10CC Trivia Quiz

Answer: Christopher Columbus

Columbus was looking for a direct ocean route from Europe to Asia and believed this could be attained by travelling west as it was thought that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller than it actually is. He landed in what he thought was Asia on October 12th 1492, but it turned out it was one of the Bahamian islands.

In all Columbus made four journeys looking for a direct route to Asia and in doing so, accidentally found the Americas, including Central and South America as well as the Caribbean.

Answer: Charlie Chaplin

Downey Jr. won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the great man in the movie "Chaplin" (1992). Chaplin is well known for his role of The Tramp in many of his movies but also received many plaudits for parodying Adolf Hitler in "The Great Dictator" (1940), which many consider to be his finest work.

Answer: Christopher Cockerell

Never was the adage, "from tiny acorns, mighty oak trees grow" more true, as Cockerell's first prototype to test his theory consisted of a vacuum cleaner and tin cans. By 1959, the first hovercraft was unveiled to the public and, by 1962, the first commercial passenger carrying hovercraft was demonstrated on the Saint Lawrence River, Canada, before being put into service on the Bristol Channel in UK.

Answer: Craig Charles

Charles appeared at poetry events throughout UK in the early 1980s and became so well known that he was invited by John Peel to perform on BBC Radio One on several occasions. This led to him becoming the resident poet on TV shows such as "Riverside" and "Black On Black", with his poems being a mixture of politics and humour.

His life took an incredible upwards turn and elevated him to cult status in 1988, when he appeared in the first episode of new BBC sci-fi comedy "Red Dwarf", a role for which he is still remembered today. Just in case you were wondering, Dave Lister's companions in the show were a hologram (Arnold Rimmer), a service mechanoid (Kryten) and a life form that evolved from the descendants of Lister's cat, known as The Cat.

Answer: Chris Cornell

Cornell was a supreme talent with a distinctive voice reflected in the fact that he was nominated for Grammy awards 16 times. Apart from his work with Audioslave and Soundgarden, he released four solo albums, which showcased his vocal range as he covered songs by Led Zeppelin, John Mayer, John Lennon and Michael Jackson.

He suffered with depression for the majority of his life and hanged himself after performing with Soundgarden in Detroit.

Answer: Chelsea Clinton

The movie is set in the year 2049 and starred Kirsten Storms in the title role. Although the movie was made when Clinton was just 19, it may not be too far from the truth, as in 2018, she told reporters that a move into politics is a "definite maybe for the future".

Answer: Cyd Charisse

The real name of Cyd Charisse was Tula Ellice Finklea and she was given the childhood nickname of Sid, by her younger brother, which was later changed to the more exotic spelling of Cyd. After suffering from polio as a child, she was encouraged to dance by doctors as a way of strengthening her leg muscles and had dance lessons between the ages of six and 12, when she took up ballet in earnest, and was talented enough to dance in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at age 14. Apart from the films mentioned in the question, she also had roles in "The Mark Of The Renegade" (1951) and "Singin' In The Rain"(1952) as well as starring alongside Fred Astaire in "Silk Stockings" (1957). Charisse was awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities by President George W. Bush in 2006 and died in 2008 aged 86.

Answer: Colin Chapman

Although Team Lotus are well known in the world of Formula One, competing from 1954 to 1994 and winning seven constructors championships in that time, Chapman's own F1 career was considerably shorter. In 1956, he had the chance to drive a Vanwall in the French Grand Prix, but managed to collide with team mate Mike Hawthorn in practice, damaging his car so badly that he never made the race.

He retired from F1 after this, concentrating on making the Lotus a world beater with many innovations inspired by his time in the RAF and his understanding of aircraft engineering.

Answer: Cassius Clay

Aged just 18, Clay won gold in the light heavyweight division of the 1960 Rome Olympics and turned professional straight after. He fought Sonny Liston in 1964 for the world heavyweight championship and used his superior mobility to cause a major upset, winning by TKO (technical knock out) when Liston stayed in his corner at the start of the seventh round. Following the fight, Clay who had converted to Islam in 1961, changed his name to Muhammad Ali, saying that Cassius Clay was his slave name.

Answer: Clarence Clemons

Clemons was an integral part of the E Street Band sound and had been a member since 1972. Both Clemons and Springsteen have told of how, the first time they played together, neither had to say a word, they just knew instinctively where the other was going with the music, which is doubtless what made him the perfect onstage partner for "The Boss". Clemons sadly died in 2011 aged 69 and I'm sure I am not the only one who gets a lump in my throat whenever I hear "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out", the Springsteen track from 1976, with the line "Big Man joins the band".