Confession time, I've only actually been listening to Popmaster since late 2016. I knew it existed but as I don't really listen to the radio it wasn't something I thought about listening to. It was during a conversation with a friend where I mentioned I was quite good at knowing what year a song is from and he told me there is a year question everyday on Popmaster that I decided to give it a listen, and I've been hooked ever since.
On the first day I listened to it the second contestant got 39 (a full house) and I assumed this to be a common occurrence so thought nothing about getting a few myself as I played along. Then my friend told me it was very rare for someone to get 39 and he'd only managed 2 himself in 5 years of keeping his scores.
Then came Champions League Popmaster where all the contestants who got 39 or 36 plus 3 in 10 that year would compete against each other with much more difficult questions. Prior to the final I didn't get a single full house but in the first round of the final, where I would assume the questions are supposed to be even more difficult, I did manage a full house.
In March 2017 I had a bit of annual leave to use up before the end of the month so I thought I'd ring up to try and get on Popmaster. I was given 3 qualifying questions which were:
- What did Stacy Lattisaw want you to jump to in 1980?
- Who had hit's in the 70s with "Can't Keep It In" and "Another Saturday Night"?
- What year did this weeks chart have "Robert De Niro's Waiting" by Bananarama at 3, "It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls at 2 and "Hello" by Lionel Richie at 1?
Then in September I had the day off work as I was going on holiday later on that day so thought I'd give it another go. I got the three qualifying questions right this time and had a call back with two more questions. I got the first one right but the second one was "What band is Gary Lightbody the lead singer of?". I'd never heard of him so had no idea, turns out it was Snow Patrol, I always thought the bloke who's dating Courtney Cox was the singer.
I didn't get on but if I was contestant 1 that day I would have got a full house, as did the actual contestant 1. Contestant 2 then had Eurovision or 21st Century Hits as choices for bonuses, both ones I would try to avoid. I would have picked Eurovision like the contestant did and would have scored 27 and therefore would have lost, so I thought I dodged a bullet that day.
There were 14 people in Champions League that year and I managed to get a full house in 2 of those rounds. My lowest score was either 72 based on a 39 start or 69 based on a 36. The score needed to reach the final was 76 so based on a 39 start I would have qualified for the final 11 out of 14 times and based on a 36 start it would have been 8 times.
In the final I managed to get one correct answer the winner didn't get, he had to name the first David Bowie hit of the 80s but named his first hit of 81 instead but corrected himself when it was too late. I got all of his correct answers correct myself and did better on the other set of questions. Based on playing along at home at least it seemed I would stand a chance should I ever make Champions League.
In March this year once again I had a bit of annual leave to use up so I gave it another go. This time I got all the qualifying questions correct and got a call telling me I was going to be contestant 2. Then around 10:25 I got a call asking me to be contestant 1 instead as they couldn't get hold of my opponent. After being told no swearing and no cheating the radio started playing down the phone, once I was on it felt really strange being able to talk back to the radio.
After a bit of chat it was time to pick my bonus category, "It's Electric" or "90s Hits". Being a 90s teenager the latter seemed more appropriate, but I decided to try "It's Electric". Here were the questions:
1. What type of communication appears in 70s hits by ELO, Mari Wilson and Blondie?
Question 1 is always easy, the only type of communication that really existed in the 70s was telephone.
2. Who had hits in the early 80s with "D.I.S.C.O." and "Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)"?
Again quite straightforward, Ottawan.
3. Name the singer in this clip of a 1989 Top 20 single?
The music isn't as clear on the phone as it is on the radio but didn't take long for me to identify it as "Electric Youth" so therefore the singer is Debbie Gibson.
4. Which year were there following new entries on this weeks chart, "January, February" by Barbara Dickson, "Let's Do Rock Steady" by Bodysnatchers and "King/Food For Thought" by UB40?
I know UB40 debuted in 1980 with "King/Food For Thought" so 1980.
5. Who are the 2 male members of Steps?
H is the one most people know, I was a bit hesitant with the surname of Lee Latchford-Evans but they only wanted the first names anyway.
6. Who are the 2 artists on the title track to the movie "Electric Dreams"?
One word I hate to hear in music quizzes is movie, but fortunately this question didn't require any movie knowledge at all, the song is "Together in Electric Dreams" which I listen to a fair bit so know it's by Giorgio Moroder and Phil Oakey.
7. Which 1974 Top 3 hit by The Sweet contains the lines "They're out in the streets they turn on the heat and soon they could be completely in command."?
Oh no, it's the dreaded lyrics question. I am terrible at lyrics, even with songs I really like so had no idea. I guessed "Ballroom Blitz" but it was "Teenage Rampage". However looking at their singles discography I found "Ballroom Blitz" was 1973 and their only Top 3 hit of 1974 was "Teenage Rampage", so knowing their singles discography would have done the trick.
8. Which of Bob Marley's children was billed alongside the Melody Makers on the 1988 Top 40 hit "Tomorrow People"?
Remember many years ago seeing in my British Hit Singles book there was a Ziggy Marley as well as Bob, plus I know the song as well so no trouble getting that.
9. Although he's achieved many hits as a songwriter this is his only Top 40 hit as an artist, who is he?
The song was "Free Electric Band" and I wasn't 100% sure but quite certain it was Albert Hammond, which it was.
10. Who had a hit in 1992 with "Friday I'm In Love"?
I knew potential Champions League qualification was on the cards if I got question 10 right, fortunately it was quite an easy one, The Cure.
Afterwards you just wait on the phone listening to the radio as normal. When contestant 2 came on he said he got a full house on my questions. I wondered if I was going to be that contestant who gets 36 and loses, but fortunately he got 24 and I won.
Time for 3 in 10, and I was hoping it wouldn't be anybody too modern. Fortunately it wasn't, it was Fleetwood Mac so I said their number one "Albatross", then "Everywhere" which is one I remember very well from my childhood, then lots of other Fleetwood Mac songs were in my head and I had just one more to pick so went with "Little Lies".
I'd done it, I'd qualified for Champions League. Or had I? My friend who introduced me to Popmaster told me that only those who get a full house are guaranteed a place and it depends on how many of them there are as to whether I would get a place.
A few more contestants got a full house and I had no idea what the cut off point was but after a contestant who also got 36 plus 3 in 10 at the start of November was told they could be in Champions League it looked more promising.
At the end of November the 2018 Champions League qualifying period ended and the following Monday I got a call telling me I had a place in Champions League. I was offered the first slot the following Tuesday but unfortunately I couldn't do that day so was given the Friday instead.
On the first day of Champions League I listened on catch-up. There was just one contestant on that day and I managed to get a full house on those questions which was actually quite annoying considering they could have been my questions had I not been busy. In-fact I didn't think those questions were any harder than normal Popmaster.
It got more difficult on the second day, then on the third day I got my second full house on the first set but only got 66 on the second set. I did kick myself with question 9 on that set which was to hear a clip of "International Bright Young Thing" by Jesus Jones and name their other Top 10 hit. I knew it was their first hit of 1993 but just couldn't think of the title at that point in time.
Then came Friday and I was on second. Contestant 1 was offered "One Hit Wonders" or "Piano Intros" for his bonuses. I hoped he'd pick "Piano Intros" but then who in their right mind would pick that? I managed a full house on his questions, but it was the next set of questions which would count.
During the interval they played "Love Is Like Oxygen" by The Sweet, the band who denied me a full house when I was on before. In addition to the "Piano Intros" bonus I was offered "Debut Hits" which I picked. Here were the questions:
1. "Rockferry" was the number one debut album from which Welsh singer?
I've never heard of that album but on the basis of it being a Welsh singer debuting in 2008 I correctly guessed Duffy.
2. "Joybringer" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band was based on which piece of music by Gustav Holst?
I had no idea what the answer to this was, but several people I know got this one on the basis the only piece of music they know from Gustav Holst is "The Planets".
3. Who are the band in this clip from their 1993 debut?
Initially it was just distorted guitar I heard but I then recognised it as being "Anyone Can Play Guitar" by Radiohead.
4. What year were the following hits number one, "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo, "Baby Jane" by Rod Stewart and "Candy Girl" by New Edition?
Doesn't seem that long ago they were on the Top of the Pops reruns and knew they were all 1983.
5. Which band debuted in 1995 with "Mansize Rooster"?
A debut hits question that wasn't one of the bonus questions, remembered this particular debut at the time, Supergrass.
6. Who are the band in this clip from 1998 of their first of two hits?
Again it was just lots of distorted guitar initially but I did vaguely recognise it at the end of the clip. Trouble was there were several lesser known Brit Pop bands who had just 1 or 2 hits in 1998 and I remembered one of them was Warm Jets so I guessed that. Unfortunately it was wrong, the band was Ultrasound.
7. Nick Kamen had his only Top 5 hit in 1986, what was it?
The first Nick Kamen song that came to mind was "Tell Me" but I knew that was a minor hit. I then recalled "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" but my mind went blank on his best known song but thought there was a possibility that it didn't chart as high given it was Champions League so went for "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever". Unfortunately that only made 16 and it was "Each Time You Break My Heart" which actually appeared on Top of the Pops later that day.
8. The singer who had a hit with "Closer Than Close" in 1997 was Rosie who?
I remember that song very well so had no problem knowing it was Rosie Gaines.
9. Who are the band in this clip of their 2001 debut hit?
The song was "Flavor of the Weak" and as the clip was playing I thought American Hi-Fi, but then I thought is it All American Rejects? particularly as I know they had more than one Top 40 hit so I went with them instead. Turns out it was American Hi-Fi and it was their only Top 40 hit.
10. Pussycat had a number one with "Mississippi" but had one other Top 40 hit, what was it?
I knew this one, it was "Smile".
My final score was 67 but I needed at least 74 to stand a chance of being in the final so my time was up. I was kicking myself for picking the wrong "American" band on question 9 as I would have been in the running for the final had I got that right.
However the following Monday a contestant got 86 which became the score needed to qualify for the final after a contestant on the Wednesday scored 91, which was the maximum score I could have possibly got. These were my scores for all the Champions League rounds:
| Round 1 | 91 |
| Round 2 | 85 |
| Round 3 | 90 |
| Round 4 | 91 |
| Round 5 | 66 |
| Round 6 | 91 |
| Round 7 | 67 |
| Round 8 | 83 |
| Round 9 | 91 |
| Round 10 | 91 |
| Round 11 | 84 |
| Round 12 | 85 |
| Round 13 | 82 |
| Round 14 | 91 |
| Round 15 | 85 |
The ones highlighted in blue are the ones that would have been good enough to get to the final, so on the basis that less than half were good enough (7 out of 15) I was always unlikely to get through to the final. The time I went on was my second worst score, but then it is easier playing along at home than on the radio and maybe if I had a set of questions that got me a full house I may have slipped up on 1 or 2 questions.
Had the best case scenario happened and I managed to get a 91 and get to the final, my score in the final wouldn't have been good enough to beat the winner. The actual winner was the same man who's team had won both Popmaster Live quizzes so I knew in all probability I was never going to beat him.
I have to wait 2 years until I can apply to go on again. Will I give it another go? never say never but as I got to play Champions League Popmaster this year I might just leave it at that.
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