Music from the 80s - 1984 Quiz | Music from 1984

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A slightly obscure one to start; can you remember the name of the band whose single "Dr Mabuse" reached number 27 on the UK charts in 1984?

Answer: Propaganda

This is a strange record, but I really like it. Propaganda were from Germany and this was the first single of theirs that charted in the UK. "Dr Mabuse" was released in March 1984 and spent nine weeks on the UK singles chart, managing a highest position of number 27.

The single "Duel" released the following year did slightly better, reaching number 21, but none of their subsequent singles ever broke the top 20 in Britain. Re-Flex had only one UK hit. Released in January 1984 "The Politics of Dancing" spent nine weeks on the chart and reached number 28. Kane Gang and Heaven 17 also had hits in 1984, see questions 11 and 13.

2. Which number five hit from 1984 contains this lyric?" "I can't say no I can't say yes I can't even write down my own address I can't touch Heaven it's a little too far It's the only way to travel Got dreaming on a par"

Answer: "Locomotion" by OMD

OMD (or Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark to give them their full moniker which they used on some records but not all) started out as a fairly solemn little synth band but had got a bit more poppy in their sound by the time this record came out. "Locomotion" was released in April 1984, spent 11 weeks on the UK singles chart and reached number five.
The incorrect answers were all UK chart hits in 1984.

3. Who had a number seven hit with "Pearl In The Shell" in 1984?

Answer: Howard Jones

Howard Jones had nine top twenty hits in the UK between 1983 and 1985, "Pearl In The Shell" being the fourth. Released in May 1984, "Pearl In The Shell" spent ten weeks on the UK singles chart and reached number seven. Jones had further hits in the US and Germany during the 1990s.

4. Who had a top twenty hit with "Hammer To Fall" in 1984?

Answer: Queen

"Hammer To Fall" by Queen was released in September 1984. This song spent seven weeks on the UK singles chart and reached number 13.

5. Which number one hit from 1984 do these lyrics come from? "Switch off your shield Switch off and feel I'm working on loving-yeah Giving you back the good times Ship it out-out I'm working for the black gas"

Answer: "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Released on 16 June 1984, "Two Tribes" spent a whopping 21 weeks on the UK singles chart, nine of which were at number one. A cheerful little ditty about the threat of nuclear war, the video for "Two Tribes" depicted US President Ronald Regan wrestling with his Soviet opposite number, President Chernenko.

This was Frankie's second single and, like the first and third, it reached the top of the charts equalling the record set in the 60s by Gerry and The Pacemakers who also had their first three singles top the chart.

In the 1990s that particular record was also equalled and then beaten by The Spice Girls. A remix of "Two Tribes" charted again in 1994.

6. Who had a UK top twenty hit with "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" in 1984?

Answer: Scritti Politti

Scritti Politti mainly consisted of one person, singer/songwriter Green Gartside. Scritti Politti had been making music for some years but only really achieved any chart success when their sound moved in a more mainstream pop direction in the early 80s. "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" was released in March 1984.

It spent 12 weeks on the UK singles chart and peaked at number ten. The single that followed it, "Absolute" also made the top 20 and the band had two more top 20 hits the following year.

7. Which song, which reached number eight on the UK singles chart in 1984, opens with this lyric? "Captured effortlessly That's the way it was Happened so naturally I did not know it was love"

Answer: "Ain't Nobody" by Rufus and Chaka Khan

"Ain't Nobody" by Rufus and Chaka Khan was released in the UK in March 1984 and achieved a highest chart placing of number eight during a 12 week stay on the chart.

8. Who had a UK top ten hit with "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" in the summer of 1984?

Answer: The Smiths

"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" by The Smiths was released in June 1984. The song spent eight weeks on the UK singles chart and reached number ten.

9. Who reached number six on the UK singles chart in 1984 with a song called "Why"?

Answer: Bronski Beat

Following on from their number three hit "Smalltown Boy" earlier in the year, "Why" was released in September 1984 and spent ten weeks on the UK singles chart, peaking at number six. Singer Jimmy Somerville quit Bronski Beat at the end of 1985 and went on to front The Communards before embarking on a solo career in 1988.

10. "My Ever Changing Moods" was a top five hit in the UK in 1984 for whom?

Answer: The Style Council

"My Ever Changing Moods" was released by The Style Council in February 1984. The song spent seven weeks on the UK singles chart and reached number five.

11. Who had top twenty hits with "Closest Thing To Heaven" and "Respect Yourself" in 1984?

Answer: Kane Gang

Kane Gang were a soul trio from the north east of England who named themselves after the movie "Citizen Kane" (1941). "Closest Thing To Heaven" was released in July 1984, spent 11 weeks on the UK singles chart and reached number 12. Their cover of "Respect Yourself" (which featured P P Arnold on backing vocals) was released in November, also spent 11 weeks on the UK singles chart and peaked at number 21.

12. Who were "Down In The Subway" early in 1984?

Answer: Soft Cell

"Down In The Subway" by Soft Cell was released in February 1984. The song spent six weeks on the UK singles chart and peaked at number 24.

13. The song "Sunset Now" reached number 24 on the UK singles chart in the autumn of 1984, but who recorded it?

Answer: Heaven 17

From the album "How Men Are"; "Sunset Now" by Heaven 17 was released in September 1984 and peaked at number 24 during a six week stay on the chart.

14. From which number one hit of 1984 does this lyric come? "You put the boom-boom into my heart You send my soul sky high when your lovin' starts Jitterbug into my brain Goes a bang-bang-bang 'til my feet do the same"

Answer: "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!

Wham! had two number ones in the UK in 1984. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" released in May spent 16 weeks on chart, two of them at number one and "Freedom" which was released in October and spent 14 weeks on chart, including three at number one. Both singles came from the album "Make It Big" which was released in November 1984 and went on to spend 72 weeks on the UK album chart and peaked at number one.

15. "Pride (In The Name of Love)" was a top three hit in the UK in 1984 for whom?

Answer: U2

From the album "The Unforgettable Fire", U2's "Pride (In The Name of Love)" was written about Martin Luther King Jr. Released in the UK in September 1984, the song spent 11 weeks on the UK singles chart and peaked at number three. It went one place higher in the USA, reaching number two.

Source: Author Lizzbett

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Music from the 80s - 1984 Trivia Quiz

Continuing my series of quizzes about 80s music; we've reached the middle years of the decade. All correct answers were UK chart entries in 1984 according to "The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and Albums".

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