Shirley, I'm a Winner Trivia Quiz

Answer: John Farnham

John Farnham is one of the icons of Australian pop music but, prior to the release of this album his career had come to an abrupt stop. He had left the Little River Band as their lead singer and his solo work was almost non-existent. He had little money to record another album and it was left to his manager, Glen Wheatley, to mortgage his own home to fund its creation. Built on the back of the amazing first single, "You're the Voice", which radio stations were initially reticent to play, the album took the Australian charts by storm.

It stayed at number one on the ARIA charts for 25 weeks and was the best charting album in Australia for the decade that was the 1980s. Released in 1986 the album also featured the singles "Pressure Down", "A Touch of Paradise" and "Reasons".

Answer: Amy Shark

Amy Shark (Billings, her real name, is not so catchy) is an indie pop singer-songwriter hailing from the Gold Coast. After a successful start to her career with the hit "Adore" in 2016, she went on the win the ARIAs in 2018. The same song, "Love Monster", rated 2 on the Heatseekers chart in the USA. Amy performed at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Answer: Kasey Chambers

Released in 2001 this was the second studio album for country music singer, Kasey Chambers. It featured the hit single "Not Pretty Enough" which crossed over and topped most charts across the country and was certified double platinum. "Runaway Train", "On a Bad Day", "Million Tears" and "If I Were You" were the other singles to be lifted from the disc, making it one of her most (commercially) successful recordings.

It also garnered a staggering eight ARIA nominations at the sixteenth awards in 2002.

Answer: Powderfinger

Based in Brisbane, Queensland, Powderfinger's third studio album "Internationalist" reached number one on the ARIA Albums Chart in September 1998. Great philanthropists, the group collaborated with other artists on several occasions to raise money for charities or disaster victims, such as those in the 2011 Queensland floods.

A Jetstar Airbus A320-200 was painted with the Powderfinger logo and was used on their "Sunsets Farewell Tour" in 2010.

Answer: Midnight Oil

The title track and lead single from this album focussed on the Wittenoom (in Western Australia) mine tragedy, which saw the miners and town's people exposed to asbestos. This 1990 album was one of Midnight Oils hardest hitting and it built on the success of their previous work "Diesel and Dust" (1987).

Other tracks to listen out for are the driving "Forgotten Years" and "Mountains of Burma".

Answer: Silverchair

Silverchair were active between the years of 1992 - 2011, during which time they clocked up more ARIA Music Awards than any other artist in history, receiving 21 wins from 49 nominations. Daniel Johns was the main force behind their sound, which moved from grunge, post-grunge, and art rock to alternative rock. They were based in New South Wales. They were named for the book from 'The Chronicles of Narnia' by C.S. Lewis, 'The Silver Chair'.


The 'Young Modern' album was their final studio album, with the song 'Straight Lines' reaching No 1 on the ARIA charts in 2007

Answer: Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun are known for their cutting-edge style in synth-pop, dance-rock and electro-rock. Their album "Walking on a Dream" received 11 nominations for the 2009 ARIA Music Awards, winning the Best Album award. It was certified double platinum in Australia, and gold in the United Kingdom. It was included at number 29 in the list of "100 Best Australian Albums", published in 2010.

Answer: Missy Higgins

"The Sound of White" was pop singer-songwriter Missy Higgins' debut album. It sold over 630,000 copies, and was accredited platinum nine times. Nominated for five ARIA Awards in 2004, it won "Best Pop Release", followed by Best Album in 2005. The album was heralded by the incredible single "Scar" and also included the singles "Ten Days", "The Special Two" and, the title track, "The Sound of White". Higgins was born in Melbourne, Victoria and plays numerous instruments including guitar, synthesiser and ukulele.

Answer: Diesel

Diesel, real name Mark Lizotte, had previously been the frontman for the Western Australian band Johnny Diesel and the Injectors. "Hepfidelity" would be his debut solo album and it saw him move away from the hard rocking vibrations of his former band to a more soulful groove.

This 1992 release would be certified three times platinum in Australia and would also feature the singles "Love Junk", "Come to Me", "Tip of my Tongue", "Man Alive" and "One More Time".

Answer: Powderfinger

This was the fourth studio album for the Powderfinger, who'd taken their name from the title of a Neil Young song, and it was definitely their most focused album to that point. With its focus on social and political issues, many critics praised it as the bind's finest hour. Released in September, 2000 it boasted the single "My Happiness" which would win the ARIA Single of the Year and was voted, by listeners, as Triple J's number one song in their Hottest 100 Charts.