Anatomy of a Song: "Hello" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball

"Hello Peter, hello Paul,
Saints and sinners, welcome all.
Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball,
Hello, hello, hello, hello"

Having met as co-workers, Cannon and Ball performed together as a double act from the early 1960s and made their TV debut in 1972. It was another seven years before they were granted their own show on the network; a show that was to run for nine years.

Cannon and Ball were then lost to a generation before being rediscovered due to their appearance on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here".

It is not clear whether writer Jon Marsh intended the pair to be considered saints or sinners.

Answer: Blue and green

A complicated riddle that is answered later in the song - "What's the answer? It's plain to see - blue is blue and always will be". So now you know! Of course the difference between blue and green, as anyone who knows their primary colours will be aware of, is the colour yellow, which just happens to rhyme with "Hello". Coincidence? I think not.

Answer: Kym Mazelle

Kym Mazelle scored some early successes in the house music rage of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Her biggest UK hit came in a duet with Dr Robert of the Blow Monkeys; the song "Wait" reached number seven in the UK charts, whilst she scored a minor hit as vocalist for Soul II Soul on their single, "Missing You".

Her biggest solo hit came when she covered Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" for the soundtrack to the 1996 film "Romeo and Juliet" directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Answer: Pam Dawber

Pam Dawber started out as a model doing photo and TV work. After studying acting she was cast in Robert Altman's 1978 film "A Wedding" before her big break came when she was cast in ABC's new sitcom, "Mork and Mindy", alongside stand-up comic Robin Williams.

The show was a huge success and ran for four years. Although less of a household name than Williams nowadays, Dawber has had continued success in the acting world since the show, particularly in the theatre where she starred in a revival of "My Fair Lady".

Answer: Brookside

Brookside was a soap opera set in Liverpool that made its debut on UK screens on the opening night of Channel Four in 1982. Despite not being a critical success to start out with, it slowly gained a decent and loyal following that enabled it to stay on screen for 21 years before it was finally axed.

Billy Corkhill, played by John McArdle, moved into Brookside Close in 1985 and stayed for five years. In that time he was charged with assault after attacking his daughter's teacher (and lover), arranged for his own home to be burgled in an insurance scam, divorced, re-married and finally moved to Basingstoke.

Answer: Desmond Tutu

A lower second class honours degree, called a 2:2, is known in England as a Desmond. Just so you know, a 2:1 is a Mark (Twain) or an Attila (the Hun), and a 3rd class degree is either a Thora (Hird) or a Richard (as in Richard the Third which is also slang for something considerably more lavatorial).

A first class degree is a Geoff after England's World Cup winning footballer, Geoff Hurst.

Answer: The Price is Right

"The Price is Right" is a game show that first aired in the US in 1956 and ran for nine years. It was revived in 1972 in a new format and it was this new format that formed the basis of the UK version of the show that debuted in 1984. One of the borrowed features was the use of the catchphrase "Come on down!" as the show's contestants were randomly chosen from the studio audience. The host for this first UK version was Leslie Crowther who compered the show for four years before it was dropped from the schedules.

Crowther had initially made his name as a presenter on children's TV show "Crackerjack" and also performed in sitcoms and sketch shows but it is for "The Price is Right" that he is best remembered nowadays.

After the show was cancelled, Crowther's life took a downward turn as he was treated for alcoholism and shortly after beating the affliction, he was involved in a near-fatal car crash which prematurely ended his career. Crowther died in 1996 at the age of 63.

Answer: The Supremes

Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard constituted The Supremes when they were at the peak of their popularity in the mid-1960s. They had initially formed as The Primettes in 1959, the sister act to The Primes who went on to become The Temptations.

The Primettes were a foursome, the Supremes trio being supplemented by, firstly, Betty McGlown then, after signing with Motown records and becoming The Supremes in 1961, by Barbara Martin; but major success only came after they became a threesome in 1962.

The threesome of Mary, Di and Flo remained the line-up until 1970, during which time they underwent a name change to Diana Ross and The Supremes. In 1970 Ross left to embark on a solo career.

Answer: Jeffrey Archer

Whilst Archer might be flattered by his appearance in the same stanza as Sartre, it is more likely that Jon Marsh's views on him are encapsulated better by his connection to Zippy and Bungle, two buffoonish puppets from the children's TV programme "Rainbow" presented by another Geoffrey - Geoffrey Hayes.

Perhaps an even clearer indicator of their view of Archer was the reference to Sir Bufton Tufton. Tufton was a name used in the satirical magazine "Private Eye" for a particular kind of Conservative MP; one who was old-fashioned, bigoted and greedy.

Eleven years after the song was released, Archer was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice after asking a friend to provide a false alibi for a libel case he had won in 1987. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

Answer: London Symphony Orchestra

André Previn is a four time Oscar-winning composer (for "Gigi", "Porgy and Bess", "Irma la Douce" and "My Fair Lady"), a pianist and for eleven years from 1968 was conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

However, despite his myriad achievements, for many in the UK the name Previn immediately conjures up the image of his 1971 appearance on "The Morecambe and Wise Show" in which he was conducting Morecambe in a performance of Grieg's Piano Concerto. When Morecambe, who refers to Previn as "Mr Preview" throughout, fails to reproduce the music on the score, Previn walks over and complains "You're playing all the wrong notes." Morecambe grabs Previn by the lapels and explains, "I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order."

The sketch was voted 16th in the list of funniest ever comedy sketches in a Channel Four poll in 2005.