KROQ Top Ten Songs from 1982 Countdown Quiz

Answer: X

"Blue Spark" was on the "Under the Big Black Sun" album released in 1982. XTC were a UK pop group, and The Circle Jerks and Black Flag were L.A. based punk bands in the early 1980s. X was honored by "Rolling Stone" magazine by having two of their albums make "Rolling Stone's Top 100 Albums of the 1980s" list, the "Los Angeles" and "Wild Gift" albums.
X's song "Breathless" was featured in the Richard Gere movie "Breathless" in 1983.
The band X also included great guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D.J. Bonebreak.

Answer: Talk Talk

The modern rock radio station KROQ-FM in Los Angeles regularly played the song "Talk Talk" which increased its popularity in the Southern California area around L.A. The The were an alternative UK band.
In 1984 Talk talk released an interesting video for its song "It's My Life" that featured African animals and a strange squiggly animated snake on Hollis' mouth.

Answer: The Go-Gos

The single "Vacation" was from an album of the same name. The Bangles didn't release songs until later in the 1980s. The Bodysnatchers were an all female Ska band that you can see in the cult hit documentary "Dance Craze".

Answer: Sparks

The song "I Predict" comes from the Sparks' album "Angst in My Pants". Wikipedia mentions that KROQ-FM in L.A. had a big part of the song's local success in L.A.
Tears for Fears, Aztec Camera, and XTC are all bands from the UK not LA.

Answer: Rock This Town

This song was first released as a single in the UK on an album entitled "The Stray Cats". Later, EMI America released it in the USA on an album called "Built for Speed". "Stray Cat Strut" also made KROQ's list in 1982, but not in the top ten. "Blue Jean Bop" is from the 1950s by Gene Vincent, and "Rock Around the Clock" is a Bill Haley and the Comet's 1950s classic.
Also of note, the Stray Cats had success in the UK before they achieved it in the U.S.

Answer: Don't You want Me?

This song hit number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA in December 1981. It was still on the charts in both top 40s into 1982. "Human" was released in 1986. "Tainted Love" is by Soft Cell. "If You Leave" is by O.M.D.

Answer: Missing Persons

Again, KROQ-FM is cited as an influence helping Missing Persons find success, including this song. Guitarist Mark Cuccurullo replaced Andy Tayor in Duran Duran. "Words" reached number 42 on USA Billboards Hot 100 list in 1982. An interesting side note, lead singer Dale Bozzio worked as a Playboy Bunny at Boston's Playboy Club in 1975.

Answer: Soft Cell

This song is from the "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret" album. The video is as bizarre as its title.

Answer: I Ran

Lead singer Mike Score had one of the most recognizable hair styles in the 80s with his "wings" style. This song hit number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA in 1982. "Wishing" was from a different album called "Listen" which was released later in 1982. "Dear Prudence" was originally done by the Beatles and was covered by Siouxie and the Banshees in the early 1980s. "Oblivion" was by Aztec Camera.

Answer: The Clash

Remember the Clash's slogan, "The Only Band that Matters"? "Rock the Casbah" was from the 1982 album release in the USA "Combat Rock". The song hit number seven in the USA on Billboards Hot 100 chart in 1982. In 2010, the Clash were ranked number 22 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.