Red in All Its Variations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ruby

The song was taken from the band's second album, called 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob', and was their first number one hit in the UK. It also reached number fourteen on the US Billboard Modern Rock chart. Its catchy chorus of 'Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby' has been adopted by several football (soccer) clubs who have adapted the lyrics for various players.

These include 'Rooney, Rooney, Rooney, Rooney' for Wayne Rooney at Manchester United and 'Rudi, Rudi, Rudi, Rudi' at Southampton, for Rudi Skacel. The colour ruby is a deep, rich red taken from the gemstone of the same name.

Answer: New Orleans

'The Witch Queen of New Orleans' was the band's only UK hit, reaching number two on the UK Singles chart. It reached number twenty-one on the US Billboard Hot 100, although the band had a bigger hit in 1974 with 'Come and Get Your Love', which peaked at number five. According to Wikipedia, the song was written about Marie Laveau who was born in New Orleans in 1782 and was reputed to have practised voodoo there. Laveau has featured in numerous novels, including the 'Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter' series, and several other songs.

Answer: King

King Crimson originally formed in London in the late 1960s, with Robert Fripp being the mainstay through numerous changes of personnel. They have never had singles success (apart from entries which scraped into the top 100 of the US and UK charts in 1969 and 1984 respectively), but their albums have consistently sold well.

Their first album, in 1969, was called 'In the Court of the Crimson King' and reached number five in the UK Album Charts and number twenty-eight on the Billboard 200 album chart. Among other musicians to have been members of the group at various times are Greg Lake, Tony Levin and Peter Sinfield.

Answer: Raspberry

'Raspberry Beret' reached number two on the US Billboard chart, but managed only a lowly twenty-five on the UK Singles chart. I could have offered you 'Little Red Corvette', from 1982, but this fared even worse as a single, managing only number six in the USA and fifty-four in the UK. That was surprising, as I would have thought that both singles would have done better on my side of the Atlantic. 'Raspberry Beret' came from the album 'Around the World in a Day' and was credited to Prince and The Revolution and pre-dated the time when he changed his name to a symbol.

Answer: The Shadows

Tony Meehan was the original drummer and Jet Harris the original bass player with The Shadows, along with Bruce Welch on rhythm guitar and Hank Marvin on lead guitar. Meehan left the band in 1961, to work as a producer and session drummer for Joe Meek, the writer of the international hit 'Telstar'. Harris left in 1962, having suffered problems with depression and alcohol.

He teamed up with Meehan and their first hit came in January 1963 when 'Diamonds' reached number one in the UK. This was followed by 'Scarlett O'Hara' in April and 'Applejack', which was a number four hit in September. Both, sadly, are no longer with us, with Meehan having died in 2005 following a fall at his home and Harris succumbing to cancer in 2011. Bruce Welch and Hank Marvin still perform occasionally with replacement drummer Brian Bennett and stand in bass player Mark Griffiths.

Answer: Danger

Billy Ocean, real name Leslie Sebastian Charles, was born in Trinidad and initially had more success in the UK than elsewhere. His first hit was 'Love Really Hurts Without You' in 1976 followed by two minor hits, before 'Red Light Spells Danger' repeated the success of his first single by reaching number two on the UK Singles chart.

In 1984 he broke through in the USA by reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with 'Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)'. He followed it with two more number one hits in America, the last one being 'Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car' in 1988.

Answer: Rose Royce

The band came from Los Angeles and had most success when they had Gwen Dickey on vocals. 'Car Wash' was their first, and biggest, hit when it reached the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 and number nine on the UK Singles chart. 'Wishing on a Star' reached number three on the UK charts but did little in the band's home country. 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore' also did better in the UK, managing number two in 1978 and only thirty-two in the USA. Gwen Dickey left the band in 1980, but continued to perform as a solo artist, mainly in the UK.

The other options are all bands who have had chart success, although I'm really not sure how Rednex managed to get to number one with 'Cotton Eye Joe'.

Answer: Red River Rock

'Red River Rock' took the traditional tune and set it to a rock and roll beat. This was successful enough to take them to number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and to number three on the UK Singles chart. The tune was also recorded by The Ventures, another instrumental group of the era. Johnny and the Hurricanes followed up with 'Reveille Rock', based on the bugle call of 'Reveille' and 'Beatnik Fly'. their version of 'Blue Tail Fly'.

The band leader was Johnny Paris, who played saxophone, and passed on in 2006.

Answer: Melanie

'Ruby Tuesday' was originally the 'B' side of 'Let's Spend the Night Together' and the UK charts list it as a 'double A side' hit, reaching number three in the charts. In the USA, 'Ruby Tuesday' was played more often, as the lyrics of 'Let's Spend the Night Together' were considered controversial, which resulted in it reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song was written by Keith Richards, with some sources stating that Brian Jones also contributed to it. The version by Melanie Safka made number nine in the UK although she managed only fifty-two in the USA.

She was rather more successful in her home country with 'Brand New Key' hitting the top spot in 1971. 'Ruby Tuesday' was also recorded by Rod Stewart in 1993, where it made number eleven on the UK charts.

Answer: 5

Maroon 5 released the album 'Songs About Jane' in 2002, and it provided them with several hit singles, with 'This Love' and 'She Will Be Loved' being the best known. The band's success has lasted for years after their debut. In 2011, they joined with Christina Aguilera on 'Moves Like Jagger' and hit number one in the USA, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand, with the song also reaching number two on the Australian and UK charts.

The other numbers are also significant in the music world, belonging to the bands U2, Blink-182 and Sum 41.