Entertainment For Lively Minds
Pop Quiz!
Posted by DrJ on 21 September 2010 - 1:21am.
An episode of Pop Quiz from 1984. Phil Collins captains Elvis Costello and Huey Lewis and Midge Ure captains Nick Lowe and kid's favourite John Martyn. Enjoy!
NB: It's much better than NMTBuzzcocks and Costello's left-handed.
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Blimey!
That makes me feel old. And what a disparate bunch! I can't imagine those six blokes ever being in the same room again.
Great stuff, though. Thanks for posting.
I can't imagine it either.
One of them's dead.
Big arrow for that.
It's a pretty Word-friendly edition. As well as a decent (ish) panel you get questions on RT, Howling Wolf and Joe Tex.
Notice how only the wankers have their sleeves rolled up?
They should have stuck 'em all in a studio
after the show and offered Basher £50 to get 'em to knock out a single.
There's *almost* a link between all the panellists.
Huey Lewis played on Elvis Costello's first album which was produced by Nick Lowe
Phil Collins played on/produced a couple of 1980s John Martyn albums
Midge Ure?
Band Aid innit
Midge Ure & Phil Collins.
Oh, and Nick Lowe auditioned for Genesis when Peter Gabriel left. True dat.
Well I Never!
Not only Elvis is left-handed but also Basher and Phil Collins. That's 50% of the panel, a higher than average proportion of lefties.
Phil Collins and John Martyn were, of course, pals as are Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello.
I didn't know Marc Almond had covered Purple Haze, watch Midge's face as Marc sings "'scuse me while I kiss the sky" (or is it "kiss this guy"?).
I can't imagine the six guys being in the same room again since John Martyn died in 2009, nor can I see them being in the same sharp suits, that and the 'sleeves' thing looks so dated now.
Left handed musicians
As far as I've ever noticed, Elvis and Nick Lowe always play their guitars right-handed. I thought this was supposed to be very difficult for left handers, and so they would always play the other way round, as Paul McCartney or Hendrix, for example, do. Just out of curiosity, does anyone have experience of this? Is the answer that there are just degrees of left and right handedness, which mean some people can play the "wrong" way round, and others can't?
Listen to the Word Podcast
featuring Wilko Johnson. Wilko is left handed but decided that he would play it right handed "as a challenge" my words not Wilko's.
Jimi Goodwin of Doves appears to play his bass upside down without changing the strings over - which is what most lefties seem to do - so his low E is at the bottom with G at the top.
As a leftie guitarist myself
I've always been fascinated by the subject.
You can't play a piano left-handed, so why would you play a guitar any differently? It still needs two hands to play it so surely any advantage from swapping the guitar round is cancelled out?
I've always played right-handed and wouldn't know where to start if handed a left-handed guitar. I even fingerpick in preference to strumming.
Hendrix didn't play a left-handed guitar, he played a right-handed guitar strung upside down as did Macca occasionally.
Albert King and Bob Geldof also play "upside down" but on a left-handed guitar.
David Bowie, another left-hander, plays right-handed but his pal Iggy Pop plays left-handed.
Folk musician Jez Lowe plays left-handed despite being a right-hander.
From the heavy metal world Mike Batio plays ambidextrously and famously plays his double guitars both necks at one time. Tony Iommi briefly tried switching hands after his industrial accident but now plays a detuned guitar which has become synonymous with heavy metal.
The Phil Collins team
has another link.
Who said these words?
Princess Diana?
I love the idea of Pop Quiz, with mums and dads sat at home wondering who the hell the panelists are. Then they get confronted by these long-haired layabouts.
Found this when I was researching on Google. I could remember another TV pop show with Milke Read but knew it was on t'other channel. Indeed it was produced by YTV because I was at a recording that was aborted halfway through because of a technicians strike (1978?). It was called Pop Quest - no videos seem to exist. The show I was at would have featured Wreckless Eric, John Cooper Clarke, Les Gray & others. Or was I dreaming it?
Here's a clip
Beany, is that not a younger version of you presenting?
It's American Psycho
... Written by Brett Easton Ellis, author of Costello-inspired-titles Less Than Zero and Imperial Bedrooms.
Phil Collins
also produced an album by Frida from the ABBA which Costello penned some songs for but they were rejected
Loved this, thank you
* That was very very watchable but would be considered too slow-moving for today (they're wrong).
* Rolled-up jacket sleeves - I noticed Richard Bacon doing this a lot recently. Is this fashion 'back' or is he just a twat?
* Mike Read was not the twerp he is portrayed as these days. He knew his onions, was a great TV & radio presenter and adored music.
Pop Quest
Was a quiz show for teen wannabees, not quite ready for Universally Challenged. On this clip, take a peek at the 16 year-old Moz, who leaves rock & roll behind to becone a northern DJ & producer. Some hard questions too.
In ASDA in Grangemouth, yesterday....
...I saw Miller Robertson. He was quite famous round these parts all those years ago. He won the snooker pop quiz that was on Radio 1 back then too.
Glasses and very little hair these days. He got himself a proper job but certainly still does the DJ thing as he's been doing our local swimming club's disco the last few years.
"Bob Ballard"
The same FiveLive presenter I wonder?