It's The 80s UK Music Quiz: Part 1

Answer: Adam And The Ants

More than one million copies of "Stand And Deliver" were sold at a time when that meant physical sales of 45s.

For a brief moment in time, Adam and the Ants were the biggest band on the 1980s UK music scene. They sounded, and looked very different from the rest, and it was that look that got attention. Flamboyant clothes and a lot of feathers, added to bright make up for the lead singer, pitched them above the common herd.

They got that attention almost by accident - picking up a last-minute spot on 'Top of the Pops' when another act dropped out. That got their single "Dog Eat Dog" from number 37 eventually to number four.

Off their third LP, "Prince Charming", came "Stand And Deliver". Promoted with an elaborate video it grabbed a lot of attention and became their first UK number one. Between 1978 and 1982, the band had eight songs in the UK top 30, including two number ones. Adam Ant (real name Stuart Leslie Goddard) then broke up the band and had a solo career that included five songs in the UK top 30. Of these, "Goody Two Shoes" was a 1982 chart topper.

Answer: Green

"There's an old piano and they play it hot behind the green door (green door)
Don't know what they're doing but they laugh a lot behind the green door..."

In 1981, Shakin' Stevens took "Green Door" to the top of the UK singles chars. It was a cover of a song that Jim Lowe took to number one in the USA in 1956 (Billboard Best sellers in stores chart).

Shakin' Stevens (birth name Michael Barratt) was a prolific record releaser. That added up to 20 studio albums and almost 70 singles between 1970 and 2020. Those singles included four number ones among 15 in the top 10.

Answer: Keith Harris

"Orville's Song" reached number four. Orville was a duck, a green duck. He and Cuddles the Monkey were the stalwarts of the ventriloquism act by Keith Harris. Together they were the stars of a television show for eight years from 1982 to 1990.

Harris started in the business in 1965 and built up his act through guest appearances on a number of shows. Although 'The Keith Harris Show' was initially popular, audiences dropped off. Harris went through a period of personal and health problems before making a comeback on the live pantomime scene. By the start of the 21st Century, he had begun to build a TV career again through guest appearances. Harris died of recurring cancer in 2015.

Answer: Dave Stewart

Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox formed the Eurythmics in 1980. They had previously played together in The Tourists. Their breakthrough hit came with the title track of the second LP "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", which was released in 1983. The single was a UK number two and topped the charts in Canada and the USA.

Eight more UK top 10 hits allowed, including the chart-topping "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" in 1985. Over their career the duo sold some 75 million albums and won a Grammy for "Missionary Man" in 1987.

Answer: Paul McCartney

In 1985, Paul McCartney and Steve Wonder released "Ebony And Ivory", a track of Macca's album "Tug Of War". It was a top 10 hit the world over, including topping the charts in 13 territories. It was banned in South Africa three years later because of a remark Wonder made when he dedicated an Oscar win for "I Just Called To Say I Love You" to Nelson Mandela.

Isaac Hayes sang backing vocals and the track was produced by Sir George Martin.

Answer: Spitting Image

"Spitting Image" was a satirical television show that featured puppets of leading politicians and other world figures. Many of the depictions were cruel, as well as funny. In 1986, the single "The Chicken Song" reached number one in the UK and in Ireland.

As well as UK politicians, including Margaret Thatcher, there were puppets for Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. Queen Elizabeth II made an 'appearance' as did Prince Charles. Many of the latex puppets were later sold at an online auction by Sotheby's. The 200 lots went for a total of £370,105 ($553,138). The top-selling individual lot was a puppet of Margaret Thatcher, the first ever UK woman prime minister. It went for £11,224 ($16,775).

An updated version of "Spitting Image" was made in 2020.

Answer: Status Quo

Although Status Quo were rarely mentioned among the top rock/pop bands of their time, they were loved by a legion of followers. Indeed, in 2014 the "Guardian" newspaper hailed Status Quo as "Britain's most underrated rock band".

First getting together in 1962 "The Quo" put together a near-40-year on/off career that featured a number of personnel changes, with a few break-ups and reunions along the way. The band had numerous top 10 hits in the UK, with "Down Down" (1974) the only number one in their own right. "We're In The Army Now" was a number two in 1986. The band remained British icons, but were greeted with indifference in North America.

Answer: Dexy's Midnight Runners

Dexy's Midnight Runners were fifth on the list with "Geno", a tribute to soul singer Geno Washington.

The top four, in descending order were:
Don McLean, "Crying"; Barbra Streisand, "Woman In Love"; MASH, "Theme From 'M*A*S*H' (Suicide is Painless)"; ABBA, "Super Trouper".

Formed in 1980, Dexy's Midnight Runners were to have two UK number ones, "Geno" and "Come On Eileen", which also topped the Hot 100 in the USA.

Answer: Suggs

Every now and the a band comes along and shows that it not only wants to make good music but enjoys themselves while doing so, and one such was Madness, at least early on. Hailing out of the London ska scene, Madness released a series of infectious records that added up to a lot of fun.

No one ever accused Madness of being high-brow; their style was singalong fun - the word that some critics used was "nutty". After years of top-selling records the band split up: "Medical reasons. "We were sick of each other", Suggs told Simon Hattinston in a 2016 "Guardian" interview. That split came in 1986, but the band reunited in the 1990s, but never really got their sparkle back.

During the years away, Suggs had an award-winning period as a television presenter.

Answer: Rick Astley

Rick Astley had a career definer with "Never Gonna Give You Up". He was top of that annual sales chart, ahead of Starship - who realised this was something that was gonna stop them.

The song shot Astley into the pop stardom big time. In one interview he remarked "One day I was making the tea. The next I was at No 1".

Astley had been signed by the pop impresario Pete Waterman. He thought him an ideal product for the Stock-Aitken-Waterman stable, although Astley spent two years behind the scenes before recording himself. "He reminded me of Van Morrison", Waterman said. The single was to reach the top of the pop charts the world over.

Astley continued to record for some years after the 1987 hit, but eventually got out of the business. The song was to lead to the internet "rickrolling" phenomena. That took off in the mid 2000s when seemingly normal websites would post links - perhaps to a news story - and when that link was clicked, the user was taken through to the video of Astley singing the song.