Top of the UK Pops: 1985 Trivia Quiz

Answer: A-ha

This was released in 1983 across Europe but did not sell well, except in
A-ha's native Norway, where it was a number three. Two years later it was reissued with a more elaborate backing track and became a hit in Europe and the USA. All this was helped by an animated video. It reached the top of the Hot 100 and was a number two in the UK. A-ha were the first Norwegian band to have a number one in the US.

Answer: Kool & The Gang

"Cherish" was written while Kool & The Gang were recording the album "Emergency" in Nassau, Bahamas. It went on to reach number two on the Hot 100 and number four in the UK. The New Jersey outfit had been around since 1965 when this single was released.

While they had numerous singles make the top ten, "Celebration" in 1980 was their solo number one on the Hot 100, while several topped the R&B charts. In an ever-changing line-up, just "Kool" and two of his gang were present from the start.

Answer: UB40 & Chrissie Hynde

"I Got You Babe" was a song that reached the top of the UK charts on two occasions and by two artists. In 1965, Sonny and Cher made it a number one in several other counties as well, including the USA and Canada. In 1985 British rockers UB40 teamed up with Chrissie Hynde to take it back to the top in the UK.

Sonny Bono wrote the song soon after he linked up romantically with Cher. She later told "Billboard" magazine that she had not liked the first version.

Answer: Feargal Sharkey

Feargal Sharkey was lead singer of The Undertones, a post-punk band that hailed from the city of Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland. They had several top ten hits in the UK after their music was championed by the disc jockey John Peel. After eight years together, Sharkey started a solo career and his third single "A Good Heart" spent two weeks at the top f the UK charts.

While the other members of the band got back together again in 1999, it was with a new lead singer. Sharkey, who became an environmental campaigner later in his career, ruled out rejoining.

Answer: Foreigner

Foreigner lead guitarist Mick Jones claimed to have written "I Want To Know What Love Is" from a personal perspective. "I'd been through a lot of relationships that eventually failed, and still searching for something that could really endure", he said in a "Songfacts" interview.

This was a number one in both the UK and the USA. Jones brought in the New Jersey Mass Choir to sing back-up, making them the first gospel choir to sing on a pop number one. The song has featured on a number of TV shows and movies.

Answer: Harold Faltermeyer

An actual lyric from one of the verses probably sums up "Axel F": "Dum dum dumda dum dum dum...". This was the theme for the movie "Beverley Hills Cop" in 1984. It was a hit the world over.

Answer: David Bowie & Mick Jagger

David Bowie and Mick Jagger revamped the Martha and the Vandellas 1964 hit for the Live Aid concerts in 1985. They made some lyrical changes. Bowie and Jagger laid down the track in two takes at Abbey Road studios.

Originally this had been a number two on the Hot 100 for Martha and the Vandellas. A whole host of others covered the song before the Bowie/Jagger version hit the shops and went to number one the UK and number seven on the Hot 100. It also topped the charts in Australia and Canada.

Answer: Band Aid

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure for the Band Aid concerts to support famine relief efforts in Ethiopia. With the music and video featuring some of Britain's best known singers, it became the fastest selling single in British chart history. The song went number one with a bullet and stayed at the top for five weeks. It remained the UK's best-selling record for some 12 years. The single raised £10 million for famine relief in Africa

The original version topped the charts in 16 countries, but not the USA, where it topped out at number 13 on the Hot 100. The song has been updated and re-released by there artists over the years.

Meanwhile, "We Are The World", the USA For Africa equivalent was at number 29 in year-end sales in the UK. It had been a number one in 17 countries.

Answer: Philip Bailey with Phil Collins

The recording of "Easy Lover" was the outcome of a jamming session between Phil Collins and Philip Bailey. Collins had been brought in to produce Bailey's first solo album after he left Earth Wind and Fire. The song went to number one on the Hot 100 and was a number two in the UK.

Answer: Phyllis Nelson

"Move Closer" was a slow burner for Phyllis Nelson on the UK charts. The song failed to chart on first release in 1984 but started to get a lot of radio airplay the following year. It took 11 weeks to get to the top of the charts.

Answer: Madonna

"Into The Groove" was a song from the movie "Desperately Seeking Susan", in which Madonna also starred. It went to number one on the UK charts but was not released as an A side in the USA. It was a B side on the song "Angel", but with many radio stations preferred to play "Into The Groove", the single rose to number five on the Hot 100.

In 2012, meanwhile, the Official UK Charts Company celebrated 60 years of UK pop charts with a list of the ten top female acts over those years. Madonna was placed top of that list and "Into The Groove" was her best single.

Answer: Paul Hardcastle

It was said that 19 was the average age of American soldiers who served during the Vietnam War". This song featured audio clips of US soldiers and commentators and a female chorus. Produced with an evocative video, it went to number one in 13 countries.

Paul Hardcastle, who wrote and produced the song, was sued by Mike Oldfield for allegedly sampling part of his work "Tubular Bells". Oldfield was given a writing credit.

Answer: Sister Sledge

"Frankie" was written by Dense Rich, apparently about Frank Sinatra. Sister Sledge picked out the song for inclusion in an album, but producer Nile Rogers initially hated it and took some time to reconsider. While it topped the charts in the UK, it only made number 75 on the Hot 100.

Answer: Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson

"I Know Him So Well" was written by Tim Rice along with Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus for the musical "Chess". This was the tenth UK number one for the ABBA songwriting team.

Barbara Dickson later said: "It sounded to the average person in the street like a fantastic new ABBA record and they loved the chance of buying an ABBA record again. It was a sophisticated song- two women singing different things about the same man."

Answer: Jennifer Rush

The is not to be confused with any other song called "The Power of Love" by the likes of T-Bone Burnett, Huey Lewis, or Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

Jennifer Rush wrote the lyrics and took the song to the top of the UK charts and in six other European countries, while Celine Dion took her cover to the top of the Hot 100.