Hubba Hubba Trivia Quiz

Answer: Duran Duran

John Taylor and Nick Rhodes formed Duran Duran in 1978 after working in Birmingham nightclubs; the most significant of these was the Barbaralla. They named the band after a character from "Barbarella" (1965), a Roger Vadim science-fiction movie. Dr. Durand Durand, the character, was played by Milo O'Shea. Starting out as part of the New Romantic scene, they progressed to a more polished glam look through clever use of the new MTV / Video era which kicked off at the same time.

They had 14 singles in the top ten of the UK Singles Chart and 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

They scored two Grammys within a decade and won an MTV Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement. They have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and have sold over 100 million records worldwide.

Their biggest hits were "The Reflex" (1984) and a Bond movie title track "View to a Kill" (1985). These were their two hits that went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Talk Talk

Formed in 1981 and very much compared with Duran, Duran which was not surprising given they had a band name consisting of a repeated word, the two pursued a Roxy Music-type musical direction, and shared the same record label (EMI) and both had Colin Thurston as their producer. Perhaps to get away from comparisons with Duran Duran, they shifted musical direction in 1985 to a more post-rock style similar to Stereolab and Mogwai. Lead singer Mark Hollis called the group Talk Talk for a number of reasons: He liked the idea of being named after one of their own songs ("Talk Talk" [1981] went to number 23 on the UK Singles charts), the name did not "categorise" the band, and it couldn't be abbreviated.

Answer: Go Go's

The Go Go's were one of the first female bands that wrote their own songs and played their own instruments. They went to number one on the Billboard Albums Charts. They took their name from the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles 1965 hit "Going to a Go-Go".

The grammatically incorrect use of the apostrophe was deliberate. "Beauty and the Beat" (1981), was considered one of the "cornerstone albums of new wave". It went to number one for six weeks and sold six million copies. It contained two successful singles, "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat", the latter going to number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

They broke up in 1985 but reformed in 1989. All members had some success as solo musicians with lead singer Belinda Carlisle having a stellar post Go Go's career.

Answer: Mighty Mighty Bosstones

The group formed in 1989 in Boston, Massachusetts, and their name the "Bosstones" is a reference to their home town. A bartender from the Boston Bar "Rathskeller" added the Mighty Mighty as a joke in a newspaper advertisement. The name stayed. The group had a roadie, Benn Carr, who was underage. To avoid getting evicted, the group put him on stage to "dance" and sing background vocals. He came Bosstone, and has stayed as a constant member, being promoted to tour manager.
The Bosstones are often credited as one of the instigators of ska punk and also touted as the creators of its sub-genre ska-core. They were key players
in the development of the American third wave ska scene basing their music style on the British 2 Tone (or Two Tone) late-1970s ska revival (The Specials, Madness and the ilk)
They reached their commercial peak with their platinum album "Let's Face It" (1997) and the corresponding hit single "The Impression That I Get".

Answer: ZZ Top

Formed in Houston Texas in 1969, this group have managed to retain the same lineup between their first album "ZZ Top's First Album" in 1971 and "La Futura" in 2012.
The band's name is derived from posters that decorated lead singer's Billy Gibbon's apartment. He thought a lot of acts had double initials, noticed B.B. King and Z.Z. Hill, and considered combining the two into "ZZ King". As he though that was too close to the original, he calculated that "king is going at the top" which invoked "ZZ Top".
Their 1983 album "Eliminator" sold over ten million copies in the US. It spawned four singles with "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man" arguably the most popular. In 2004, ZZ Top were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: Wet Wet Wet

The band formed in high school in Clydebank, Scotland in 1982 as Vortex Motion. The name Wet Wet Wet came from a line in the 1982 Scritti Politti song "Gettin' Havin' & Holdin'" ("it's tired of joking... wet, wet with tears"). They had a number of number one hits in the UK including the Beatles' cover "With a Little Help from My Friends" in 1988; self-penned "Goodnight Girl" (1991) and a cover version of The Troggs' single "Love Is All Around" which stayed at number one on the UK singles charts for fifteen weeks, aided by its inclusion on the mega-popular "Four Weddings and a Funeral" Soundtrack (1994).

Answer: The Dum Dum Girls

This group started as a solo project of Dee Dee (Not named after Dee Dee Ramone) formerly the lead singer and drummer of Grand Ole Party. The name Dum Dum Girls is a double homage to the Vaselines' album "Dum Dum" (1989) and the Iggy Pop standard "Dum Dum Boys" (1977).

She recorded her debut album "I Will Be" in 2010 and then formed a touring band whose members formed the group that laid down their most successful album "Only in Dreams" in 2011 featuring their two singles, "Bedroom Eyes" and "Coming Down".

Answer: Mr. Mister

Originally from Phoenix but based in Los Angeles, childhood friends Richard Page and Steve George, session musicians and songwriters, formed the nucleus of Mr. Mister with other session musicians in 1978 in a group called Pages and had a minor hit with "I Do Believe in You" but disbanded soon after.

In 1982, Page and George put together a permanent band with a pop-orientated sound. A fifth member was needed but Page could sing and play bass so the group stayed a quartet. Their first album, "I Wear the Face" (1984) was not a commercial success, but their 1985 second album, "Welcome to the Real World" was a breakthrough for the group. All three singles went top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, two of which hit reached number one: "Kyrie" and "Broken Wings". Mr Mister were nominated for two Grammys in 1985 and 1988.

In 2010 an album, "Pull" was released twenty years after it was recorded in 1990.

Answer: Goo Goo Dolls

Formed in Buffalo in 1986, the Goo Goo Dolls had commercial success with their fifth album in 1995 "A Boy named Goo" which contained the Billboard Hot 100 top five hit, "Name".
In 1996 lead singer and guitarist John Rzeznik was interviewed see if he write a song for the 1997 "City of Angels" soundtrack. The result was "Iris" (1997). The track on the movie soundtrack and on the sixth Goo Goo Dolls' album "Dizzy Up The Girl" propelled them into mega-stardom. The album had a further four top ten hits, "Slide", "Black Balloon", "Broadway", and "Dizzy". The album was nominated for three Grammys.
In 2016, the group's eleventh album was released.
Their name was selected from a "True Detective" advertisement for a toy called a Goo Goo Doll.

Answer: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The quintessential New York alternative rock group. Their name is simply a reflection of the New York City vernacular. A trio with an unusual configuration - Karen O (short for Orzolek) looked after vocals, Nick Zinner was the guitarist and Brian Chase played drums. Both Ms O and Mr Zineer doubled up on keyboards and a second guitarist (not bassist) joined them on tour.

However with minimal instruments they made a racket. On "Maps" there is just piercing guitar alternating between single notes and crashing chords, with some big drums with elegant pacing up front, and Ms O's plaintive wailing weaving in and out of the mix.

In a pre-concert interview piece by The Times, reporter Craig McLean in 2009 described their style as "an art-rock trio who made an edgy post-punk, dancefloor-friendly racket that mixed up Blondie with Siouxsie and the Banshees".

Their first three albums were Grammy nominated. 'Nuff said. They announced an indefinite hiatus in 2014. Sad.