Fancy a date? They are the essence of this quiz. Each question has a birth and a death (usually), a UK chart topper, and a world event. Identify the year. Two points if you are spot on. One point if you are a year out.
Answers: here
1 Kelly Clarkson is born and Alex Harvey dies; Adam Ant has ‘Goody Two Shoes’ at number one; Pope John Paul II is the first Pontiff to visit Britain.
2 Jack White is born and Tim Buckley dies; ‘January’ is number one for Pilot; Monty Python and the Holy Grail is released in cinemas.
3 Ed Sheeran is born and Serge Gainsbourg dies; ‘Do the Bartman’ from The Simpsons hits number one; John McCarthy is released after being held hostage in the Lebanon for five years.
4 Sinéad O›Connor is born and Johnny Kidd dies; ‘Strangers in the Night’ takes Frank Sinatra to number one; Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire opens.
5 Alex Turner is born and Benny Goodman dies; ‘Spirit in the Sky’ is number one; The Sun claims that Freddie Starr ate a hamster.
6 Jarvis Cocker is born and Patsy Cline dies; ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is number one; the Beeching Report decimates the British rail system.
7 Paul Weller is born and Vaughan Williams dies; ‘Jailhouse Rock’ is number one; the Munich air disaster kills Manchester United players.
8 Joey Ramone dies; So Solid Crew spend ‘21 Seconds’ at number one; Labour minister John Prescott punches a member of the public.
9 Bez is born and Cole Porter dies; ‘House of the Rising Sun’ is number one; Radio Caroline begins broadcasting.
10 Laura Marling is born and Sammy Davis Jr dies; Kylie is at number one with ‘Tears On My Pillow’; Poundland open their first store, in Burton-on-Trent.
11 Dave Grohl is born and Judy Garland dies; ‘Something in the Air’ tops the chart for Thunderclap Newman; the QEII makes her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
12 Adam Faith dies; ‘Changes’ is at number one for Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne; Roman Abramovich buys Chelsea FC.
13 Matt Bellamy of Muse is born and Jacques Brel dies; ‘Three Times a Lady’ is number one’; Louise Brown, the world’s first IVF baby (or ‘test tube baby’, as she is called then), is born.
14 John Denver dies; ‘Spice Up Your Life’ is number one; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is published.
15 Mick Hucknall is born and Eddie Cochran dies; The Shadows’ ‘Apache’ is number one; Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker opens in London.
16 Tommy Vance dies; James Blunt’s ‘You’re Beautiful’ reaches number one; Dr Who returns after an absence of 16 years.
17 Norah Jones is born and Van McCoy of ‘The Hustle’ fame dies; ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ is number one for the Boomtown Rats; the IRA murder MP Airey Neave and Earl Mountbatten.
18 Adele is born and Andy Gibb dies; the KLF’s ‘Doctorin’ the Tardis’ is number one; Red Nose Day is inaugurated.
19 Donna Summer dies; Jessie J is number one with ‘Domino’; Bradley Wiggins is the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France.
20 Michael Stipe is born and George Formby dies; ‘You Don’t Know’ is number one for Helen Shapiro; the contraceptive pill becomes available on the NHS.
21 Chris Martin is born and Bing Crosby dies; ‘Silver Lady’ is at number one for David Soul; Freddie Laker launches Skytrain.
22 John Lydon is born and Elvis’s mum, Gladys, dies; ‘Que Sera Sera’ is number one for Doris Day; Chancellor Harold Macmillan introduces Premium Bonds in Britain.
23 Eazy-E dies; ‘Love Can Build a Bridge’ a Comic Relief song by Cher, Chrissie Hynde and Neneh Cherry with Eric Clapton, goes to number one; Manchester United star Eric Cantona kung fu kicks a fan.
24 Malcolm McLaren dies; Bruno Mars is at number one with ‘Just the Way You Are’; Ed Milliband becomes Labour Party leader.
25 Ian Dury dies; Britney Spears tops the chart with ‘Oops!... I Did It Again’; Tate Modern open on London’s South Bank.
26 Dr Dre is born and Nat King Cole dies; ‘It’s Not Unusual’ to find Tom Jones at number one; Ronnie Biggs escapes from Wandsworth Prison.
27 Avril Lavigne is born and Count Basie dies; ‘Freedom’ is number one for Wham!; Robert Maxwell buys the Daily Mirror.
28 Joe Strummer dies; Will Young is at number one with ‘Light My Fire’; the Queen Mother dies aged 101.
29 Beck is born and Jimi Hendrix dies; ‘Spirit in the Sky’ is number one for Norman Greenbaum; the Methodist Church approves the ordination of female ministers.
30 Miley Cyrus is born and Albert King dies; Jimmy Nail has a number one with ‘Ain’t No Doubt’; Black Wednesday hits the UK stock market.