Almost every new band who emerged in the UK during the nineties was deemed to be part of the Britpop movement, and not everyone enjoyed being pigeonholed. If it had a reliable definition, Britpop could be said to have encompassed bands who paid some kind of homage to the guitar music of yesteryear, whether Stonesy blues-rock, Who-like R&B, Byrdsian jingle-jangle or trippy, Love-like psychedelia. Much of it was derivative, but many Britpop acts gave the old sounds a new twist. These two sections contain ‘No Surprises’ – that was by Radiohead and they come later . . .
Answers: here
1 Which two eighties stars joined forces to release three albums under the moniker Electronic?
2 Crispin Hunt was the singer in which Britpop band, who enjoyed success with their albums The Sun Is Often Out and Mobile Home? Who was their lead guitarist, nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2007 for Coles Corner?
3 With which two bands is John Power associated, the first as bass player and backing vocalist in the late eighties and the second as singer, songwriter and guitarist in the nineties?
4 ‘As Good as It Gets’ is the title of both a UK Top 30 single and a 2001 best-of compilation by which nineties pop band? What’s the title of their 1995 debut album, which helped the group win the first NME New Act of the Year award?
5 Which album followed A Storm in Heaven (1993) and A Northern Soul (1995)? Which single from it borrowed a riff from a string arrangement of ‘The Last Time’ by the Rolling Stones?
6 Coldplay had to wait eight years for their first British number one single – but which song, the first single from their album A Rush of Blood to the Head, made number two in 2002? And which former Pop Idol finalist kept them off the top with ‘Colourblind’?
7 Lee Mavers was the leader of which late eighties indie band? What was the single that gave the band their only UK Top 20 hit?
8 What’s the chaotic, 13-minute single by Flowered Up that seemed to encapsulate the party-till-you-drop atmosphere of the early nineties rave rock scene? What was the surname of brothers Liam and Joe, who were the core of the band?
9 Which Britpop band reached their Maximum High in 1996? Which single from the previous year gave the band their biggest hit?
10 In what way did The X-Files contribute to the success of Welsh band Catatonia in the 1990s? What’s the title of their second album, a British number one on the back of two successful singles?
11 Who were ‘Caught by the Fuzz’ in 1994? And what’s the title of the group’s debut album on which the single appears?
12 Who brought 1977 to 1995? And which film from the former year was strongly referenced on the album?
13 Which member of Blur helped write ‘Vindaloo’, the 1998 England World Cup song? Which actor and comedian wrote the lyrics and sang/spoke the words?
14 Which band topped the British albums chart with the mononymically-titled K in 1996? Which scion of an acting family still serves as the band’s frontman?
15 Who co-wrote Suede’s early hits with guitarist Bernard Butler? Under which name did the duo revive their partnership for a one-off album in 2005?
16 What connects John Wayne to the Britpop band behind This World and Body (1996)? Phil Cunningham, the band’s guitarist, joined which other band in 2001 and remains a permanent member?
17 Which member connects the Stone Roses with Primal Scream? And which sporting passion connects him to the Gallagher brothers?
18 Up to 2016, what have been Coldplay’s two British number one singles?
19 Which band, who found success in the nineties after a decade of struggle, began their career with ‘Arabicus’ as a prefix to their name? And what’s the title of their 1983 debut album?
20 In 1995, whose debut album was Smart enough to reach the British Top 10? What facetious name was given to the less vocal members of the band?
21 What were the two UK Top 10 singles taken from Happy Mondays’ 1990 album Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches?
22 Which very positive single took Bernard Butler into the Top 10 after he left Suede? Which singer was co-credited on it?
23 What’s the title of the Stone Roses’ long-awaited second album? Which track was released as the first single, giving the band their biggest hit?
24 Who had a hit with ‘This Is How It Feels’ in 1990? Which young guitar technician with the band went on to achieve a level of success his former employers never came close to matching?
25 Which band was fronted by Justine Frischmann? With which other artist did Frischmann have a long-standing relationship?
26 Which Welsh band were the first to sign to Richard Branson’s V2 label, making their debut with ‘Local Boy in the Photograph’? Who is still the band’s songwriter, singer and leader?
27 Which Britpop latecomers first entered the Top 20 in 1996 with ‘Stripper Vicar’, the third in a series of numbered EPs? What’s the title of their debut album that followed in 1996, topping the British charts?
28 Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, De La Soul, Mark E Smith and Mick Jones all appeared on which 2010 album by Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz? Which soul legend appeared alongside Mos Def on the single ‘Stylo’?
29 In 1995, Robson & Jerome’s number one singles ‘Unchained Melody’ and ‘I Believe’ ensured that two Britpop classics only reached number two. Which songs by Pulp and Oasis suffered at the hands of the winsome twosome?
30 Unfinished Monkey Business is the 1998 debut solo album by which singer? Who provided vocals on his 2007 single ‘Illegal Attacks’?