The Music of Space: The Later Years Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 1999, Tom Jones released 'Reload', an album of cover versions. Each cover version was a collaboration with a different band or singer, and one of these bands was Space, who had piqued Jones' interest after they had released 'The Ballad of Tom Jones'. Which song did Space and Tom Jones cover together?

Answer: 'Sunny Afternoon' (Kinks)

Space and Tom Jones performed the song together on 'An Audience with Tom Jones' in 1999. 'Reload' actually took its name from one of two songs that Space frontman Tommy Scott had written for Tom Jones, the other being 'Little Did He Know'. As for the other choices, 'Burning Down the House' was one of the singles released from the album, on which Jones duetted with the Cardigans' Nina Persson. 'Motherless Child' was a collaboration with Portishead.

2. In 1999, Space announced plans for a third album. The following year, they released a comeback single, 'Diary of a Wimp'. In which Spanish city, home of Las Ramblas, the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, was the video for 'Diary of a Wimp' shot?

Answer: Barcelona

The video for 'Diary of a Wimp' was shot at Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Previous Space singles had been released in two formats, with CD1 containing remixes and CD2 containing B-sides; however, both formats of 'Diary of a Wimp' had B-sides on them. Unfortunately for Space, the single did poorly; it was their first single in four years that failed to reach the UK Top 40, and instead tanked at Number 49.

3. The release of the third Space album was continually delayed due to problems with the record company, from which the band eventually parted. The album was never officially released. However, the tracks from the album were leaked, and fans managed to obtain and circulate bootleg copies. What was the name of the third Space album that never was?

Answer: Love You More than Football

'Love You More than Football' was scheduled to be released in July 2000, but the release date was pushed further back to 2001, and the album eventually ended up being shelved. 'Diary of a Wimp' was the only single released from the album, though 'Gravity', sung by guitarist Jamie Murphy, was available on digital download in 2002 and appeared on Space's 'Greatest Hits' in the same year, along with an unreleased track with a name which is far too rude to mention on a family site! 'Good Times', a collaboration with R 'n' B singer Jennifer John, and the title track both featured on 'Greatest Hits and Unheard Bits', another compilation released by Gut Records in 2003, although Space had parted with Gut by this point due to creative differences.

The album was the first Space album to feature a song with lead vocals by bassist David 'Yorkie' Palmer, 'Supersonic Jetplane'. It also featured a hidden track, 'Yes You Do'.

4. Space became a quartet again when one of the band members left at the end of 2001. Which band member, who had temporarily left the band in 1997 due to a nervous breakdown, was this?

Answer: Jamie Murphy

Jamie Murphy left Space for good at the end of 2001, leaving Tommy Scott to take over on guitar. However, his departure was not announced until January the following year, a week before Space were due to play an exclusive gig for fans in Liverpool. The gig went ahead nevertheless.

5. From 2002 to 2004, Space released a series of tracks that could be downloaded through their official website. The first two appeared on a free CD for fans at an exclusive gig at Liverpool's Unity Theatre in 2002. What was the name of this series?

Answer: Music for Aliens

At the Unity Theatre concert, Space played two sets; the first consisted of new material, while the second featured tracks from 'Spiders' and 'Tin Planet'. Two songs from the first set, 'Year of the Underdog' and another one with a rude title, later appeared on the band's website as part of the 'Music for Aliens' series.

The other tracks were 'Now I'm History!', 'The English Language Let Me Down', 'Straight Line' and 'Nothing to Find Her' (these last two being featured on the free CD).

6. In 2004, Space released their third album, 'Suburban Rock 'n' Roll'. This was to be their final album, as they split the following year. Which of these songs was NOT released from the album as a single?

Answer: Hell's Barbecue

Of the tracks that Space had debuted at the Unity Theatre two years earlier, 'Hell's Barbecue' and 'Quiet Beach' made it onto 'Suburban Rock 'n' Roll'. A remixed version of 'The English Language Let Me Down', originally from the 'Music for Aliens' series, was also featured on the album. Other songs from the gig - 'Dopamine', 'Play The Songs' and 'Cameraman' - were used as B-sides.

In early 2004, Space toured the UK and incorporated a few new tracks into their set that were supposed to be on a fourth album, 'Flies'. However, this album was never released, and no tracks were leaked.

7. After Space split in 2005, Tommy Scott formed a band with Leon Caffrey on drums, former Space roadie Phil Hartley on bass, and Sofie Roberts on keyboards and cello. What was the name of this band, inspired by a collaboration between Lou Reed and John Cale?

Answer: The Drellas

The Drellas were named after 'Songs for Drella', a concept album Lou Reed and John Cale had written for Andy Warhol. ('Drella', from 'Cinderella', was their nickname for him.) Leon Caffrey later moved to Australia, and was replaced by Allan Jones, while Sofie was replaced by Ryan Clarke. The band then evolved into Tommy Scott & the Red Scare, and began to incorporate Space songs such as 'Neighbourhood' into their set.

As for the other bands, Moongoose were a band produced by Yorkie, and Firehead and Dust were bands Jamie played in after leaving Space (the latter also included Franny). Both Yorkie and Franny worked on solo material after Space ended.

Several of the Drellas' songs, such as 'Cash Converters' (later changed to 'Happy Clowns'), 'Crying on the Webcam' and 'Anthony's Brainwaves', would later resurface as Space songs.

8. In 2011, Space reunited along with three new members, and played a homecoming Christmas gig in their native Liverpool. The reunion was the result of a tragic event: in 2009, three members of the original line-up met up at the funeral of another band member who had died after collapsing in the street in Liverpool, aged 41. Which band member was this?

Answer: Andy Parle

After leaving Space at the end of 1997, Andy Parle had lost contact with the other band members. The three surviving original members attended his funeral, and after getting back in touch with each other and attending gigs by each other's bands, they decided it was time for Space to reunite. Tommy stated in an interview with 'Rocksucker' in 2011 that after a long period of wanting to distance himself from Space, he had begun playing their songs again while with the Red Scare, and that it had felt strange playing them without Franny or Jamie there.

Leon and Yorkie did not return for the reunion. The three new members of Space had all played with Tommy Scott in the Drellas and the Red Scare; they were drummer Allan Jones, bassist Phil Hartley, and keyboardist Ryan Clarke.

9. Here's a tricky question. On 2014, Space released their fourth album, 'Attack of the Mutant 50ft Kebab'. The title track is about chain stores being destroyed by - you guessed it - a giant mutant kebab, as an act of revenge against independent businesses losing out against corporations. Which chain is NOT mentioned in the song? (Hint: Jared Fogle.)

Answer: Subway

For reference:

'Just saw Pizza Hut smashed to the ground
Burger King annihilated, never to be found
There's blood on the windows of Primark and Next
It's the end of the world, send your final text
'Cause you might be next!'

Boots and Superdrug also get a mention in the lines 'Take 30 Nytol, sleep through your death / But there's no more Boots or Superdrug left.' Jared Fogle became a spokesman for Subway after claiming to have lost a considerable amount of weight by eating their sandwiches.

10. In the spring of 2014, Space toured to promote, 'Attack of the Mutant 50ft Kebab'. Which female-fronted band, whose singles include 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' and 'Ready to Go', accompanied them on tour?

Answer: Republica

The London-based dance-rock quartet Republica, fronted by Sam 'Saffron' Sprackling, found success in 1997 with 'Ready to Go' and 'Drop Dead Gorgeous'. The latter was featured on the 'Scream' soundtrack. After playing a festival together in 2013, the two bands arranged to tour together.

They played six dates in the UK in March 2014, sharing headline slots. Space headlined the Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool dates, while Republica were the headliners in Newcastle, Coventry and London.

Source: Author Kankurette

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

This is the third and final quiz in my series of quizzes on the Liverpool band Space, and deals with everything after 'Tin Planet' including the 2011 reunion.

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