Skiffle Basics

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. One man was the driving force behind the skiffle sensation, remaining a major star long after it was over. Who was he? Chas McDevitt Johnny Duncan Cliff Richard Lonnie Donegan

2. Although skiffle had very little success in the US and very few of its stars were female, one woman broke both these stereotypes, taking "Freight Train" into the Top 40 in the US and the UK Top 10. Who was she? Petula Clark Lulu Dusty Springfield Nancy Whiskey

3. Skiffle was often played on cheap and/or improvised instruments. The "traditional " skiffle bass was made with a broom handle for a neck and washing-line cord for a string. What was used to amplify the sound? a tea chest an enamel pale a bathtub a gramophone horn

4. Lonnie Donegan's first hit originally appeared on an album released by the jazz band in which he was the banjo player. Whose band was it? Chris Barber Kenny Ball Mr. Acker Bilk Ken Colyer

5. One member of the Vipers Skiffle Group went on to a successful career in children's television. Who was he? Harry Corbett Bert Weedon Leslie Crowther Wally Whyton

6. Who presented "Mate's Spoffle Group Featuring Fred Spoons E.P.N.S.", a parody skiffle version of "Any Old Iron" during which "Fred" plays a solo on the spoons? Lonnie Donegan Spike Milligan Peter Sellers Benny Hill

7. "I've gambled down in Washington and I've gambled up in Maine". Where was Lonnie Donegan's "Gamblin' Man" going to "put down (his) last game"? Memphis Texas Nashville Georgia

8. Johnny Duncan and The Bluegrass Boys swept to fame with a song about the "Last Train To..." Where? Clarksville Clapham Junction San Bernadino San Fernando

9. In Lonnie Donegan's last UK No.1 song "My Old Man's A Dustman", where was the tiger's head? In the dustbin Four foot from his tail. On the cart There is no tiger in the song

10. It seems just about every lad in late 50's Britain who went on to fame in the "Beat Boom" aka "British invasion" was in a skiffle group at least briefly. What was the name of the one John Lennon famously founded in 1957? The Beetles (spelling changed later) The Muleskinners The Silver Beatles The Quarry Men

11. What was the diameter in inches of Lonnie Donegan's early LP's? 10 7 12 5

12. Which skiffle act lost the battle Of "Cumberland Gap" to Lonnie Donegan when his version outsold the original? Jimmy Jackson The Vipers Skiffle Group Johnny Duncan & The Bluegrass Boys Chas McDevitt & Nancy Whiskey

13. Which later famous pair were in the skiffle group called "The Detours"? Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey Gerry and Fred Marsden (of Pacemakers fame) Brian May and Freddie Mercury

14. Who teamed up with Chris Barber and Lonnie Donegan in 1998 to produce an album called "Live In Belfast" revisiting songs from the skiffle era? Van Morrison Val Doonican Bob Geldof Bono

15. Of which song did Lonnie Donegan record two versions, one in an English accent, the other in "American"? My Old Man's A Dustman Talking Guitar Blues Nobody Love Like An Irishman Lonesome Traveller