Pop quiz: from funeral songs to Fleetwood Mac – do you know this week in music history?

Fleetwood Mac c.1970. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

1. 

   On 8 August 2002, Co-Op funeral services announced their list of the most popular songs to be played at funerals. Which song was the one most commonly used to commemorate the passing of a loved one?

   1. Pearl Jam – Alive

   2. Bette Midler – Wind Beneath My Wings

   3. Queen – Another One Bites the Dust

   4. Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth

2. 

   Happy birthday, The Edge out of U2, who turned 55 this week. What unusual feature of his plectrums contributes to their unique sound?

   1. The grip is covered with dimples, and then he holds them upside down so the dimples hit the strings

   2. He covers the tip with a specially made grease made for him by Vaseline, which enables them to slide across the strings more quickly

   3. Titanium wire is embedded in the plastic to produce a metallic sound

   4. He makes them himself, using only plastic from Fairy Liquid bottles produced between 1978 and 1984. He believes this source of plastic will run out in 2018.

3. 

   This week in 1980, AC/DC’s Back in Black went to No 1 in the UK album charts – their first chart-topper. Which of the following is Brian Johnson not up to during the course of the song?

   1. Hitting the sack

   2. Beating the flack

   3. Getting back on the track

   4. Waxing the crack

4. 

   Anthony H Wilson, famed for his work with Factory Records, died on 10 August 2007. Which of the following items was never given a Factory catalogue number?

   1. Wilson’s favourite “World’s Greatest Boss” mug

   2. A poster for a cancelled Durutti Column gig

   3. An unused sleeve for a single by Crawling Chaos

   4. A legal case involving Martin Hannett

5. 

   Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard blew out 40 candles on his birthday cake this week. Which of the following is not a Death Cab for Cutie lyric?

   1. I put on my overcoat and walked into winter

   2. I matched my socks and ironed my T-shirts

   3. I rearrange the furniture as you sleep

   4. I drank from a faucet and I kept my receipts

6. 

   Led Zeppelin rehearsed together for the first time on 12 September 1968, in a building on a London street now most famous for what?

   1. Chinese restaurants

   2. Theatres

   3. Gay bars

   4. Being the most polluted street in Britain

7. 

   Four years ago on Friday, the London Olympics closing ceremony was held. Which of the following top stars did not play live during the show?

   1. Taio Cruz

   2. Richard Jones out of the Feeling

   3. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

   4. Jessie J

8. 

   Fleetwood Mac played their first gig this week in 1967. How many official members have they had during that time?

   1. Nine

   2. 11

   3. 16

   4. 39

9. 

   On 14 August, 2003, the One True Voice – the boyband created alongside Girls Aloud on the TV show Popstars: The Rivals, One True Voice – split up. Their mentor, Pete Waterman, refused to call them a boyband. What term did he use instead?

   1. My lovely boys

   2. Useless bunch of wasters

   3. Groundbreaking pop combo

   4. Male vocal harmony group

10. 

    David Crosby turns 75 on Sunday. In 1994 he had a liver transplant – which fellow rock star helped pay for it?

    1. Phil Collins

    2. Neil Young

    3. Joni Mitchell

    4. Simon Le Bon

Solutions

1:B - Another One Bites the Dust was on the list of the most popular songs, though. Tasteful., 2:A - You can learn very dull things on guitar websites., 3:D - Back in Black is the second best-selling album of all time, fact fans., 4:A - Factory once gave a catalogue number to its staff Christmas party., 5:B - Poet of the everyday or boring solipsist? You decide!, 6:A - Gerrard Street is the heart of Chinatown, in Soho., 7:C - That honour went to Liam’s band, Beady Eye., 8:C - Only drummer Mick Fleetwood has been there the whole time. John McVie was not on their first single., 9:D - They were a boyband, Pete. Live with it., 10:A - His liver problems were caused by hepatitis C

Scores