My Life In Music (UK Charts) Quiz | No. 1 Hits

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. My brother was born just over 18 months before I was, in May 1968. What was Cliff Richard's aptly titled number one single at the time?

Answer: Congratulations

Cliff's smash hit was also the runner up in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing second only to the Spanish entry - the ingeniously titled "La,La,La" by Massiel.

"Good Times" reached number 12 for Cliff in 1969, and "Bachelor Boy" reached the top spot in 1962 as a double a-side with "The Next Time".

The other option, "Baby You're Dynamite", charted far later, in 1984, peaking at a lowly number 27.

2. Rather coincidentally, when I was born early in 1970 - my mum's second little boy - the song "Two Little Boys" sat aloft the hit parade. Which Australian entertainer was responsible for this six week chart topper?

Answer: Rolf Harris

I met Rolf when I was around six years old. He was doing a signing session after a show and there were two queues - one to get to him and one to get out. After I met him, I started walking back out through the "In" queue, to which Rolf stood up and sarcastically shouted "Make way for Lawrence! Make way for Lawrence!". I was mortified!

Frank Ifield, of course, had four number one singles in a 12 month period between July 1962 and June 1963.

Terry Jacks hit the top spot with the painfully miserable "Seasons In The Sun", and Barry Humphries - aka Dame Edna Everage or Sir Les Patterson - has never had a hit single in any shape or form as far as I know!

3. After a few rough years (my father passed away when I was just two years old), my mum decided it was time to take us on a well earned break in 1976, for my first overseas experience - to Canada. Montreal had recently hosted that year's summer Olympics, and the UK had won gold through John Osborn and Reg White. Which of these song titles, re-entering the charts that year, indicates the sport they won their medal for?

Answer: Sailing

In the Men's Tornado, Osborn and White won gold medals for Sailing. Not that this interested me at the time - at six years old I was more impressed with the triple coned ice creams that were on sale.

"Dancing Queen" was, of course, a worldwide smash hit for Abba, topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. To my knowledge, there has never been an event at the Olympics for "Dancing" though...

"Running Free" was a minor hit for Iron Maiden four years later, and let's be honest, this would have been a VERY loose link if it had been the answer!

"The Boxer" was a 1969 UK top ten hit for Simon and Garfunkel.

4. In 1980, my mum married a lovely bloke called Eric, who would, for the next 25 years, be the father I never really previously had. I recall my mum loving Fern Kinney's number one from that year, saying it described their relationship perfectly. My dad (as I called him from that day onwards) was less enthusiastic about the song! What was its title?

Answer: Together We Are Beautiful

Sadly, Eric passed away suddenly in May 2005, but we'll always remember that he gave us 25 fantastic years and was pretty much a perfect father and husband.

Kelly Marie's "Feels Like I'm In Love" is easy to get muddled up with Kinney's "Together We Are Beautiful" due to the fact that both are female solo artists who are remembered as one hit wonders. In reality though, Kelly Marie had two further hits which peaked just outside the top 20.

"A Woman In Love" was, of course, Barbra Streisand's only UK number one hit, and John Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over" reached the top in grisly circumstances after the former Beatle's sickening assassination in December.

5. The first record I ever bought (aside from the obligatory "Tiny Tots" or "Pinky & Perky" albums you buy as a child) was by Adam and the Ants. It spent five weeks at the top of the charts between May and June in 1981. Which single was it?

Answer: Stand and Deliver

I wanted to BE Adam Ant at that stage, often cutting a sticky label to the correct size so I could plaster it across my nose in an effort to look like him. Hey I was only eleven, ok?

Anyway those other options:

"Prince Charming" was number one later that year but only spent four weeks at the summit.

"Antmusic" reached number two in December 1980...

...and "Goody Two Shoes" was a solo hit for Adam a year later, remaining at pole position for two weeks.

6. A lot of people would remember "The Chicken Song" as a hideous novelty record made by a certain cult television programme. I don't - it brings back the good times for me, because it was at the top of the charts when I walked out of the school gates for the very last time! Who released it?

Answer: Spitting Image

I was elated when I walked out of those gates. Don't believe anyone who tells you that "schooldays are the happiest of your life" as I've loved every minute of not being there! I must have enjoyed it a BIT though, as I took it upon myself to organise a school reunion 14 years later!

Spitting Image was, of course, a highly original satirical show utilising cruel puppet caricatures of the politicians and celebrities of the time. It was also very funny in places.

The Young Ones had a number one hit with Cliff Richard earlier in the year with their Comic Relief version of the veteran singer's 1959 smash "Living Doll". Neither Fry and Laurie nor Blackadder had a hit record in any shape or form to the best of my knowledge.

7. I played guitar (badly) and sang (marginally better) in many bands throughout my teens and twenties. A dance act obviously was so impressed with us that they stole the name of one of my bands, and had a top ten smash in 1995 with "Not Over Yet". What were they called?

Answer: Grace

All the other options were also dance artists of the last 15 years:

Deep Dish had a handful of hits, the biggest being "Flashdance", which reached number three in 2004.

N-Trance, rather frighteningly, had over a dozen top 40 hits. Normally they were ultra cheesy versions of hits from yesteryear - amongst them being the old Bee Gees number "Stayin' Alive", Ottowan's "D.I.S.C.O.", Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and Guns 'n' Roses' "Paradise City". Thankfully their biggest hit was the number two smash "Set You Free", which was not a cover.

Happy Clappers also had a handful of top 40 hits, the biggest being a re-issue of an earlier single called "I Believe", reaching number seven in 1995.

8. The song that was number one in 1997 at the time I bought my first house, with my then girlfriend, was based on Patrice Rushen's 1982 hit "Forget Me Nots". What was the smash hit version called, from a very successful film?

Answer: Men In Black

Will Smith's rap version of Rushen's song played during the closing credits of the hugely successful film of the same name, and even won a Grammy for the former "Fresh Prince".

"My Heart Will Go On" was, of course, warbled by Canadian Celine Dion, and was taken from the box office smash "Titanic". It stayed at number one for three hundred million weeks. Oh ok then, it was only two weeks in total, it just SEEMED a long time.

"Deeper Underground" was the only chart topper for Jamiroquai, and was featured in the soundtrack to the 1998 box office turkey "Godzilla". It DID, however, do enough to recoup the $130 million the studio put into making it.

9. I always find it highly amusing that the song that was number one when my wife committed herself to me by accepting my marriage proposal was called "Independent Women Part 1". Which girl group released this single?

Answer: Destiny's Child

Originally a quartet, but better known as the trio of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, Destiny's Child are now the biggest selling girl group of all time, having astonishingly generated over 100 million dollars over eight years.

Sugababes are a London based girl band who have achieved the number one spot five times...all before they even reached 25 years old!

TLC had more success in the US than the UK, though they did achieve four top ten hits, the highest being their number three hit "No Scrubs" in 1999.

Eternal are best known for featuring Louise Redknapp (nee Nurding), wife of footballer Jamie. They had a dozen top ten hits too, though, including the number one smash "I Wanna Be The Only One" with BeBe Winans in 1997.

10. Since the turn of the millennium, I have gone some way to achieving my all time dream by having interviewed various music celebrities - many of them my former idols - for my website. The person I enjoyed interviewing the most was the guitarist from a 1980s band who had hits with "Shoplifters Of The World Unite" and "Ask" amongst others. What is his name?

Answer: Johnny Marr

Possibly my all time favourite band (well, it's either them or the Pixies), Marr of course was the guitarist in The Smiths, who had an enormous impact on the UK music scene, clocking up 15 top 30 hits in just four years. Lead singer Morrissey is still something of a cultural icon.

The alternative options were also guitarists in some of my other favourite bands: Will Sergeant was in Echo and the Bunnymen, Joey Santiago was from the Pixies and Mick Jones was in the classic punk band The Clash.

Source: Author DUFFMONKEY

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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My Life In Music (UK Charts) Trivia Quiz

This quiz focuses on music that was popular at the most important times in my life, and the people in it.

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