Oh, I Remember that Song...it was a Banger! Quiz

Answer: Like A Prayer

The song 'Like a Prayer' was released by Madonna in 1989. An interesting fact about it is that it was first played as part of a TV commercial - before it even hit the radio stations or stores - and that it was the first song by a major artist to do this. This came about when Madonna signed a $5 million endorsement deal with Pepsi. Part of the deal was that Madonna would feature in a two-minute commercial entitled 'Make A Wish' that would debut her new song.

Another interesting fact is that Pepsi had a commercial - for the commercial. This pre-commercial came in the form of a 30 second ad that was aired during the Grammys on February 22nd, 1989. Then, on March 2nd, 1989, the actual commercial aired to a worldwide audience. Pepsi estimated that 250 million people saw the 'Make a Wish' commercial. The sound track was 'Like a Prayer' while the video featured Madonna relaxing in a chair and watching a black and white video of herself on the screen. In the video, she, and others, are dancing jubilantly and innocently to her 'Like a Prayer' song. At the end of the video, Madonna pops open a Pepsi.

The music video, which was released on March 3rd, was about as different from the commercial video as you could get. Instead of jubilant dancing, Madonna is seen sharing an interracial kiss, having stigmata on her hands and dancing in front of a burning cross. For the late 80s this was outrageous and, rather predictably, there was an absolute uproar amongst not only religious groups, but also the American Family Association and The Vatican. The poor Pepsi executives, who were clearly unaware of the content of the music video beforehand, realised they were facing a boycott of their product. As such, they immediately severed their contract with Madonna, but they did allow her to keep her $5 million. They didn't however, ever air their really expensive ad again.

'Like a Prayer' sold more than two million singles worldwide and in 2005, the song reached number one on MTV's countdown of '100 Videos That Broke the Rules'. At MTV's 25th anniversary, viewers voted the music video as the 'Most Groundbreaking Music Video of All Time'.

I'm going to admit it, as an 80s girl myself - I absolutely loved this song and Madonna.

Here are a couple of the lyrics:
'Life is a mystery/ Everyone must stand alone/ I hear you call my name/ And it feels like home/
When you call my name, it's like a little prayer/ I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there/ In the midnight hour, I can feel your power/ Just like a prayer, you know I'll take you there.'

Answer: Roar

'Roar' is, of course, by Katy Perry. Written in collaboration with her friend, Bonnie McKee, and producers Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Cirkut, it was released in August 2013.

This was the first song Katy released after her split from her comedian husband, Russell Brand, in 2012. In a radio interview with BBC Radio 1, Katy said that she wrote the song after she had undergone therapy and that it was meant as a 'bit of a self empowering song'.

The power pop song did extremely well in charts all over the world. It topped the charts in Australia and New Zealand and in fact, was the best selling song of the year in Australia in 2013. It also topped the charts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Israel, Lebanon, Scotland, Slovenia and South Korea. Just five months after it was released, 'Roar' had sold over 9.9 million units (sales and streams) globally.

Katy Perry became the first artist to have three Diamond-certified singles in the US after 'Roar' was certified as Diamond in June 2017. Her other two Diamond-certified singles at that time were 'Firework' and 'Dark Horse'.

Here are a few of the lyrics to 'Roar':
'I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath/ Scared to rock the boat and make a mess/ So I sat quietly, agreed politely/ I guess that I forgot I had a choice/ I let you push me past the breaking point/ I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything'.

Answer: Space Oddity

It is hard to believe that this song was released way back in July 1969. 'Space Oddity' was written by singer/songwriter, David Bowie, when he was just 22. At this stage he didn't have a record deal and his music was described by some as quite 'folksy'.

Rather interestingly, David did not write 'Space Oddity' because of the moon landing in 1969. Instead, he wrote it after seeing Stanley Kubrick's movie '2001: A Space Odyssey', which David Bowie described as being a 'revelation'. (This fact was a revelation to me, but makes 100% sense, since one was called 'Space Odyssey' and the other 'Space Oddity'.)

Though not about the moon landing, the release of 'Space Oddity' was timed to coincide with the Apollo 11 landing, and in fact, the BBC did use this track as the background music during their coverage of this major event in history.

The song received glowing praise from critics, however did not do particularly well on the charts when it was released. In the UK, it only came in at number five, however after a re-issue in 1975 it did take the number one spot. And while it barely registered in the U.S. in 1969, a re-issue in 1973 did see it reach number 15 on the Billboard Top 100.

Regardless of its charting success (or lack thereof) I can't help feeling that if a roomful of people were at karaoke and heard: 'Ground Control to...' many of them would be able to finish the lyric!

Here are a few more of the lyrics:
'Ground Control to Major Tom/ Ground Control to Major Tom/ Take your protein pills and put your helmet on/ Ground Control to Major Tom (ten, nine, eight, seven, six)/ Commencing countdown, engines on (five, four, three, two)/ Check ignition and may God's love be with you (one, lift off).
This is Ground Control to Major Tom/ You've really made the grade/ And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear/ Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare.'

Answer: Chasing Cars

'Chasing Cars' was released by the alternative rock band, Snow Patrol, in June 2006.

A love song, it was written by the lead singer of Snow Patrol, Gary Lightbody, who hails from Northern Ireland. Apparently he wrote it in the garden of Garret Lee, Snow Patrol's producer. In Gary's own words it was written in 'a blur of red wine and Percocet.' He said he wrote about ten songs that night, and the next morning, just one stood out as a diamond - 'Chasing Cars'.

The British loved this song. In December of 2006, it was voted the Best Song of All Time by listeners of Virgin Radio (UK). It was then voted, in a poll conducted by UK's Channel 4, as the Best Song of the Decade. And finally, in 2019, PPL (a UK company who collects and distributes royalties for performers and record companies) announced that 'Chasing Cars' was the most-played song of the 21st century (to 2019 in the UK).

If you were a BBC 'Top of the Pops' fan (a British music show that ran for 42 years and showcased all the top hits) and really like a good trivia fact, here goes: 'Chasing Cars' was the last song to be performed live on this music programme.

While it didn't immediately go gangbusters in the U.S., this changed after the song was played during the final scene of 'Grey's Anatomy' (Season Two). In September 2006 - one day after the DVD release of 'Grey's Anatomy' - the song became the most-downloaded song on the iTunes Store in the U.S.. It also came in at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and number one on following charts: Billboard Adult Alternative Songs, Billboard Adult Contemporary and the Billboard U.S. Adult Pop Airplay.

On a slightly less impressive note, this was my alarm music on my phone for about five years!

If you are not familiar with the song, here are a few of the lyrics:
'If I lay here/ If I just lay here/ Would you lie with me and just forget the world?/ Forget what we're told/ Before we get too old/ Show me a garden that's bursting into life/ Let's waste time/ Chasing cars/
Around our heads'.

Answer: Viva La Vida

This song (my absolutely favourite, btw) is of course, by Coldplay. It was released in 2008.

In an interview, Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, said that the song name was inspired by a painting by the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, called 'Sandías con leyenda: Viva La Vida' (Long Live Life). He went on to say that he was inspired by the boldness of the painting (which features colourful watermelons). Incidentally, this painting was the last 47 year-old Frida Kahlo completed: she died just eight days after finishing it.

The song 'Viva La Vida' was initially released exclusively on iTunes and it would be fair to say it was an instant hit. It reached the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100 shortly after it was released, and at this point, Coldplay became the first British male group in 17 years to score a second Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100. (The first hit being 'Speed of Sound' in 2005). Aside from this, 'Viva La Vida' reached the Top Ten on Adult Top 40 Airplay, Hot Digital Songs, Triple A Airplay, Adult Contemporary and Modern Rock Airplay. It was the first song at that point to have reached the Top Ten on all of these.

The list of 'platinums' this song achieved is fairly impressive. It went 9x Platinum in Australia, 8x Platinum in Spain, 6x Platinum in the UK, Portugal and New Zealand and 5x Platinum in the U.S. and Italy.

Sing-along time:
'I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin'/ Roman Cavalry choirs are singin'/ Be my mirror, my sword and shield/ My missionaries in a foreign field/ For some reason, I can't explain/ Once you'd gone, there was never, never an honest word/ And that was when I ruled the world.'

Answer: Beautiful Day

'Beautiful Day' is by the Irish rock band U2. Released in the year 2000, Bono, the lead singer of U2, explained that the inspiration behind the song was his personal experience with 'Jubilee 2000', which was a benefit that implored politicians to drop third world debt.

Bono described 'Beautiful Day' as being about 'a man who has lost everything, but finds joy in what he still has'. In regards to the video clip, trivia buffs might remember that this was set at an airport - Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, to be precise. Bono said that an airport setting fitted the title of the song perfectly - as in: 'What's the destination? The future.'

This song was a big hit for U2. It hit the number one spot in the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Portugal and Spain and was in the Top Ten in five other countries.

In 2001, at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held in LA, 'Beautiful Day' not only won the 2000 Grammy for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, but also won Best Rock Performance By Duo Or Group.

Here are a few lyrics:
'It's a beautiful day/ Sky falls, you feel like/ It's a beautiful day/ Don't let it get away/ You're on the road/ But you've got no destination/ You're in the mud/ In the maze of her imagination.'

Answer: Never Gonna Give You Up

Fitting well within the realms of absolute bangers is Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. The song was released way back in June 1987.

When 'Never Gonna Give You Up' was first released, it became a hit in the UK and stayed at number one for five weeks. It ended the year as the best-selling single of 1987 and in 1988 it won 'Best British Single'. It wasn't just the British that loved this song though - between 1987 and 1988, it reached number one in the U.S. and in 24 other countries.

This song isn't just popular with those of us who were teenagers in the 80s though; in 2007 it had a resurgence because of something called 'Rickrolling'. To be 'Rickrolled' meant that you opened either a link or meme, but instead of seeing what you expected, you were taken to Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' music video. A poll done by SurveyUSA in April 2008 estimated that at least 18 million adults in US alone had been 'Rickrolled'.

Overall, the video has been viewed on YouTube more than 1.6 billion times.

I feel fairly sure you already know the lyrics, but here are a few of them anyway:

'We're no strangers to love/ You know the rules and so do I/ A full commitment's what I'm thinkin' of/ You wouldn't get this from any other guy/ I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling/ Gotta make you understand/ Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down/ Never gonna run around and desert you/ Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye/ Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.'

Answer: All Star

'All Star' was released by the American band, Smash Mouth, in May 1999.

The inspiration for Smash Mouth to write the song apparently came from the fan mail they were receiving. According to the band, 85-90% of the fan mail was from teenagers saying they were getting grief for liking Smash Mouth. Guitarist and writer, Greg Camp, noted that the song was essentially an anthem to outcasts, and that it was designed to be 'an uplifting, self-confidence building song'.

While the song didn't chart particularly well (it reached number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100), it has endured through the years. This is perhaps because it was used in quite a number of films, memes and TV commercials. Some of the movies the song 'All Star' has appeared in include 'Inspector Gadget', 'Shrek', 'Rat Race', 'Mystery Men' and 'Digimon'. The song achieved 3x Platinum in the U.S, 2x Platinum in the UK, 4x Platinum in NZ, and Platinum in Australia, Italy, Denmark and Spain.

Here are a few of the lyrics:
'Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me/ I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed/ She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb/ In the shape of an "L" on her forehead/ So much to do, so much to see/ So what's wrong with taking the back streets?/ You'll never know if you don't go (GO!)/ You'll never shine if you don't glow/ Hey, now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play.'

Answer: Stayin' Alive

'Stayin' Alive' is of course, by the Bee Gees. As many people will know, this song played during the opening credits of the movie 'Saturday Night Fever' which was released in December 1977 and starred John Travolta. It was though, just one of five songs that were written by the Bee Gees for the movie - the others being 'How Deep is Your Love', 'Jive Talkin', 'Night Fever' and 'More Than a Woman'.

'Stayin' Alive' reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in February 1978 and stayed there for four weeks. It also hit number one in Australia, Canada, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa.

This is another song that has really stood the test of time. In 2004, Rolling Stone placed 'Stayin' Alive' at number 189 on their list of the '500 Greatest Songs of All Time' and in 2021 it attained number 84 on the US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Billboard.

Here are a few of the lyrics:
'Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk/ I'm a woman's man no time to talk/ Music loud and women warm/ I've been kicked around/ Since I was born/ And now it's all right, it's okay/ And you may look the other way/ But we can try to understand/ The New York Times' effect on man/ Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother/ You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive/ Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'/ And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive'.

Answer: That Don't Impress Me Much

The song 'That Don't Impress Me Much', was written by Shania Twain and her husband/producer, Robert John Lange, and was released in 1998.

The song didn't chart overly well, only reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. However it was Shania Twain's biggest hit in the UK, where it peaked at number three, and it did reach number one in Belgium, Ireland, Norway and New Zealand. It also reached the top ten in 16 countries.

Much of Shania Twain's music is designed to empower women, and this song was no exception. The lyrics take us through three suitors that don't impress Shania much: a rocket-scientist, a man obsessed with his looks and one obsessed with his car.

In case you got all defensive about the Brad Pitt reference in the song ('Okay, so you're Brad Pitt? That don't impress me much') according to Shania, these lyrics weren't aimed at Brad Pitt's looks. Instead, they were apparently more about leaked nude photos of Brad. In an interview Shania explained: 'I was writing this album and there was a scandal of [Pitt] and Gwyneth [Paltrow] where there was naked photos of him [in Playgirl magazine, which Pitt later successfully sued for publishing the paparazzi photos. And this was like all the rage. I just thought 'I don't know what all the fuss is about.' I'm like, well that don't impress me much, I mean what is all the fuss. We see people naked every day. That's really what I thought. I wasn't picking on Brad Pitt. But that was just the association in that moment and things we make fusses about and whatever. Of course, it could have been any gorgeous guy.'

Let's have a look at some of the lyrics:
'Oh-oh, you think you're special/ Oh-oh, you think you're something else/ Okay, so you're a rocket scientist/ That don't impress me much (oh, oh, ooh)/ So you got the brains, but have you got the touch?/ Now, don't get me wrong, yeah, I think you're alright/ But that won't keep me warm in the middle of the night/ That don't impress me much/ Uh-huh, yeah, yeah.'

Answer: Gold

'Gold' of course, was by the British band, Spandau Ballet. It was released in 1983 and was the follow-up to 'True' - Spandau Ballet's biggest hit. The band members in Spandau Ballet were Tony Hadley on vocals, Gary Kemp on guitar, Martin Kemp on bass, Steve Norman (also on guitar) and John Keeble on drums. If you have ever watched 'The Krays', a film that was released in 1990, you will find the Kemp brothers (Gary and Martin) appearing in it.

Here's a bit of trivia that blew my mind (because I watched this man for three years and literally had no idea he was a Spandau Ballet band member) Martin Kemp was also a main character on the BBC soap 'EastEnders'. His character, Steve Owen, was one of those characters that we love to hate. Even though he had all sorts of shady shenanigans going on in the show (including being suspected of killing someone) his devilish good looks and his impeccable style had the viewers itching for more. Sadly, the BBC blew him up in a car explosion in 2002 to kill off his character Apparently, having the role helped Martin Kemp to recover from a brain tumour that was operated on in 1997.

The song 'Gold' didn't chart particularly well. In the U.S., it reached a paltry number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. Back in Britain though, it did reach number two and it did chart in the top ten in ten countries. The BBC chose to use 'Gold' in their coverage of the 1984 LA. Olympics.

Again, I do feel that if this song was played at karaoke, there would be quite a few people who would be able to sing along with gusto to it.

Here are some of the lyrics, just in case you haven't heard of the song:
'Gold (Gold)/ Always believe in your soul/ You've got the power to know/ You're indestructible/
Always believe in, 'cos you are/ Gold (Gold)/ Glad that you're bound to return/ There's something I could have learned/You're indestructible, always believing'.

Answer: Wuthering Heights

'Wuthering Heights' was released by Kate Bush in 1978.

The song was written by Kate Bush and was inspired by the book 'Wuthering Heights' which was the only book written by Emily Bronte (although she did write some poems).

Rather interestingly, Kate Bush (b. 1958) and Emily Bronte (b 1818) share the same birthday - July 30.

Kate was 19 when she released this song. She apparently wrote it in one night and recorded the vocal in a single take. Clearly a talented individual, she had been writing songs since she was 13 and by age 19 had written some 50 songs.

The song was a big hit in some countries. It reached number one in the UK, and stayed there for four weeks. At this time, Kate was the first female artist in the UK to have a number one song that was entirely self-written. It was also number one in Australia, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and New Zealand, and reached the top ten in nine other countries.

However, Kate Bush didn't enjoy mass appeal in U.S. This changed in 2022 when her 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)' was used during an episode of 'Stranger Things'. This song made it to number three on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, her 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)' reached number one and this made her (at the age of 64) the oldest female artist to achieve this.

Let's look at a few of the lyrics:
'Out on the wily, windy moors/ We'd roll and fall in green/ You had a temper like my jealousy/ Too hot, too greedy/ How could you leave me/ When I needed to possess you?/ I hated you, I loved you, too/ Bad dreams in the night/ They told me I was going to lose the fight/ Leave behind my Wuthering, Wuthering/ Wuthering Heights/ Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy/I've come home'.

Answer: Zombie

'Zombie', a song performed by an Irish alternative rock group called the Cranberries, was released in September 1994. It was written as a protest song after an IRA bomb exploded in Warrington, England on the 20th March 1993. The bomb was in a dustbin and after it detonated, it left 56 people injured. Two children - a 3 year old and a 12 year old - later died from the injuries they sustained.

Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries, noted the following in 2017 about her writing of the song 'Zombie': 'There were a lot of bombs going off in London and I remember this one time a child was killed when a bomb was put in a rubbish bin - that's why there's that line in the song, 'A child is slowly taken'. [ ... ] We were on a tour bus and I was near the location where it happened, so it really struck me hard - I was quite young, but I remember being devastated about the innocent children being pulled into that kind of thing. So I suppose that's why I was saying, 'It's not me' - that even though I'm Irish it wasn't me, I didn't do it. Because being Irish, it was quite hard, especially in the UK when there was so much tension'.

The song was very big in Europe - it went to number one in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany and Iceland. It also hit number one in Australia and Zimbabwe. It reached number three in Ireland, number 14 in the UK and number one (where it stayed for 23 weeks) on the U.S. Billboard Alternative Airplay Chart. 'Zombie' has become something of an anthem, particularly at sporting events and has been covered more than 85 times.

In April 2020, the 'Zombie' video passed one billion views on YouTube, which made the Cranberries the first Irish band to hit this particular milestone. Sadly, Dolores O'Riordan wasn't around to celebrate this. She died of alcohol intoxication in 2018.

One last note - whether this was pure coincidence or something else, several weeks after the song was released, the IRA Loyalist paramilitary groups declared a ceasefire - after 25 years of conflict.
Apparently some critics of the rock group observed that perhaps the IRA was willing to call a truce just to ensure the Cranberries didn't make any more songs about them.

Here are a few of the lyrics:
'Another head hangs lowly/ Child is slowly taken/And the violence caused such silence/ Who are we mistaken/ But you see it's not me/ It's not my family/ In your head, in your head/ They are fighting/ With their tanks and their bombs/ And their bombs and their guns/ In your head, in your head/ They are cryin'/ In your head, in your head/ Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey.'

Answer: Paint It, Black

'Paint It, Black' is another golden oldie, having been released in 1966. The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and was of course, performed by the Rolling Stones.

For those people really into punctuation, the title might seem a bit misleading... who is 'Black' and what is he going to paint? According to Keith Richards, the song title didn't have a comma when they wrote it - however, once the record company got a hold of it, it suddenly did.

This really is a pretty sad song if you listen to the lyrics. Though there's no doubt that it's about death and loss and depression, there was no particular inspiration to it, according to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

What is unusual about the song is the use of a sitar - an Indian musical instrument. When the single was released in 1966, it topped both the U.S. and the UK charts, as well as the charts in Canada, Israel, Malaysia and the Netherlands. Not completely surprisingly, it was the first number one single in both the U.S. and UK to feature a sitar.

The song has been used in a number of films and shows. It was in the films 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'The Mummy' and the TV shows 'Tour of Duty', 'Wednesday', and 'Westworld'. It has also featured in an advertisement for 'Call of Duty, Black Ops III'.

In 2018, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song at number 213 on their list of the '500 Greatest Songs of All Time'.

Let's look at some of the lyrics, shall we?
'I see a red door/ And I want it painted black/ No colors anymore/ I want them to turn black/ I see the girls walk by/ Dressed in their summer clothes/I have to turn my head/ Until my darkness goes/ I wanna see it painted/ Painted black/ Black as night/ Black as coal/ I wanna see the sun/ Blotted out from the sky/ I wanna see it painted, painted, painted/ Painted black, yeah'.

Answer: Take Me to Church

'Take Me to Church' was written and performed by the solo Irish artist, Andrew Hozier Byrne, who is better known to most of us as simply 'Hozier'. Both a love song and contemplation of sin, the song was written after Hozier and his first girlfriend broke up. It was released in September 2013.

Here's a bit of trivia for the absolute buffs: 'church' isn't in many top-charting song titles, so when this song came out, it was the highest-charting song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 which did have 'church' in the title. (I live for this stuff lol!)

It reached number two on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK chart and was number one in 12 countries. It was also Spotify's most-streamed track globally in 2014, achieving over 87 million streams. The song also made history (although it tied with 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons) in the U.S. as the longest-running number one on the Hot Rocks Songs chart, spending 23 consecutive weeks at the top.

One last interesting fact is that the music video (probably because this was Hozier's debut single) was made for just 1,500 euros.

Here are a few of the lyrics:
'Take me to church/ I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies/ I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife/ Offer me that deathless death/ Good God, let me give you my life/ Take me to church/ I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies/ I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife/ Offer me that deathless death/ Good God, let me give you my life/ If I'm a pagan of the good times/ My lover's the sunlight/ To keep the Goddess on my side/She demands a sacrifice.'