Popular music has long been, and hopefully long will remain, a valid voice of protest. Whenever you hear men and women in suits crying foul and calling for a clampdown, you know healthy protest is afoot and the towers of the citadel have been rocked. We need more of it, perhaps following the examples of some of the acts featured in these 30 questions.
Answers: here
1 What was the subject matter of the Who’s 1967 single ‘Pictures of Lily’? On the same subject, which 1980 single turned the Vapors into one-hit wonders?
2 Who received abuse from many right-wing American figures when he released ‘John Walker’s Blues’, a reflection on the war in Afghanistan and Iraq from the perspective of a jihadist? Which all-female country band saw their records effectively banned by some US radio stations after they spoke out against the war?
3 Which D:Ream hit was adopted by the Labour Party for their 1997 general election campaign? Which Lighthouse Family song did the party favour in 2001?
4 Who wrote ‘Ohio’, a protest song about the deaths of four people that occurred when the National Guard opened fire on unarmed peace protesters? What was the name of the university where the shootings took place?
5 ‘September ’77, Port Elizabeth, weather fine.’ So begins ‘Biko’, one of the most powerful anti-apartheid songs by a western artist. Who was the singer? And what was the number of the police room where Steve Biko was murdered by the South African police, as referenced in the song?
6 What is the anthemic opening track on Patti Smith’s 1988 comeback album Dream of Life? Who used the track as a call-to-arms on his Vote for Change shows in 2004, in support of Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry?
7 What is the lengthy experimental track on the fourth and final side of the vinyl release of the Beatles’ White Album? On the third side of the same album, who, apart from John Lennon, had nothing to hide?
8 John Lennon’s first two solo singles, credited to the Plastic Ono Band, were a peace anthem and a drug recovery song. What are their titles?
9 Who wrote the anti-poverty classic ‘This Land Is Your Land’ in 1940? And to which Irving Berlin song was it a riposte?
10 Why was the Beatles’ ‘Come Together’ denied prime-time airplay on BBC radio? Which Kinks song was banned by the Beeb for very similar reasons?
11 Which 16-year-old schoolgirl killed two teachers and injured many of her classmates at Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego after she had been bought a gun for Christmas in 1978? Which Boomtown Rats hit was inspired by the incident?
12 Words for the Dying, a 1989 album by John Cale, was written in 1982 in response to which event? Which fellow Welshman’s words did Cale draw on heavily for this semi-orchestral piece?
13 Covered by the Horrors and the White Stripes, ‘Jack the Ripper’ was originally a Joe Meek-produced recording by which singer in the 1960s? In what guise did he try and affect British politics between 1983 and 1999?
14 Before becoming Australian Minister for the Environment, Heritage & the Arts, Peter Garrett was the singer with which successful rock band? Which vehement anti-nuclear protest took them into the British Top 10 and the American Top 20 in 1987?
15 Which band got into in trouble after appearing at a Lollapalooza gig in Philadelphia in 1993 wearing nothing but gaffa tape over their mouths, a protest against censorship? From which New York building were they ejected while trying to film a video for ‘Sleep Now in the Fire’?
16 Leon Rosselson’s political song ‘The World Turned Upside Down’ was taken into the charts in 1985 by which artist on his Between the Wars EP? What was the title of this singer’s first album, which introduced his unique brand of folk rock to an unsuspecting world?
17 Which English Catholic suggested that we ought to ‘Give Ireland Back to the Irish’ in 1972? And who sang about the need for an ‘Alternative Ulster’ in 1978?
18 Where did police attack a group of travellers known as the Peace Convoy as they tried to set up camp for a free festival in 1985? Which band wrote ‘Battle of the Beanfield’ about the incident?
19 Who included a track called ‘Reggae fi Peach’ on his 1980 album Bass Culture, a song about about the death of New Zealander Blair Peach at the hands of the police while he was protesting against the National Front in 1979? Who was this artist’s regular producer and musical guide on many of his dub poetry recordings?
20 Whose 1978 EP Rise Free included the anthem ‘(Sing If You’re) Glad to Be Gay’, an originally written for the 1976 Gay Pride march? What’s the title of the band’s debut album, full of powerful political invective?
21 Which song was released as a single by Buffalo Springfield in response to the police action during the Sunset Strip riots in Los Angeles in 1966? Which famous club, located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, were Buffalo Springfield in residence at the time?
22 Who is the openly gay lead singer of the Britpop band Ocean Colour Scene? What’s the title of the anti-war song he penned with the band and released as the first single off their fourth album One from the Modern?
23 Whose debut album featured an anti-corporate song called ‘Nat West – Barclays – Midlands – Lloyds’? A cover of which anti-war movie theme gave the band their first British Top 10 hit?
24 Which band changed a crucial lyric to ‘duck my sick’ in an attempt to get more airplay for ‘Big Gay Heart’ in 1993? Who is the band’s lead singer and songwriter?
25 Which Canadian singer came out in a magazine article in 1992, one of the first high-profile music stars to do so? And which American star followed suit in January 1993, coming out publicly at a ball to celebrate President Clinton’s inauguration?
26 Which band’s name is a slightly modified version of the Italian for ‘political writings’? And which eighties act named themselves after a group of 19th-century political revolutionaries?
27 ‘Seconds’ by the Human League and U2’s ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ were both written about assassinations. Who were the respective victims?
28 Which band incited their audience to ‘rise above state control’ on the opening track of Damaged, their 1981 debut? Which vocalist made his debut with the band on the album, after three previous singers had come and gone from the role?
29 Members of which band were arrested and imprisoned by the Russian government in 2012? In which American TV drama did they appear as themselves in 2015, featuring alongside main star Kevin Spacey?
30 Which incoming US President used Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ as his campaign song, apparently oblivious to its anti-government message? And which politician was sued by Jackson Browne in 2008 for using ‘Running on Empty’ without permission?