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Political Eighties Music Trivia Quiz

The 1980's showed that political awareness could go nicely with big hair, shoulder pads and bad make-up. Here are questions about some of the decade's more memorable political songs.

A multiple-choice quiz by beanster. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
beanster

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
214,199

Updated
Feb 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
1283

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This song about strife in Northern Ireland was banned in the UK by the BBC. Hint

"Invisible Sun" by The Police

"Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush

"One Tree Hill" by U2

"Invisible Touch" by Genesis

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Question 2 of 10

2. U.S. president Ronald Reagan and short-lived Russian leader Konstantin Chernenko duked it out in a ring in this classic eighties video. Hint

"Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

"Der Kommissar" by Falco

"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

"99 Luftballons" by Nena

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Question 3 of 10

3. In what song did Bono sing, "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you"? Hint

Do They Know It's Christmas?

Sunday Bloody Sunday

New Year's Day

Silver and Gold

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Question 4 of 10

4. With some of the best melodies of any song about an exploitative multinational corporation, which Midnight Oil song contained the line, "The balance sheet is breaking up the sky"? Hint

The River Runs Red

Blue Sky Mine

King of the Mountain

Beds are Burning

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Question 5 of 10

5. Who sang, "If it's not love then it's the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb that will bring us together"? Hint

Lone Justice, "Shelter"

Peter Gabriel, "Games Without Frontiers"

The Smiths, "Ask"

Depeche Mode, "Strangelove"

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Question 6 of 10

6. Vietnam was a popular theme in the eighties. Which of these songs was about a Vietnam vet struggling to find work in the midst of an economic recession? Hint

"19" by Paul Hardcastle

"Pink Houses" by John Cougar Mellencamp

"Goodnight Saigon" by Billy Joel

"Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen

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Question 7 of 10

7. Who says glamour pop and political reality don't mix? What song contained the unforgettable line, "Don't say you're easy on me, you're about as easy as a nuclear war"? Hint

"She Bop" by Cyndi Lauper

"Careless Whisper" by Wham!

"Is There Something I Should Know?" by Duran Duran

"Human Touch" by Rick Springfield

8. The Boss often sang about struggling working class Americans. Which song is about a man losing his girlfriend after being laid off from a lumber yard and being forced to work at a car wash? Hint

Working on the Highway

Lucky Town

Atlantic City

Downbound Train

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Question 9 of 10

9. Complete the line from this song by Sting on the dire U.S.-Soviet relations at the time: "In Europe and America, there's a growing feeling of ________" Hint

Dementia

Pyromania

Euphoria

Hysteria

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Question 10 of 10

10. And finally, which of these songs is about an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa who was killed while in police custody? Hint

"Silver and Gold" by U2

"Homeless" by Paul Simon

"Free Nelson Mandela" by Special AKA

"Biko" by Peter Gabriel

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This song about strife in Northern Ireland was banned in the UK by the BBC.

Answer: "Invisible Sun" by The Police

From the album "Ghost in the Machine" released in 1981. In July 2005, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) renounced the use of violence after 35 years of armed struggle against British rule in Northern Ireland.

2. U.S. president Ronald Reagan and short-lived Russian leader Konstantin Chernenko duked it out in a ring in this classic eighties video.

Answer: "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

This 1984 video was made in what in retrospect were the last years of the Cold War, which symbolically ended in November 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall.

3. In what song did Bono sing, "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you"?

Answer: Do They Know It's Christmas?

Not one to shy away from a good cause, U2's Bono sang this line as part of Band Aid, a group of celebrities organized by Sir Bob Geldof in 1984 to raise funds and awareness for famine in Ethiopia. This effort subsequently inspired the Live Aid concert and USA for Africa's "We Are the World" single.

4. With some of the best melodies of any song about an exploitative multinational corporation, which Midnight Oil song contained the line, "The balance sheet is breaking up the sky"?

Answer: Blue Sky Mine

While this song was about a sugar refining company, Midnight Oil gained greater attention for shooting a protest video in mid-town Manhattan for "King of the Mountain" (also from the 1989 album "Blue Sky Mining") outside Exxon's global headquarters following the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

As of August 2005, Exxon Mobil remains one of the world's most profitable companies with a market value of approximately $380 billion.

5. Who sang, "If it's not love then it's the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb, the Bomb that will bring us together"?

Answer: The Smiths, "Ask"

I can't say for sure, but with song titles like "The Queen is Dead" and "Margaret on the Guillotine", I'm guessing The Smiths' Morrissey was not a big supporter of the conservative Tory party.

6. Vietnam was a popular theme in the eighties. Which of these songs was about a Vietnam vet struggling to find work in the midst of an economic recession?

Answer: "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen

Stunningly, Ronald Reagan missed the point of the song completely in selecting it as his 1984 campaign song, and Springsteen still considers this one of his most misunderstood songs.

7. Who says glamour pop and political reality don't mix? What song contained the unforgettable line, "Don't say you're easy on me, you're about as easy as a nuclear war"?

Answer: "Is There Something I Should Know?" by Duran Duran

This was a new single on the 1983 re-release of their debut album. My reaction to this line is still the same: what were they thinking?

8. The Boss often sang about struggling working class Americans. Which song is about a man losing his girlfriend after being laid off from a lumber yard and being forced to work at a car wash?

Answer: Downbound Train

From 1984's "Born in the U.S.A." album, the song's haunting guitar lines captured the downbeat mood of a country still reeling from recession and facing growing threats from Japan and other global economies.

9. Complete the line from this song by Sting on the dire U.S.-Soviet relations at the time: "In Europe and America, there's a growing feeling of ________"

Answer: Hysteria

From the song "Russians" on Sting's first solo album, 1985's "The Dream of the Blue Turtles." The song also references the shoe-banging Nikita Khrushchev's famous boast to the West, "We will bury you."

10. And finally, which of these songs is about an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa who was killed while in police custody?

Answer: "Biko" by Peter Gabriel

This song was written about Stephen Biko, the first president of the South African Students' Organization, who was arrested in 1977 and died while being transported by police to another prison. In 2003, the South African Justice Ministry concluded that five policemen accused of killing Biko would not be prosecuted because of lack of evidence.

Source: Author beanster

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