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 the most recent quiz (Sunday 29 September 2024).

Round 1: General Knowledge

1. What is the capital city of Indonesia?
2. Who is the current UK Foreign Secretary?
3. “La voiture” in French, “El coche” in Spanish and “Das Auto” in German: what word do we use in English?
4. Who wrote “The Faraway Tree” series of children’s books?
5. What is the chemical symbol for the element Potassium?

Round 2: 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. 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, 1986 & 2003
2. 1972 & 1994
3. 1999 & 2001
4. 1983 & 2001
5. 1965 & 1985

Round 3: Whose population is bigger?

In recent years there have been some changes in the Top 20 most populous countries in the world. Here are 5 comparisons. In each case, name the country with the bigger population.

1. India or China?
2. Mexico or Japan?
3. North Korea or South Korea?
4. Croatia or Ireland?
5. Malta or Cyprus?

Round 4: Music: #1 on this date

You will hear part of five songs that were #1 in the UK on this date. There is one for each decade, from the 1960s to the 2000s. Name the year that the song was #1:

1. The Beatles, “She Loves You”
2. Elvis Presley, “Way Down”
3. Mick Jagger & David Bowie, “Dancing in the Streets”
4. Elton John, “Candle in the Wind”
5. Will Young & Gareth Gates “The Long And Winding Road”

Round 5: More Letters

1. Which of these letters does not appear in the title of any Academy Award Winner for Best Picture? Q X Z
2. There has been at least one UK #1 song title beginning with every letter of the alphabet except …? Q X Z
3. Which of these letters does not appear in the name of any chemical element or chemical symbol in the Periodic Table? Q X Z
4. What is the most frequently used letter in English text?
5. If you take the first letters of the capital cities of the following countries, what word does that spell? Ecuador, Mongolia, Pakistan, Croatia

End of Part One

Round 6: Have a guess

1. Antony Gormley was the 1994 winner of which Arts Prize?
2. Hareton Earnshaw is a character in which Emily Bronte novel?
3. Marathon des Sables is a race in what North African desert?
4. Which Chinese philosopher was given the title “Extremely Sage Departed Teacher”?
5. Which fictional diarist has been played in a series of films by Renee Zellweger?

Round 7: Music: There’s No G

You will hear clips from five songs that all reached #1 in the UK. On the Official Chart Company website the song’s titles are all missing a letter G. Please write down the word in the song title that’s missing a G.

1. Johnny Kidd and the Pirates (1960)
2. Lee Marvin (1970)
3. Ricky Martin (1999)
4. Scissor Sister (2006)
5. Mint Royale (2008)

Round 8: Logos: Identify the following brands

[A visual round, for a change, using Logos from the following brands: Taco Bell, Monster (Energy Drinks), BP, Firestone, Dolby]

Round 9: The answers are in the lyrics

1. According to Elvis Presley’s 1956 #2 hit, “Heartbreak Hotel” is located down at the end of which street?
2. According to the lyrics of the Beatles 1968 #1 “Lady Madonna”, which “afternoon is never ending”?
3. In Benny Hill’s 1971 #1 “Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)”, how old was Ernie when he died?
4. Which city is mentioned in the opening verse of Abba’s 1980 #1 “Super Trouper”?
5. Arctic Monkeys, in their 2005 #1 “I bet you look good on the dancefloor”, mention “Dancing to electro-pop like a robot” from which year?

Round 10: General Knowledge, Part 2

Identify the following people, whose names are alliterative:

1. Actress, star of “Carrie” (1976) and Oscar winner for “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
2. In Marvel Comics, the secret identity of Spider-Man. In real life, the name of the chairman of British Rail in the late 1970s
3. Founding member and lead singer of Black Sabbath
4. My favourite friend: the actress who played Monica Geller in “Friends” (first broadcast in the US September 1994)
5. Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by Liz Truss in September 2022