The Cream of the Heavyweights Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tony Iommi

Born in Birmingham in 1948, Anthony Frank Iommi is one of the most influential and recognizable guitarists in rock. His playing style was affected by the loss of the tips of his middle and ring finger of his right hand when working in a factory as a teenager. As a consequence, he had to learn to play left-handed and make a number of adjustments to his playing, which resulted in his distinctive style - highly effective though not as technically sophisticated as other famous guitarists'. In 1968, together with Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler, he formed Earth, whose name was changed to Black Sabbath a few months later. The band's self-titled debut album, released in 1970, is considered one of the first heavy metal albums, and still sounds powerful almost five decades later. Iommi remained the only constant member of Black Sabbath throughout the years; he also released three excellent solo albums between 2000 and 2005.

Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Brian May (Queen) and Leslie West (Mountain) are also counted among the greats of hard rock guitar. West, however, is American, whereas the others are English.

Answer: Ronnie James Dio

New Jersey-born Ronnie James Dio (who passed away from cancer in May 2010) was a member of Rainbow, the band formed by Ritchie Blackmore after he left Deep Purple in 1975, and then in 1980 replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. Ian Gillan was the second Deep Purple vocalist (replacing Rod Evans in 1969), and the one associated with the band's most famous albums, such as "In Rock" and "Machine Head". David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes (who played bass as well as singing) replaced Gillan and bassist Roger Glover in 1973, and stayed with the band until they split up in 1976. Deep Purple reformed in 1984, and are still active as of 2016, with Gillan as a vocalist.

Answer: Ireland

Philip Parris Lynott was born in West Bromwich (England) in 1949, but grew up in Dublin. There, in the mid-Sixties, he met drummer Brian Downey, with whom he formed Thin Lizzy at the end of 1969. One of the few black musicians in the hard rock/heavy metal field, Lynott grew into a powerful frontman, and also published two books of poetry.

After 14 years and 12 studio albums, Thin Lizzy disbanded in 1983, as Lynott was dogged by his addiction to alcohol and drugs. He died in the early days of 1986 of pneumonia and heart failure brought about by his drug abuse. Thin Lizzy were reformed in 1996 by guitarist John Sykes (also known for his stint in Whitesnake), who had been a member of the last lineup of the band, then disbanded again.

The next version of the band was put together in 2004 by guitarist Scott Gorham (who is American, and had joined Thin Lizzy in 1974). Thin Lizzy counted a number of high-profile guitarists among its members, such as Sykes, Gary Moore, Brian Robertson (also with Mötörhead), and Snowy White (a longtime collaborator of Pink Floyd and Roger Waters).

Answer: Neil Peart

Neil Peart (born in 1952) joined Toronto-based trio Rush for their second album, "Fly by Night" (1975, replacing original drummer John Rutsey. At the time, they were still very much a hard rock band, though their music gradually became more complex and came to be associated with progressive rock. Peart's lyrics, as well as his brilliant drumming style, have been one of the keys for Rush's success throughout the years. In the late Nineties, after the tragic loss of his daughter and wife within ten months of each other, Peart thought about retiring from music altogether, but eventually he and his bandmates Geddy Lee (bass, vocals) and Alex Lifeson (guitar) got back together to resume their activity. Unfortunately, due to chronic tendonitis and shoulder problems, in 2015 Peart was forced to announce his retirement from touring.

None of the remaining three drummers are members of a trio. Moreover, Roger Taylor (Queen) and Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) are English, while Phil Rudd (AC/DC) is Australian.

Answer: Judas Priest

Born in 1951 in Sutton Coldfield (England), Robert John Halford possesses one of the most powerful and recognizable voices in rock, and his influence on other heavy metal singers has been enormous. When he replaced Judas Priest's original singer Al Atkins, he brought with him not just his vocal talent, but also his charismatic presence as a frontman, with his distinctive leather and studs look. Though he left the band in 1992 (being replaced by Tim "Ripper" Owens, whose story was fictionalized in the film "Rock Star"), in 2003 Halford made his triumphant return to the Judas Priest fold. During the years he spent away from Judas Priest, he formed two bands, Fight and Halford, and also recorded an album of industrial music titled "2wo".

Answer: Buck Dharma

Born on Long Island (NY) in 1947, Donald Roeser is the only member of Blue Öyster Cult that has kept the stage name devised by manager Sandy Pearlman in the late '60s, at the outset of the band's career. Though not a household name as the likes of Jimmy Page or Tony Iommi, Buck Dharma is not only one of the greatest rock guitarists ever, but is also an excellent vocalist and songwriter. He is the author of three of the band's biggest hits. "(Don't Fear) the Reaper", "Godzilla" and "Burnin' for You", as well as the sublime "Then Came the Last Days of May".

The Who's bassist, John Entwistle, was nicknamed The Ox for his imposing presence and strong constitution. Motor City Madman refers to Detroit guitarist Ted Nugent, while Bonzo was the nickname of Led Zeppelin's drummer, John Bonham.

Answer: Cozy Powell

Born Colin Trevor Flooks in 1947, Cozy Powell was the archetypal hard rock drummer, powerful and intense yet capable of subtlety. He appeared on over 66 recordings, and at one time was touted as one of the possible replacements for Led Zeppelin's John Bonham after the latter's sudden passing in 1980. Powell started playing drums at the age of 12, but his first important stint was as a member of the Jeff Beck Group, with which he recorded two albums in the early Seventies. He also released a successful single as a solo artist by the title of "Dance With the Devil" (1974), and in the following year he joined Rainbow, the band Ritchie Blackmore had formed after leaving Deep Purple. In the Eighties and Nineties he joined a number of bands for short periods of time - including Whitesnake, ELPowell (with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake), and Black Sabbath. On 5 April 1998, he died in a car crash on the M4 motorway near Bristol while driving in bad weather and well over the speed limit.

Of the remaining three options (all drummers), Ian Paice is the longest-serving member of Deep Purple, while Bill Ward was the original drummer of Black Sabbath. American drummer Carmine Appice, like Powell, played with quite a few bands, such as Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogert & Appice, and Blue Murder.

Answer: John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones is the stage name of John Baldwin, Led Zeppelin's bassist/keyboardist. Born in Sidcup (Kent) in 1946, he adopted his stage name (inspired by the poster of a film about the American naval fighter) prior to joining the legendary band. After Led Zeppelin's demise in 1980, Jones embarked on a solo career, collaborating with a number of other musicians and releasing a few albums. Though known mostly for his role as the quartet's bassist, Jones is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer and producer.

The three remaining musicians are all well-known hard rock bassists, though none of them play keyboards. Terence "Geezer" Butler (Black Sabbath) and Roger Glover (Deep Purple) are both English, while Gene Simmons (KISS) is an Israeli-born American.

Answer: Uriah Heep

Mick Box (who is the only constant member of the band) and David Byron formed a band called Spice in 1967, and later changed its name to Uriah Heep - after the villain in Dickens' novel "David Copperfield". Their debut album, "Very 'Eavy... Very 'Umble" (1970), references the signature phrase of that character. In almost 50 years of activity Uriah Heep have gone through numerous personnel changes, and released 24 studio albums. They also have a loyal following, in spite of having been often panned by critics.

The other three choices are all bands named after people, real (Jethro Tull and Lynyrd Skynyrd) or fictional (Alice Cooper).

Answer: Hammond organ

Jonathan Douglas Lord, born in Leicester (England) in 1941, was not only a great keyboardist - especially known for his prowess on the Hammond organ, one of classic hard rock's iconic instruments - but also an accomplished composer with a strong classical music background.

In 1967 he joined the earliest version of Deep Purple, together with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and bassist Nick Simper, and remained with the various incarnations of the band until 2002, when he left to concentrate on his own solo work.

He was also a member of Whitesnake, the Deep Purple offshoot formed by David Coverdale, from 1978 to 1984. Sadly, Lord died in 2012 of a pulmonary embolism, after having been treated for pancreatic cancer.