A to J Rock Bands Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alice in Chains

The American band Alice in Chains released the album "Facelift" on August 28, 1990. The album climbed to number 42 on the US Billboard 200 between 1990 and 1991. The band was formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 and consisted of Cantrell, Kinney, Staley, and Starr.

The band were front-runners in the 1990s when grunge became popular, with the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden all making their mark in the grunge movement. Between 1990 and 2018, the band released six studio albums, with the album "Alice in Chains" topping the charts on the US Billboard 200.

Answer: Black Sabbath

Before the band settled on the name Black Sabbath, they were also known as The Polka Tulk Blues Band (1968) and Earth (1968-1969). The band got its name after seeing a poster on a cinema advertising board for the 1963 horror movie "Black Sabbath" starring the legendary star Boris Karloff.

When Tony Iommi had an accident and lost the tips of his fingers, he thought it would be the end of his musical career. Tony came up with the idea of making false fingertips to enable him to still play. Because he couldn't press down so firmly on the guitar strings, he detuned the strings so they weren't so taut; this technique gave the sound a very deep baseline and would become known as "doom" or heavy metal.

Answer: Coldplay

Coldplay, Bono of the Irish band U2, Joan Baez, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma all performed at the private memorial service for Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Inc.

Before settling on the name of Coldplay, the band was previously known as Big Fat Noises (1997), Starfish (1998), and Los Unidades (2018). The four original members in the band are Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion. However, there is a fifth member of the band that they consider as being part of the group, and that is their manager and creative director Phil Harvey.

The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide and has become one of the biggest-selling British bands. Coldplay's debut album is called "Parachutes" and was released in 2000; it topped the charts on the UK Albums Chart. Several of the band's later albums have reached number one on both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200.

Answer: Dire Straits

Mark Knopfler was the man behind the British band Dire Straits. Mark formed the band in London in 1977. Original members of the band were Mark Knopfler, David Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers. They were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995.

"Brothers in Arms" was released on the Vertigo and Warner Bros. label on 17 May 1985. All the songs on the album were written by the band's lead singer Mark Knopfler, apart from the chart-topping single "Money for Nothing", which was written by Mark and Sting from the band Police.

The band's claim to fame on this album was that it was the first CD to sell over one million copies.

Answer: Europe

One of the biggest bands to come out of Sweden was the glam rock band Europe. The band was formed in Upplands Väsby, Sweden. The original members of the band were Joey Tempest, John Norum, Peter Olsson, and Tony Reno.

Many rock songs have a riff with the lead guitar leading the way. "The Final Countdown" was a little different as it used a synthesiser for the riff. The instruments used were the Roland JX-8P synthesiser and the Yamaha TX816 rack. This gave the song a distinctive sound.

Mic Michaeli was the keyboardist for the band. Mic Michaeli also so-wrote the hit song "Carrie", with Joey Tempest, which reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Florence + the Machine

Florence + The Machine is an indie rock band from England that was established in London in 2007 by the lead singer Florence Welch.

The "Lungs Tour" was the debut tour for the band. There were 256 shows spread over 18 legs. The tour was in support of the band's debut album "Lungs", which was released in 2009. Florence + the Machine have been very popular in the UK and America, with most of the band's albums topping the charts on the UK Albums Chart and a mixture of US Billboard charts.

Since the "Lugs Tour", there have been the "Ceremonials Tour" (2011-2012), "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Tour" (2015-2016), "High as Hope Tour" (2018-2019), "Dance Fever Tour" (2022-2023) and "Everybody Scream Tour" (2026).

Answer: Scotland

Shirley Manson was born on 26 August 1966 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Garbage was formed in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. in 1993. Original members of the band are Duke Erikson, Butch Vig, Steve Marker and Shirley Manson. Shirley is the lead singer, songwriter and musician for the band.

Before joining Garbage Shirley was in the band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, and then she formed her own band called Angelfish before joining Garbage in 1994.

Answer: True

The band's members love to play golf, and every year they organise a charity event dubbed "Monday After the Masters", where celebrities and professional players participate in a round of golf the day following the esteemed Masters Tournament. When Tiger Woods participated in the event in 1998, it grew significantly from its modest beginnings.

The American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish was formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. Original members of the band were Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Brantley Smith. Smith left the band in 1989 and was replaced by Jim Sonefeld.

Between 1994 and 2019, the band released six studio albums, including "Cracked Rear View" (1994) and "Fairweather Johnson" (1996), both topping the charts on the US Billboard 200.

Answer: Iron Maiden

Eddie, commonly referred to as "Eddie the Head", serves as the mascot for the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is a constant presence in the band's artwork, featuring on all of their album covers, the majority of their singles, and in their merchandise, which includes T-shirts, posters, and action figures.

The first appearance of Eddie as we know him today was on 8 February 1980, although a student called David Arthur Brown made a mask in 1978 that was used as a backdrop. Not only is Eddie an icon for the band, but their album covers are also well known for the artwork, some of which is controversial. "Sanctuary" (1980), "The Number of the Beast" (1982), and "Dance of Death" (2003) were all controversial for different reasons.

Answer: Judas Priest

Judas Priest is a heavy rock band formed in Birmingham in 1969. The band is well known for speed metal, thrash metal, power metal, along with the 1980s theme of "Glam Rock" and hard rock. The band has built up a reputation as being one of the world's best metal bands.

"The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" was released as a single on December 27, 1967. The song was released at the same time as Dylan's eighth studio album "John Wesley Harding", which also included the track.

Bruno Stapenhill, the band's bass player, came up with the name when he heard the track from Dylan's album. He put the name forward to his bandmates, and they liked the idea, so Judas Priest the rock band was born.