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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 70 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Music Mixture
Ry Cooder. Ry Cooder won a Grammy in 1998 for his work on the Cuban music documentary "Buena Vista Social Club". He also appeared as a session guitarist on The Rolling Stones "Let It Bleed" and "Sticky Fingers".
Big George Webley. Big George presents "Big George's Business of Sound" on BBC Three Counties Radio. Ron Grainer composed the "Dr. Who" theme, Jerry Goldsmith composed "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" theme and Laurie Johnson composed "The Avengers" theme.
Two Little Boys and Another Brick in The Wall. "Two Little Boys" by Rolf Harris reached number one in December 1969. It was the top selling single of that year and stayed there for six weeks.
"Another Brick in The Wall" by Pink Floyd got to number one in December 1979, it stayed there for five weeks and is Pink Floyd's only number one in the UK, USA and many other countries.
Jimmy. The song was a big hit for Jimmy in 1972 and reached number one in the UK charts staying there for five weeks. Jimmy became (and still is) the youngest UK chart topper ever as he was only 9 years and 8 months old.
| Who sang this song from the late Seventies?
"But this is my world today
My world your living in every day
And this is my world today
And I couldn’t have it any other way
In my world" | Hoi Polloi's Mixed Bag of Musical Trivia
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Secret Affair. This band could have been big in the late Seventies-early Eighties. Unfortunately for them, the Mod revival was short-lived and the New Romantics took over! They were the original Glory Boys. Check out the albums - "Glory Boys Business as Usual" and "Behind Closed Doors".
| Which Rock and Roll classic which was first released in 1954, only sold 72,000 copies but when featured on the Soundtrack of the film "The Black Board Jungle" immediately shot to Number one in 1955?
| Hoi Polloi's Mixed Bag of Musical Trivia
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Rock Around the Clock. Prior to 1952 Bill Haley played country music with a band called The Saddlemen. In 1952 he changed the name of the band to Bill Haley and the Comets and in 1954 he recorded "Rock Around the Clock" but with 75,000 sales it was only a moderate hit. One year later the movie "The Blackboard Jungle" starring Glen Ford and Anne Francis was released and Haley's song featured on the opening sound track and as a result it immediately shot to number one in both the UK and US charts.
Daredevil. It looks like our Hero's number is up when "Filling the wintered glades of Central Park with an unearthly whine - painting the leaf-bare branches with golden fire - The Teardrop Explodes!"
| Tears for Fears had a huge hit in 1985 with the track "Everybody wants to rule the World". The video features Curt Smith driving around the USA. What classic car he was driving? | Hoi Polloi's Mixed Bag of Musical Trivia
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Austin Healey 3000. Yes, young Curt is roaring around in a beautiful deep blue Austin Healey singing about "all for freedom and for pleasure, nothing ever lasts forever". And sadly, it didn't although the song did get to number one in the US charts.
the Chemical Brothers. Manchester's finest were pioneers of the big beat, first hitting number one in the UK with "Block rockin' beats" in 1997.
Adam and the Ants. The Ants (circa 1980) were Chris Hughes (Merrick) and Terry Lee Miall (drums), Marco Pirroni (guitar) and Kevin Mooney (bass guitar). Their records, such as "Dog Eat Dog" were easily recognisable by the heavy drum-beat.
Muddy Waters. Muddy Waters was born McKinley Morganfield, April 4th 1913 and died April 30th 1983 at the age of seventy.
This song was written in the mid Fifties along with some of his other greats which include "I just want to make love to you" and "The Hoochie Coochie Man". This is just a small selection of classic blues songs by this brilliant artist.
Answer Me. "Answer Me ( Lord Above )" was recorded by Frankie Lane but because of the religious connotations the BBC banned it from air time. It was immediately changed to "Answer Me ( O My Love )" and recorded by David Whitfield, it immediately shot to the number one spot. This was the first time a song was knocked off the top slot by the same song but by a different singer!
Highlander. "Princes of the Universe" was written by Freddie Mercury as the soundtrack of the movie. Most of the songs on the "Kind of Magic" album were written for this film except for "Hammer to Fall" which was written in 1984 and is on "The Works" album. This album was released in 1986 and went to number one in the UK charts and stayed there for 63 weeks.
Bruce Springsteen. A routine Senate resolution to honor Bruce on the 30th anniversary of the release of "Born to Run", sponsored by both New Jersey senators, was killed in committee in November 2005. These types of resolutions are almost always approved by a simple voice vote.
| Jennifer Rush, Huey Lewis and the News and Frankie goes to Hollywood all had British number ones with songs titled "The Power of Love". Which one wasn't number one in 1985?
| Hoi Polloi's Mixed Bag of Musical Trivia
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Frankie goes to Hollywood. Frankie goes to Hollywood reached number one in December 1984, they were then knocked off the top spot by Band Aid's "Do they know it's Christmas".
Baby One More Time. "Baby One More Time" reached number one in over a dozen countries including the UK and the US, and kickstarted a career that saw Britney top the UK chart a further four times before the end of 2006. Those other number ones were "Born To Make You Happy", "Oops!...I Did It Again", "Toxic" and "Everytime".
I Shot The Sheriff. "What's Love Got To Do With It?", like "I Shot The Sheriff", reached number 2 on the UK charts, but the former was not a solo single as it featured Adina Howard. "Regulate" - which I must confess I would have gone for - reached number 5 and featured Nate Dogg, and "Smokin' Me Out" which utilised the talents of Ron Isley, was less successful, peaking at number 14.
False. Amazingly, I have been to quizzes where the questionmaster HAS given "Grace Jones" as the answer to variations on this question. It was, however, Northern Soul and T.Rex backing singer GLORIA Jones who was behind the wheel on that fateful day.
The Wonder Stuff. Being a huge fan of the "Stuffies", nothing makes me grind my teeth like a madman more than seeing the band's name spelt as one word.
Anyway, Miles Hunt and co released four classic albums in their heyday - "The Eight Legged Groove Machine", "Hup", "Never Loved Elvis" and "Construction For The Modern Idiot". Miles and founder member Malc Treece have put out a couple of further albums under the moniker, although they feature no contributions from former bandmates.
Frankie Laine. If you went for Bryan Adams, don't forget I never said "consecutive" weeks. "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" spent 16 unbroken weeks at the top in 1991, whereas Laine's "I Believe" made the summit on three separate occasions in 1953, totalling 18 weeks in all.
True. Immortalised in the eponymously titled opening track from The Clash's debut album, Janie Jones was jailed in 1973 for her part in "controlling prostitution" and released 4 years later. She recorded a single with The Clash in 1983 under the moniker Janie Jones and the Lash, entitled "House of the Juju Queen".
Into The Groove. Madonna, of course, topped the Billboard chart with "Like a Virgin", but in the UK it peaked at number 3, as did its follow up "Material Girl". This "Desperately Seeking Susan" soundtrack hit earnt Madge her first UK number one in July 1985. "Papa Don't Preach" was her second, almost a year later.
A Racehorse. The band were watching the racing on television and there was a horse called The Archduke. This prompted discussion about Archduke Franz Ferdinand and how his death led to World War I, changing the world completely.
Careless Whisper. Ironically, the first credit Ridgeley got was on a single that was billed as George Michael's first solo release, the latter having singlehandedly written all four of the chart toppers achieved by Wham! In the US, however, "Careless Whisper" was credited to Wham! featuring George Michael, which is perhaps a fairer reflection!
France. The story begins in Paris, where Franco-Egyptian Claude Francois (no, nor had I) arrived, having fled the Suez crisis. Francois made a name for himself, along with his improbably named dance troupe, The Clodettes, recording songs that would later become more successful for other artists once English lyrics had been added. After splitting up with singer France Gall, Claude, along with Jacques Revaux (music) wrote “Comme D´Habitude” – although one Gilles Thibault is officially credited as the wordsmith. Francois must have been thinking of how he would spend the money the song was generating when, whilst in the bath changing a lightbulb (!), he faced the final curtain. Ole Blue-Eyes recorded the song in 1969, singing a lyric written (but not based on the original) by Paul Anka, who heard the late Francois´ rendition during a trip to Paris, and rushed home to put pen to paper, and to secure the rights to the tune. Canadian Anka was a star in his own right, with “Diana”, “Lonely Boy” and “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” to his credit. Sinatra actually loathed the song that would soon become identified with him as “My Way”.
Pawning an article to raise money. “Half a pound of tuppeny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel.
Up and down the City Road,
In and out the Eagle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel.”
The ditty’s roots lie in 17th century England, and its melodic pattern is similar to other nursery rhymes and jigs, such as “Humpty Dumpty”. There was an 1850 publication of “the new country dance Pop Goes the Weasel”, and the song was also well known in America. The above lyrics, popularised in Victorian Music-Hall, refer to the purchase of food items, and a visit to “The Eagle” public house, on London’s City Road. This thoroughfare runs through the East End, an area of hardship even today. There was, as well as the pub, a pawnbroker’s shop on the City Road. Getting to the point; to pawn, or “pop”, was to surrender items for a nominal sum, in the hope of redeeming them after payday. The “weasel” could be a domestic flat-iron, a device for spinning that made a popping noise, or Cockney rhyming slang for coat – “weasel and stoat”. By the way; rhyming slang for beer is “pig’s ear”.
No. “Penny Lane” was released in February 1967, as a double A–side single, along with “Strawberry Fields Forever”. You´ll find the street in Liverpool. The roundabout at Penny Lane Junction (where it meets Allerton Road and Smithdown Road) still has a shelter in the middle of it, and the bank and barber’s shop mentioned in the lyrics also remain to this day. Lennon and McCartney hailed from this part of town, and would meet at Penny Lane Junction regularly to catch a bus into the city centre. These days, it is a “must” for Beatles fans visiting Liverpool, and a problem the local council must deal with is constantly having to replace the street signs! The street has a dark side, though. It is named after James Penny, a Liverpool merchant who made his fortune in the slave trade. In 1792, he was rewarded for speaking out in favour of transportation of slaves from this busy port, warning of harm to the local economy if it were abolished. As far from the happy scenes portrayed in the song as you can get.
Paris. “Streets Of London” was first recorded as an album track by Ralph McTell in 1969, but it was not until 1974 that the single reached number two in the UK charts. It was selling at the rate of 90,000 copies a day at one point. In his early twenties, Ralph McTell travelled around Europe busking, and whilst in Paris, observed the scenes and characters described in the song. He changed the location to London so as not to offend Parisians (Londoners´ sensibilities were, it seemed, fair game!), and the song is as much part and parcel of the folk music scene as beards, `ban-the-bomb` T-shirts stretched over beer-bellies, and sandals. Love ´em or hate ´em, the old men in the closed down market, café, and seamens’ mission, together with the old girl carrying her home in two carrier bags, will be with us for a long time to come.
Their school forbade them to take part. You had to feel for the headmistress of Islington Green Comprehensive School, Margaret Maden, when she discovered – after the recording had taken place – that some of her charges were about to make headline news. A chance meeting between Pink Floyd’s producer, Bob Ezrin, and music teacher Alun Renshaw, saw a bunch of North London teenagers marched (I suspect not unwillingly) out of school one afternoon in 1979 and into the charts. Renshaw popped his head round Mrs Maden’s door later that day, and broke the news. Her reaction was to forbid the kids to speak to the newspapers, who were quickly on the case, or have anything further to do with the song, on the grounds that a school could not be seen to sanction the sentiment that “We don’t need no education” etc. Composer and band member Roger Waters expressed delight at the way the kids sounded, and was truly upset by the authorities´ reaction. However; in the end, their wall withstood, and stage school kids were brought in to mime the anti-establishment lyrics. Although the record was a huge success, it would be several years before the “choir” were able to obtain a fee for their services, such matters not having been discussed at the time. Be on a hit record or double maths – the agony of choice!
A pregnant woman. Although the anthem of Liverpool FC, and now several other clubs around the world, the song comes from the 1945 Musical “Carousel”, written by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein. The leading man, Billy Bigelow, stabs himself to death, leaving his girlfriend, Julie Jordan, about to hold their baby. It is to comfort her that the song is sung; “When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high...”. Later, their daughter goes on to graduate from college, and it is reprised in the final scene to encourage the students in the class. This is done in American graduation classes to this day. A bit cheeky, I know, but the pregnant woman wins by a short head! It has been recorded by artists as diverse as Mario Lanza, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd, and Gerry & the Pacemakers. The song got its first football-related outing in 1958, when members of a local operatic society which was staging “Carousel”, sung it at the memorial service for the Manchester United Munich air disaster. But those who follow Liverpool (the words You´ll Never Walk Alone are to be found at Anfield’s gates) will tell you that the version that matters is the one sung as their team beat their opponents.
Salford. You may find yourself the recipient of some black looks if you tried to convince the audience at a gig in an Irish pub that this song is about anywhere other than Dublin. But you would have right on your side. Ewan MacColl wrote “Dirty Old Town” about Salford, the city within Greater Manchester in which he was brought up, in 1949. Written as part of MacColl’s play “Landscape With Chimneys”, it soon became a standard in the folk music genre. The Dubliners and The Pogues are in no small part responsible for the belief that it is an Irish song, so huge was their success with it. But it is, in fact, an English song about an English city, written by a Scot.
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