onto "The Ed Sullivan Show" early in 1964 was Denis Payton, Dave Clark, Mike Smith, Rick Huxley and Lenny Davidson.

Originally released on Motown's Gordy Records, The Contours reached number three in the Billboard 100 chart with "Do You Love Me". Brian Poole and the Tremeloes topped the UK chart with it in October 1963. That same month, the Dave Clark Five released their cover version of the song as their fifth single and their first to make it into the UK chart, reaching number thirty.

Released just a month later, in November 1963, "Glad All Over" knocked The Beatles ("I Want to Hold Your Hand") out of the number one spot to give the Dave Clark Five their only UK chart-topper. Half a century later, it is still the song for which they are remembered. Their follow-up single, "Bits and Pieces", stalled at number two early in 1964.

Answer: "Love of the Loved"

The singer, TV presenter, actress and author known and loved as Cilla Black OBE was born Priscilla Maria Veronica White in 1943 in the Liverpool inner-city district of Vauxhall.

Written by Paul McCartney (and credited to Lennon-McCartney), "Love of the Loved" was performed regularly by The Beatles in their early live shows but never recorded by them. George Martin produced Cilla's cover version and it was released as her debut single in 1963 and reached number 35 in the UK chart.

The following year, Cilla scored her only UK number one singles, with "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (a cover of Dionne Warwick's Burt Bacharach/Hal David composition) and "You're My World".

Answer: "Come On"

Founded in London in 1962, the Tolling Stones' first settled line-up was Mick jagger, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts.

The Stones released their debut single in June 1963, a cover version of a Chuck Berry single, "Come On", which reached number 21 in the UK chart. Their first Top 10 hit came in February 1964 with their third single, "Not Fade Away". Four months later, in June 1964, the Stones had the first of their eight UK number ones with "It's All Over Now". The rest, as they say, is history.

Answer: "Baby Let Me Take You Home"

Founded in in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north of England in 1963, The Animals featured Eric Burdon on vocals with guitarist Hilton Valentine, keyboard player Alan Price (later a successful solo artist) and bassist Chas Chandler (later the manager of both Slade and Jimi Hendrix).

The Animals released three singles in 1964 from their eponymous debut album. The first, "Baby Let Me Take You Home", reached only number 21 in the UK and barely registered (number 102) in the US. The second, which would become the band's signature song and is the track for which they are remembered today, was "The House of the Rising Sun". a worldwide number one, it topped the singles charts in the UK, US, Australia, Canada and Sweden although it would turn out to be the band's only UK or US chart-topper.