‘The aim of the Alternative Jukebox is to capture BBC 6 Music’s alternative spirit, whether classic, cover, niche or unusual’ says Chris Hawkins’ introduction to the ‘Alternative Jukebox page’ on the 6 Music website. The Jukebox is updated every year to reflect new trends. It celebrates fresh new music with an independent spirit free from corporate persuasion. Artists managed by Simon Cowell are notable by their absence. This chapter features artists that belong on there.
Answers: here
1 Which reggae star sang on Massive Attack’s debut album, Blue Lines? And who co-wrote and sang on the final track, ‘Hymn of the Big Wheel’, with him?
2 Which enduring band was fronted for 30 years by Thurston Moore? What was their 1992 Butch Vig-produced eighth album that reached number six in the UK album chart?
3 The cover of Maccabees’ fourth album, Marks to Prove It, features which south London landmark, a tribute to a famous scientist? What was the album’s Mercury-nominated predecessor in 2012?
4 Which city’s music scene includes British Sea Power? Which band did Eamon Hamilton form with the White brothers from Electric Soft Parade when he left BSP in 2006?
5 Whose 2016 album was an adaptation of nine Shakespeare sonnets? Which pop superstar provided guest vocals on Sonnet 29?
6 Midnite Vultures; MISSING; Guero; The Information; MISSING; Morning Phase. What are the two missing albums from this list of Beck’s post-1999 releases?
7 In which year did New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ first chart in the UK? How many times has it made the Top 20?
8 From which album did New Order take ‘Blue Monday’? And who did the revamped ‘Acid House Mix’ in 1988?
9 Mike Skinner released five albums under which name in the 2000s? What was his sole UK number one?
10 We’re New Here was a remix album made by Gil Scott-Heron and whicb young British producer? For which solo album did the latter win a 2016 Grammy award?
11 Whose hit single with a version of ‘The Twist’ started a 1960 dance craze? Which Brooklyn rap act successfully revived the fad alongside the original artist in 1988?
12 What did Marc Bolan do with his band’s name before their fifth album? What was their first UK number one single, in 1971?
13 Whose released Divers in 2015? What is her main instrument?
14 Which film gave Iggy Pop’s 1977 classic ‘Lust for Life’ a new lease of life in 1996? Who co-wrote it with Iggy?
15 Which reggae star took ‘The Israelites’ to number one in the UK in 1968? Which Jimmy Cliff cover hit number two for him two years later?
16 Smog was the recording alter ego of which US artist? What was the 2013 album (his fifteenth) released under his own name that was a rare chart entry in the UK?
17 Which British band changed their name from Dead Elvis after objections from the Presley estate and used it as the title of their 1999 debut album instead? Who sang on their only UK Top 10 hit, the grunge/dance track ‘Aisha’?
18 How is original rock and roller Richard Penniman better known, and what was his 1955 breakthrough single and signature tune?
19 Which 4AD band feature Elena Tonra on guitar and vocals? What was the title of their 2016 second album?
20 What was the Strokes’ 2001 debut album called? Who is the band’s leader and songwriter?
21 Which groundbreaking German electronic band’s fourth album went Top 10 in the UK and US in 1974? What was it called?
22 What sigil (symbol) is the ‘official’ name of alt-J? What was their Mercury Prize-winning 2012 debut album?
23 Whose 1987 debut album was named after iconic Manchester United footballer George Best? In 1992 the same band released a single each month. Every one reached the UK Top 40, matching whose feat of 12 hit singles in a calendar year?
24 Q: Are We Not Men? What was the answer on this 1978 debut album? Two pairs of brothers made up the band: Bob and Gerald Casale and Bob and Mark what?
25 If you were watching Brace Paine play guitar and Hannah Blilie on drums, who was singing? What was the band’s breakthrough single?
26 The refrain ‘Boom Boom Boom Boom’ is associated with which Delta blues guitarist? Which three drinks are cited in the title of another famous song by the same artist?
27 What was the title of the Byrds’ debut album, and also the title of the lead track, a Bob Dylan cover? Which other Dylan cover off the album gave them a follow-up hit?
28 Which drum and bass artist was born Clifford Price in 1965? In which 1999 James Bond movie did he play a villainous henchman?
29 Nineties rock band Belly featured singer/guitarist Tanya Donelly; with which other two female-fronted rock acts is she associated?
30 What completes the Belle and Sebastian album titles; ‘Fold Your Hands Child, ?????’ and ‘Girls in Peacetime ???’ (the number of question marks indicates the number of missing words).