As explained in this piece from earlier this month, I have been asked to host a Sunday night quiz at a local pub. Here’s a record of the 50 questions for last weekend’s quiz (Sunday 22 September 2024).

Round 1: General Knowledge

1. What is the capital city of Serbia?
2. Who is the current UK Chancellor of the Exchequer?
3. What is the word for Wednesday in any one of these languages: French, German or Spanish?
4. Which literary dame wrote the Tracy Beaker books?
5. What is the chemical symbol for the element Tungsten?

Round 2: Music: #1 Places

You will hear part of five songs that reached #1 in the UK. Each one contains the name of a place in its title. Please write the names of the five places. Here are the years that the songs reached #1:

1. 1967
2. 1972
3. 1977
4. 2005
5. 1999 [An extra clip from a different #1 in 2016 if needed]

Round 3: Real Names

Here are the original, or birth, names of five singers, along with their years of birth. All of them have reached #1 in the UK chart, the first four as solo artists, the last as lead singer in a band. How are they better known?

1. Harry Webb (1940)
2. Robyn Fenty (1988)
3. Stefani Germanotta (1986)
4. Reginald Dwight (1947)
5. Graham McPherson (1961)

Round 4: Music: More Than Once at 1

You will hear the intro’s to five songs that reached #1 in the UK for at least two different artists. In at least one case the version that you hear did NOT make it to #1. We want the name of any artist that reached #1 with the song. As an extra clue here are the years that the songs reached #1:

1. 1970 & 2017
2. 1980 & 2002
3. 2000 & 2005 [The version you are hearing did not get to #1]
4. 1953 & 1995
5. 1962 & 1993

Round 5: Geography: Countries by Letter

You will hear the names of at least three capital cites. In each case, these cities are all capitals of countries that begin with same letter. Simply write down the single LETTER that all of these countries begin with. For example, if the cities were “Ouagadougou, La Paz and Brussels”, you would write “B”.

1. San Jose, Nicosia, Beijing
2. Jakarta, Tehran, Reykjavik
3. Santo Domingo, Kinshasa, Copenhagen
4. Asmara, Tallinn, Quito
5. Kigali, Bucharest, Moscow

End of Part One

Round 6: Have a guess

1. Schoolgirl Pandora Braithwaite is the love interest of which fictional diarist?
2. “The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad” is a quote attributed to which Spanish surrealist?
3. “Army of Me” was the first UK Top 10 hit for which Icelandic singer?
4. The towers of what Cambodian temple symbolize the peaks of the legendary Mount Meru?
5. Don Pizarro is the governor of the prison in which Beethoven opera?

Round 7: Music: Family members

You will hear five pieces of music, all of which reached the UK Top 10. They all feature the name of a family member in their title. Please write down the family member in the title of each song.

1. Clive Dunn (1970 UK #1)
2. Hot Chocolate (1973 UK #7)
3. Abba (1979 UK #4)
4. St Winifred’s School Choir (1980 UK Christmas #1)
5. Elvis Presley (1970 UK #8 )

Round 8: The Wives and Brother of Henry VIII

1. Who was Henry’s sixth wife, who was still alive when he died?
2. Which of these lasted longer: (A) Henry’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon or (B) his five other marriages put together?
3. As well his widow (in Question 1), which of Henry’s other wives outlived him?
4. Henry’s successor as king was Edward VI; who was Edward’s mother?
5. What was the name of Henry’s older brother, who died in 1502?

Round 9: Music: Same Title, Different Song

All of the following artists had  #1s in the years shown with different songs that share a title. Name the shared song title in each case.

1. Johnny Nash 1975 & Kylie Minogue 1990
2. Lisa Stansfield 1989 & Oasis 1998
3. David Bowie 1983 & 5ive 2001
4. The Prodigy 1996 & Blu Cantrell featuring Sean Paul 2003
5. Jet Harris and Tony Meehan 1963 & Rihanna 2012

Round 10: General Knowledge, Part 2

1. Which actor presents the new ITV Saturday night game show “Password”?
2. Name the American swimmer who won 23 Olympic gold medals between 2004 and 2016.
3. Which British actress won Best Actress Oscars for “Women in Love” (1970) and “A Touch of Class” (1973)?
4. What is the most common pub name in the UK?
5. In what year was the first section of the Chiswick Flyover opened? (Allow 3 years either way.)