We're Going To Hang Out The Washing Quiz

Answer: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

"Well I'm shakin' my shirt all over the place
But it's been thrown right back in my face.
Shirt! Shirt! Shirt! Shakin' the shirt.
New horizons in sound now as Roger plays a solo on the electric shirt collar.
Shirt! Shirt! Shirt! Shakin' the shirt."

"Shirt", from The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's 1969 album "Tadpoles", has a spoken introduction revolving around a well-mannered reporter trying to canvass the opinions of passers-by in Willesden Green (a cosmopolitan district of London) on the necessity of shirts.

The Bonzos had several slightly different names during their career: on the "Tadpoles" album they were called "Bonzo Dog Band". They were noted for the eccentric subject matter of their compositions, producing such numbers as "I'm the Urban Spaceman", "Hunting Tigers Out In Indiah", and a cover of Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "The Monster Mash", as well as laundry-related ditties such as "Shirt" and "Trouser Press". They were most active in the 1960s and early 1970s, but have had several reunions since then.

Answer: Carmen Miranda

"The gentlemen they want to make me say, 'Si, si,'
But I don't tell them that, I tell them, 'Yes, sir-ee!'
And maybe that is why they come for dates to me,
The lady in the tutti-frutti hat."

Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (1909-1955), the Portuguese-born singer known as Carmen Miranda, was already a star in her adopted country of Brazil when she came to the United States in 1939. The former hat-maker was called "The Brazilian Bombshell" by Hollywood, and was marketed as a stereotypically flamboyant Latin American character in several movies.

Her song, "The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat", comes from the 1943 musical movie "The Gang's All Here", a wartime morale booster directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. The film was initially banned in Portugal as Miranda's number was considered to be too suggestive.

Answer: Derek and the Dominos

"I don't want to fade away.
Give me one more day please.
I don't want to fade away.
In your heart I long to stay."

The band known as Derek and the Dominos was formed in 1970 by guitarist Eric Clapton. They were plagued by the consequences of the drug culture of the time and also by personal tragedy: one member died in a road traffic accident, and Clapton was very much affected by the death of Jimi Hendrix, who had been a personal friend. By 1972, Derek and the Dominos as an entity had faded away.

"Bell Bottom Blues" is a song about unrequited love, and was first released as a single on the Polydor label in 1970 as the B side to the rock classic, "Layla". Bell bottoms were a style of jeans with a wide flare on the lower leg and were very popular in the late '60s and early '70s.

Answer: St Cecilia

On its UK release in 1971, this song got to number 12 in the UK Singles Chart and, despite protests outside the BBC Television Centre, was banned from the BBC's "Top of the Pops" programme. Various sources report that it was written by that master of the silly song, Jonathan King, but it was actually composed by St Cecilia's bass player, Keith Hancock; apparently King was the band's agent.

By 1985, BBC standards had changed and the song was finally broadcast on "The Noel Edmunds Show": I haven't been able to find a copy of the lyrics but, from listening to the somewhat indistinct rerun of the 1985 performance on various websites, they seem pretty innocuous by modern standards.

Answer: Kilt

"Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,
Through the streets in my kilt I'll go,
All the lassies cry, 'Hello!
Donald, where's your troosers!'"

"Donald, Where's Your Troosers?" is a traditional Scottish song telling the story of a kilt-wearing young man from the Isle of Skye (i.e. a rural lad) and his reception as he travels through the city streets, both in Scotland and England. There are several versions of the lyrics, but in all of them the Scottish pronunciation "troosers" should be used.

The song was a hit in 1961 for kilt-wearing Scottish entertainer Andy Stewart (1933-1993) who was also known for compèring the BBC Scotland programme "The White Heather Club", which was a medley of music and dance from north of Hadrian's Wall. Other notable hits for this genial Scot included "A Scottish Soldier", "Tunes of Glory", "Campbeltown Loch", and "Dr. Finlay".

Answer: a polka dot bikini

"One, two, three, four, tell the people what she wore:
It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini,
That she wore for the first time today;
An itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini,
So in the locker she wanted to stay."

American Bryan Hyland's 1960 single "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" reached the number one spot in the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart in August of that year, and number eight in the UK charts. It tells the tale of a shy young lady's attempt to go unnoticed at the beach whilst wearing a skimpy swimsuit. In those days it was still a bit daring to be showing a lot of flesh, even on the beach! The song has been covered by many artists, and in many languages including Serbian, Croatian and Brazilian.

Other notable songs from Hyland included "Sealed With a Kiss" and "Ginny Come Lately", both from 1962.

Answer: The Royal Teens

"Who wears short shorts
We wear short shorts
They're such short shorts
We like short shorts
Who wears short shorts
We wear short shorts."

In 1957, a group of New Jersey teenagers formed a band - The Royal Tones. Finding that this name was already taken, they changed it to The Royal Teens, dressed smartly, and came up with their 1958 hit, "Short Shorts", after seeing some young ladies sporting the latest thing in summer trousers: very short cut-off denim jeans.

One of their members, Bob Gaudio, went on to join The Four Seasons, and another, Al Kooper, who played guitar for part of the band's 1959 tour, went on to form Blood, Sweat & Tears. The song itself was used in an advertising campaign for Nair products, and has been heard in several episodes of "The Simpsons".

Answer: Taking other people's washing

"Arnold Layne had a strange hobby
Collecting clothes
Moonshine washing line."

Rock super group Pink Floyd released their saga of laundry-snatcher "Arnold Layne" as a UK single in 1967 (when they were still known as "The Pink Floyd"). Reputedly based on real incidents of laundry disappearance from the Cambridge childhood days of band members Syd Barrett and Roger Waters, the song's oblique reference to cross-dressing resulted in a ban by Radio London.

Answer: Lipstick

"Lipstick on your collar told a tale on you,
Lipstick on your collar said you were untrue.
Bet your bottom dollar you and I are through,
'Cause lipstick on your collar told a tale on you, yeah."

If only her best friend Mary Jane had worn baby pink lipstick instead of red, Connie Francis would have been none the wiser about her date's shenanigans! "Lipstick on your Collar" was a number three hit in the UK for the singer in 1959. There are many methods for removing lipstick from fabric, but you should always check the garment care label before trying any of them.

In 1957, Connie had been on the point of quitting the music business to enrol for a degree course in medicine, but was persuaded to record "Who's Sorry Now?", a soulful song from 1923, which got to number one in the UK and number four in the US Billboard Charts. Medicine's loss was music's gain!

Answer: The Siegfried Line

"We're going to hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line -
Have you any dirty washing, mother dear?
We're gonna hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line,
'Cause the washing day is here.
Whether the weather may be wet or fine,
We'll just rub along without a care.
We're going to hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line,
If the Siegfried Line's still there."

Popular Irish songwriter and lyricist Jimmy Kennedy (1902-1984), responsible for such classics as "Red Sails in the Sunset", "South of the Border", and "Teddy Bears Picnic", was serving in the Royal Artillery when he penned the morale-boosting WW2 song "We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line" in 1939. The Siegfried Line of the song was a line of fortifications constructed by Germany in response to the French Maginot Line fortifications created between 1930 and 1940.

Hanging out the washing on the Conga Line might be an aid to drying, as the people taking part in this winding "follow the leader" dance do flap about a lot. On the other hand, your washing might get filthy again as it was flung from the flailing limbs of the Conga dancers onto the ground.

Hanging out the washing on the International Date Line could be problematical: it is, like the Equator, a theoretical geographical concept. As much of it runs through the Pacific Ocean, your washing (unless also theoretical) might get quite wet!

Hanging out the washing on the Northern Line could be very hazardous to your health, not to mention embarrassing. The Northern Line is part of the London Underground network of railways (parts of it do run overground), frequented daily by thousands of bored commuters who would welcome the diversion of seeing your favourite fluffy bunny socks blowing in the wind by the trackside.