Phil Swern - Ultimate PopMaster

EBURY UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
New Zealand | India | South Africa Ebury is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com. First published by BBC Books in 2020 This book is published to accompany the BBC Radio Two quiz show PopMaster, broadcast on The Ken Bruce Show. Copyright Popmaster Trading Limited 2020 The moral right of the author has been asserted Cover design by Two Associates ISBN: 978-1-473-53216-8 This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. FOREWORD PopMaster began on my daily show on Radio 2 back in 1996 when I was looking for a couple of new features to include in order to freshen up the morning programme. Along with my producer at the time, Colin Martin, and question setter Phil Swern, we went out for a mighty fine lunch and, after several hours, came up with the idea of PopMaster.

Once it was launched, we thought it would probably run for 13 weeks or so but, to everyones amazement, it gradually became one of the high spots of the show. Over the years the audience has grown and grown, culminating into what has now become the most listened to half hour every weekday morning on the entire Radio 2 network. The quiz took to the road for the first time in 2013, raising money for BBC Children in Need, for which we have done subsequent events. We followed that up with other live and corporate events and hopefully well run many more in the future; were also planning a nationwide quiz in selected pubs around the country, so keep an eye out for one near you. In 2014, the first PopMaster book was published, which managed to find its way into the bestsellers so another was commissioned for the following year, and Im pleased to note that also found similar success. However, there hasnt been a new book since then so I was delighted when we were able to approach Penguin Random House with a view to bringing out a brand spanking new edition with a completely fresh look and a more user-friendly layout.

I really hope you enjoy playing along with the questions set here by our regular question setters, Neil Myners and Phil (The Collector) Swern and hope you score well as you turn the pages of this very fine new-look PopMaster book. If you havent already, please join me every weekday morning at 10.30 on Radio 2 and, who knows, maybe youll be one of our lucky contestants! Ken Bruce, BBC Radio 2 HOW IT WORKS The following pages may very well test your pop brain to its limit. How strong is your musical mental pain threshold? At what point will you crack? Fear not, were here to make this a pleasant rather than a tortuous experience. Weve devised what will hopefully be an enjoyable romp through chart knowledge and trivia. Weve divided this book into five sections Top 50, Top 40, Top 30, Top 20 and Top 10. As you work your way through, youll find that some questions need a little more thought.

Think of the Top 50 as a musical equivalent to your standard gym warm-up (if that is your thing!). After this, well explain the contents of each section as you come to it. But it ends with sets of questions familiar to regular listeners of Ken Bruces show a Top 10 section of questions similar to those faced by Kens Champion of Champions contestants. We really hope you enjoy this book and that along the way you pick up some interesting nuggets of trivia you might not have read or heard about before. And if any of the quizzes keep you awake at night searching for the answer? Well, dont shoot us, were only the question writers! Phil Swern & Neil Myners TOP 50 OK! Were Off! Heres your warm-up section to get you in the mood for some more challenging rounds later in the book. The questions in this section are just like the ones Ken would ask on air, but there are a few tricky ones thrown in for good measure along the way.

It would be a bit dull to score maximum points all the way through, wouldnt it?

Which multi-platinum selling artist topped the singles chart in 2011 with her song Someone Like You? Madness achieved two Top 10 hits with the word House in the title, one was Our House, what was the other? Which group reached number one in 1976 with the song December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)? Which 1972 Top 3 hit by Don McLean became a number one cover version for Madonna in 2000? The English producer who made the Top 10 in 1999 with his arrangement of Barbers Adagio For Strings is called William who? What do the letters P and J stand for in singer PJ Harveys name? Avril Lavigne scored her first hit in 2002, what was the title? Who duetted with Celine Dion on the 1992 hit movie theme from Beauty and the Beast? Released in 1964, The Moody Blues had their only number one single early in 1965 with which song? Next page