Whose Line Was It Anyway? UK Number One Hits 1961 Quiz

Answer: Johnny Tillotson

The song is "Poetry In Motion" Johnny Tillotson's only UK number one and only top 20 entry between 1960 and 1963, it re-entered the UK chart in 1979 and reached number 67.

Neil Sedaka had seven UK top ten hits between 1959 and 1963, with "Oh! Carol" and "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" both reaching number three, but went the way of many artists post Beatles, only to come back to the UK chart again in the early 70s. Johnny Preston had five UK chart hits including the number one "Running Bear" all in 1960 but never visited the UK chart again. Although Frankie Avalon had many US top 100 hits including two number ones he only had four UK chart hits between 1958 and 1960, the highest being "Venus" in 1959 at number 16.

Answer: Elvis Presley

Of course it was Elvis, with "Are You Lonesome Tonight". Elvis has had 21 UK number ones as of 2005 with "One Night/I Got Stung" becoming his 20th and the 1000th UK Number one but he may not have finished yet, watch this space.

Ral Donner sounded like Elvis and his first US hit was an Elvis song, "Girl Of My Best Friend". He had one UK hit in 1961 "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)". Johnny Mathis has had many chart hits in the US and UK from the 50s to the 80s but had to wait until 1976 for his only UK number one with "When A Child Is Born (Soleado)", which never charted in the US. Roy Orbison had a pretty lean year on the UK chart in 1961 with "Running Scared" at number nine (a US number one) and "Cryin'" at number 25 (a US number two).

Answer: The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers did the pleading with "Walk Right Back", only a number seven in the US but the first of two consecutive UK number ones in 1961, the second being "Temptation" which only reached number 27 in the US.

Simon and Garfunkel never hit the US top 100 until 1965 with the number one hit "The Sounds Of Silence" which did not chart in the UK. Their first UK hit was "Homeward Bound" which reached number nine. The Righteous Brothers' first US chart hit was in 1963 with "LIttle Latin Lupe Lu" at number 49 and they topped the UK chart in 1965 with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" which re-entered the UK chart in 1969, 1977 and 1990. The Four Seasons hit the US top 100 with two number one's in 1962 with "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry" but they only got to number eight and 13 on the UK chart. They had to wait until 1976 for their first UK number one with "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)"

Answer: The Marcels

The Marcels sang to a "Blue Moon", a UK number one for two weeks and a US number one for three weeks, but they never hit such heights again.

The Olympics had their biggest UK hit with "Western Movies" at number 12 in 1958 but only reached number 40 for one week with "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" in 1961. The Drifters, with many personnel changes had two chart careers, in the US in the 50s and 60s and in the UK in the 60s and 70s. They had many hits but only got to number one in the US with "Save The Last Dance For Me" which reached number two in the UK in 1960, then went on to have eight UK top ten hits in the 70s. Dion and The Belmonts had a number of US chart hits in the late 50s, the highest at number three was "Where Or When" but only one UK chart hit at number 28 in 1959 with "A Teenager In Love" Dion later went solo and had a US number one with "Runaround Sue", a number 11 hit in the UK.

Answer: The Temperance Seven

The Temperance Seven who sang "You're Driving Me Crazy" played 1920s style music and gained a number one hit at a time in the UK charts when many types of music entered the chart such as Trad Jazz, Comedy, instrumentals, teen idols and Rock 'n' Rollers from the 50s. This record was produced by none other than Sir George Martin; little did he or we know what would start with The Beatles in 1962.

Kenny Ball reached number two on the UK chart in 1961 and also number two on the US chart in 1962 with "Midnight In Moscow". Mr. Acker Bilk had a number two in the UK with "Stranger On The Shore" in 1961 which was on the chart for 55 weeks, it reached number one in the US in 1962. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band had one UK chart hit in 1968 "I'm The Urban Spaceman" which reached number five.

Answer: Del Shannon

Del Shannon was the singer and the song was "Runaway" a multi-million seller and number one hit in many countries. Del Shannon never had another number one in the UK or US and like many others his career went into decline with the advent of the Beatles and other UK groups. He did have a short revival in the US in 1981 with a cover version of "Sea Of Love".

Gary(U.S.)Bonds had a UK number two and US number one with "Quarter To Three" but had to wait 20 years for his next UK chart entry "This Little Girl" in 1981. Freddy Cannon seems to have got stuck at number three; his "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" was a number three hit in the UK and US in 1960 and "Palisades Park" was a US number three in 1962. Lou Christie reached number 11 in the UK and number one in the US with "Lightnin' Strikes" in 1966 and in 1969 reached number two in the UK and number ten in the US with "I'm Gonna Make You Mine"

Answer: Eden Kane

It was Eden Kane who sang "Well I Ask You", his only UK number one. His real name was Richard Sarstedt, his brother Peter Sarstedt had a UK number one with "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" in 1969 and another brother Robin Sarstedt had a UK number three with "My Resistance Is Low" in 1976.

Jimmy Justice had three UK chart hits all in 1962; "Ain't That Funny" was the highest placed at number eight. Mark Wynter had nine UK chart hits between 1960 and 1964; the biggest hit was "Venus In Blue Jeans" at number four in 1962. Marty Wilde was a UK Rock'n'Roller from the late 50s who had 13 UK chart hits between 1958 and 1962 and just missed the top spot in the UK with "A Teenager In Love" in 1959. He had a number nine hit with another cover version, "Rubber Ball" in 1961.

Answer: John Leyton

The song was "Johnny Remember Me" by John Leyton, one of his only two UK top ten hits. It was produced by Joe Meek, the producer of the UK and US number one "Telstar" by the Tornados.

Tommy Steele, once known as the UK's answer to Elvis, had a string of UK hits from 1956 to 1961 including a number one with a cover version of "Singing The Blues" in 1956. His last hit was "The Writing On The Wall" in 1961, which it was soon to be for a lot of singers because of musical stirrings from some guys in Liverpool. Tommy went into the broader world of entertainment of musicals, movies and theatre and is still going strong. Shane Fenton and The Fentones had six minor UK chart hits between 1961 and 1962, the highest being a cover of "Cindy's Birthday" at number 19. He then disappeared from the charts until re-appearing as Alvin Stardust in 1973 and had seven UK top ten hits between 1973 and 1985 including a number one with "Jealous Mind" in 1974. Frank Ifield was born in the UK but raised in Australia. His six UK top ten hits between 1960 and 1964, resulted in four number ones between Jul 62 and Jun 63. Selling over a million, was his UK number one and US number five hit "I Remember You" .

Answer: Helen Shapiro

Helen Shapiro was singing "Walkin' Back To Happiness" her second UK number one and still only 15 years old. It just scraped into the US chart at 100 for one week. She once had the Beatles as a support act on a UK tour.

Petula Clark, a child movie and radio star in the 40s & 50s, had many UK chart hits in the 50s and had her first number one "Sailor" in 1961. She would have gone the same way as many 50s singers after the Beatles arrived but after recording "Downtown" in 1964, a UK number two and a US number one, her career took off again. Lulu's first UK hit was a cover version of "Shout" at number seven in the chart. She had a US number one in 1967 with "To Sir With Love" which never charted in the UK. Brenda Lee had numerous US chart hits between 1957 and 1973 including two number one hits and has been inducted into The Country Music Hall Of Fame and The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. She had seven UK top ten hits between 1960 and 1965, the highest being "Speak To Me Pretty" at number three which never charted in the US.

Answer: Frankie Vaughan

Frankie Vaughan, another singer from Liverpool, had many UK chart hits between 1954 and 1968, "Tower Of Stength" being his second number one. A very popular UK TV star in the 50s and 60s, he was awarded the OBE for his charity work.

Gene McDaniels had a US number five hit with the original version of "Tower Of Strength" in 1961 but only got to number 49 in the UK chart. Brook Benton only had four minor UK hits, "Endlessly" in 1959 at number 28 being the highest, but in the US he had many chart hits between 1958 and 1970, the highest being "The Boll Weevil Song" in 1961 at number two. Engelbert Humperdinck (Gerry Dorsey, what some people will do for fame) started off well in 1967 with "Release Me", a UK number one and a US number four which stayed on the UK chart for 56 weeks. He has had eight UK top ten hits including two number ones and has remained popular in the UK and US.