1. The bestselling single of 2008 shares its name with a chorus from Handel’s 1741 oratorio Messiah. What is it called?
2. In January 1976, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody was knocked off No 1 by a song that is mentioned in its lyrics. What was that song?
3. Which former professional footballer partnered with country singer Willie Nelson on the 1984 No 17 To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before?
4. Name the New Zealand-born soprano who had a No 5 hit with World In Union in 1991.
American singer Michael Jackson pictured in the music video for his 1983 hit Thriller
5. The Oscar-winning song Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head was a Top 40 hit in 1970 for Sacha Distel. But for which film was the song originally written?
6. In 1975, which Scottish comedian had a No 1 single with a parody of the Tammy Wynette song D.I.V.O.R.C.E.?
7. What 1992 No 3 single by Miley Cyrus’s father helped spark a craze for line dancing?
8. Which actress partnered with Robbie Williams on his chart-topping version of Frank and Nancy Sinatra’s 1967 No 1 Somethin’ Stupid?
9. In 1967, Gene Pitney had a No 5 hit with Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart. In 1989, the same song became his first and only No 1 when he re-recorded it as a duet with which singer?
10. Right Said Fred had their only No 1 in 1992 with Deeply Dippy, but who had a 1962 Top 10 single with the song Right Said Fred?
11. What amazing animal did Simon Smith have, according to the 1967 No 4 single by the Alan Price Set?
12. What demand did Sly And The Family Stone make in their 1968 single, resulting in their first and biggest Top 40 hit?
13. Which British band had a run of ten Top 40 singles that began with The Seeker in 1970 and ended with Who Are You in 1978, but have never had a No 1?
14. Who was given the opening line to sing on the original 1984 version of the Band Aid single Do They Know It’s Christmas when first choice David Bowie couldn’t make it to the recording session?
15. The theme to the 1985 James Bond film A View To A Kill gave Duran Duran their second U.S. No 1. Which other Eighties pop star played the villainous May Day in the film?
16. In 1982, Madness had their only No 1 with House Of Fun and made No 5 with which other ‘House’ song?
17. Which British singer made her chart debut in 1981 and had the first of 20 Top 40 hits with a No 2 single written by her father and her brother?
18. Which song from Pinocchio (right) became the first from a Disney film to win an Academy Award?
19. What playground pastime was the subject of Malcolm McLaren’s 1983 No 3 single Double Dutch?
20. Which chart-topping artist married the German recording engineer Renate Blauel in 1984 on Valentine’s Day?
21. Singer and actor Murray Head had his only Top 40 hit with One Night In Bangkok. For which hit stage musical was the song written?
22. What song made No 6 in 1957, but finally made it to No 1 at Christmas 29 years later in 1986 following its use in a TV commercial for Levi’s jeans?
British rock band Queen with Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon
23. Name the soul-music legend who had her only No 1 single in February 1987 when she teamed up with George Michael.
24. Kylie Minogue’s debut single in 1988 was her version of The Loco-Motion. But which singer had the original 1962 No 2 hit with this song?
25. What became the only song to be Christmas No 1 twice for the same artist, in December 1991?
26. The biggest film of 1978 resulted in two singles for Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson which stayed at No 1 for a combined total of 16 weeks. Who are they better known as?
27. Which song that had originally been a 1956 hit for Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly gave Elton John and Kiki Dee their second Top 10 hit together in 1993?
28. Who made their chart debut and had the first of 20 Top 40 hits with a cover of The Osmonds’s 1974 No 1 Love Me For A Reason?
29. The fourth series of ITV drama Soldier Soldier spawned a No 1 hit in 1995 following a performance in the show by Fusilier Dave Tucker and Sergeant Paddy Garvey. By what name are the duo better known?
30. The chart debut by Oklahoma-born brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac (with a combined age of 45) was No 1 for three weeks in 1997. By what family name were the brothers better known?
31. DJ Terry Wogan (left) had two Top 40 hits: Silver Bells in 2009, and which No 21 hit in 1978?
Terry Wogan (above) from the British ITV show ‘Lunchtime with Wogan’, which aired from 1972 to 1973 as part of an afternoon schedule
32. Jennifer Warnes twice made the Top 40 with duets from films. One was (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life with Bill Medley, from Dirty Dancing. What was the other hit, in 1983, from An Officer And A Gentleman?
33. Who left Albert Square and had a ‘Perfect Moment’ when she topped the chart in April 1999?
34. Which British singer was just 15 years old when she had her second No 1 single with Walkin’ Back To Happiness in 1961?
35. Which 1992 No 1 power ballad contains the lyrics ‘If you stay I would only be in your way, so I’ll go but I know I’ll think of you every step of the way’?
36. In 1994, Elton John had two Top 20 singles from The Lion King soundtrack. The No 14 hit Can You Feel The Love Tonight was one; what was the other (which was also his 50th Top 40 hit)?
37. You’ll Never Walk Alone was a No 1 hit for Gerry And The Pacemakers in 1963, and for The Crowd in 1985, but for which Rodgers and Hammerstein musical was it written?
38. Songwriter Lionel Bart had his greatest successes with the musical Oliver! and which song that was a No 1 hit twice for Cliff Richard?
Singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue (pictured)
39. In 1991, Jason Donovan had his fourth No 1 single with a song from which Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical?
40. The Rolling Stones have had 43 Top 40 singles, but one of them, a 1966 No 5, has the longest title, with ten words. Name the song.
41. Who had a 1977 No 2 that begins with the line ‘Freeze, I’m Ma Baker, put your hands in the air and gimme all your money’?
42. In 1990, Cher had her first No 1 single for 20 years with a cover of The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss). From what film soundtrack was the song taken?
43. Which 1935 George and Ira Gershwin song (which has been recorded more than 25,000 times) gave Fun Boy Three their fifth Top 40 hit in August 1982?
44. Which British band had their third No 1 courtesy of a ‘Sunny Afternoon’ in 1966?
45. Which American duo had their only Top 40 hit in September 1995 when I’ll Be There For You, the theme to the television series Friends, reached No 3?
46. Which veteran horror actor provided the voiceover for Michael Jackson’s 1983 No 10 single Thriller?
47. Which star was born Thomas Woodward in Pontypridd, Wales, in 1940? He had his first two No 1 hits in the 1960s, but had to wait until 2009 for his third.
48. Who had a gap of 29 years between his first No 1, When I Need You, in 1977, and his second, Thunder In My Heart Again, in 2006?
49. What remarkable achievement do The Beatles, John Lennon (solo), Elvis Presley, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber share?
Actress Grace Kelly being married to Bing Crosby in the film ‘High Society’
50. Which song by a Yorkshire-born singer first entered the Top 40 in November 1971 and finally made No 1 in March 2005, 33 years and four months later?
51. Which song, originally written as a film theme, has been a No 1 single for four different artists in three different decades?
52. Who are the only father and son each to have topped the charts as solo artists — the father in 1981, his son in 2002?
53. Which American actor can claim to have the shortest ever No 1 song title, for his 1975 hit If?
54. Galloping Home by the London String Chorale became a Top 40 hit in 1973 after it was used as the theme music for a TV drama. Can you name the show?
55. Which chart-topping family outfit consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kathy and Kim?
56. Which 1983 No 3 power ballad includes the geographically dubious lyrics ‘As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti’? (They are 180 miles apart.)
57. Who gave up a good job playing Beth Brennan in Neighbours to make her chart debut with the power ballad Torn?
58. In 1993, Frank Sinatra had his last Top 40 hit with a duet version of I’ve Got You Under My Skin, recorded with which chart-topping rock singer?
Members of new wave band Duran Duran, including John Taylor, Simon Le Bon, Andy Taylor (left to right at back), Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor (front)
59. Three Stars Will Shine Tonight by Richard Chamberlain went to No 12 in 1962 when it was used as the theme for a hugely popular U.S. TV drama. Can you name the show?
60. What nationality was the Flea that gave Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass a No 3 hit in 1965?
61. Who had their biggest hit in 1981 with a No 2 single named after a European capital that begins ‘Walked in the cold air, freezing breath on a window pane, lying and waiting’? (It was kept off the top slot by Joe Dolce’s Shaddap You Face.)
62. In 1970, who became the first of seven Irish acts to win the Eurovision Song Contest, and had a No 1 single with All Kinds Of Everything?
63. In July 1979, who had the second of two No 2 singles with a song that begins ‘I never thought it would happen with me and the girl from Clapham’?
64. In 1959, who became the first Welsh artist to top the charts, and made her most recent appearance in 2005 courtesy of Kanye West?
65. In 1972, British quintet The New Seekers had their first No 1 with what song that began life as a TV advert for Coca-Cola?
66. In 1975, which TV comedy trio had the biggest of their five Top 40 hits with The Funky Gibbon?
67. Which reptile provided different Top 10 hits for Elton John in 1972 and Jimmy Nail in 1994?
68. Which 1973 No 4 single gave Cliff Richard his 60th Top 40 hit after it was chosen as the UK entry for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest?
69. Who can count Blue Moon, Blue River and Indescribably Blue among his 139 Top 40 hits?
70. What was the last No 1 single of the 1970s? It featured the children of Islington Green School, who were paid £1,000 for their contribution.
Answers
1. Hallelujah
2. Mamma Mia
3. Julio Iglesias
4. Kiri Te Kanawa
5. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
6. Billy Connolly
7. Achy Breaky Heart
8. Nicole Kidman
9. Marc Almond
10. Bernard Cribbins
11. The Amazing Dancing Bear
12. Dance To The Music
13. The Who
14. Paul Young
15. Grace Jones
16. Our House
17. Kim Wilde with Kids In America
18. When You Wish Upon A Star
19. Skipping
20. Elton John
21. Chess
22. Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson
23. Aretha Franklin
24. Little Eva
25. Bohemian Rhapsody — The Queen single spent nine weeks at No 1 in 1975, but was reissued following the death of Freddie Mercury and spent another five weeks at the top
26. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John — with You’re The One That I Want and Summer Nights, from Grease
27. True Love, from the musical High Society
28. Boyzone
29. Robson And Jerome — their Unchained Melody was the best-selling single of the year
30. Hanson — with MMMBop
31. The Floral Dance
32. Up Where We Belong
33. Martine McCutcheon
34. Helen Shapiro
35. Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You
36. Circle Of Life
37. Carousel
38. Living Doll
39. Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat — the song was Any Dream Will Do
40. Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?
41. Boney M
42. Mermaids
43. Summertime
44. The Kinks
45. The Rembrandts
46. Vincent Price
47. Tom Jones
48. Leo Sayer
49. They have all knocked themselves off the No 1 spot
50. (Is This The Way To) Amarillo? by Tony Christie
51. Unchained Melody — originally written for the 1955 prison drama Unchained
52. Julio and Enrique Iglesias
53. Telly Savalas
54. The Adventures Of Black Beauty
55. Sister Sledge
56. Africa by Toto
57. Natalie Imbruglia
58. Bono — Frank recorded his part in LA, while Bono did his in Dublin
59. Dr Kildare — starring Richard Chamberlain
60. Spanish
61. Ultravox
62. Dana
63. Squeeze
64. Shirley Bassey
65. I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing
66. The Goodies
67. The crocodile — Crocodile Rock and Crocodile Shoes respectively
68. Power To All Our Friends
69. Elvis Presley
70. Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall
BOX: A 1960; B 1973; C 1987; D 1967; E 1997; F 1980
Taken from Now That’s What I Call A Quiz: Puzzle Your Way Through 60 Years Of Pop by Michael Mulligan, published by Trapeze at £9.99 © Michael Mulligan 2019. To order a copy for £8 (offer valid to January 2, 2020, P&P free), visit www.mailshop.co.uk or call 01603 648155