80s Rock Trivia
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109 free 80s Rock trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
55 free 80s Rock trivia questions with answers. Eighties rock ran from Back in Black to Doolittle, with MTV, Live Aid and the Parental Advisory sticker in between. This 80's rock trivia covers the arena giants (Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Journey, Foreigner, Springsteen, U2, Dire Straits, the Police), the metal end (Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Guns N' Roses), the college and alternative scene (R.E.M., the Smiths, the Cure, the Pixies) and the moments everyone remembers: the first MTV video, the bat in Des Moines, Rick Allen's crash, Queen at Wembley, the Senate hearing on 'porn rock'. Easy questions ask which was Van Halen's only No. 1 and who replaced David Lee Roth. The hard ones want where Back in Black was recorded, how Journey spelled Escape on the cover, how many takes 'Don't Stop Believin'' needed and which album was the first to sell a million on CD. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries on the bands, albums and songs, and each question shows the sentence that backs it up. Built for a rock-night pub round or anyone who still owns the cassettes.
30 of 109 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What was the first clip MTV aired when it launched on August 1, 1981?
Video Killed the Radio Star
'Video Killed the Radio Star' by the Buggles opened MTV at 12:01 a.m.; it had peaked at only No. 40 in the US but topped charts in sixteen countries.
Q 02Which AC/DC singer died in 1980, seven months after Highway to Hell?
Bon Scott
Bon Scott died in London on February 19, 1980; the all-black cover of Back in Black, released that July, was a sign of mourning for him.
Q 03Where did AC/DC record Back in Black over seven weeks in 1980?
The Bahamas
The Bahamas — the band cut it at Compass Point Studios in Nassau in April and May 1980, then mixed it at Electric Lady Studios in New York.
Q 04Ozzy Osbourne famously bit the head off a bat on stage in January 1982 in which city?
Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa — on January 20, 1982, at Veterans Memorial Auditorium; he thought the bat was rubber and needed rabies shots afterward.
Q 05Which guitarist on Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz died in a 1982 plane crash?
Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads died on March 19, 1982, when a small plane buzzing the tour bus crashed in Leesburg, Florida; his classical-tinged playing shaped neoclassical metal.
Q 06Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm after a car crash on New Year's Eve of which year?
1984
1984 — Allen crashed his Corvette near Sheffield on December 31, 1984; he returned with an electronic kit, and the Hysteria title nods to the media frenzy around his accident.
Q 07Which producer made Def Leppard's Pyromania and Hysteria, as well as AC/DC's Back in Black?
Mutt Lange
Mutt Lange — he produced Back in Black (1980), then Pyromania (1983), which peaked at No. 2 behind Thriller, and Hysteria (1987).
Q 08Which was Van Halen's only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100?
Jump
'Jump' topped the Hot 100 for five weeks in 1984; its album 1984 sat at No. 2 behind Thriller, where Eddie Van Halen had played the 'Beat It' solo.
Q 09Who replaced David Lee Roth as Van Halen's singer in 1985?
Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar, formerly of Montrose, joined in 1985 and fronted four straight No. 1 albums, starting with 5150 in 1986.
Q 10Which 1984 single became the 'Red Rocker' Sammy Hagar's signature solo song?
I Can't Drive 55
'I Can't Drive 55' reached only No. 26 on the Hot 100 in 1984, but heavy rock-radio play made it Sammy Hagar's signature song.
Q 11Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction holds what US sales record?
Best-selling debut album
Best-selling debut album — it flopped at first, then reached No. 1 in 1988 and went 18× platinum, more than any other US debut.
Q 12Which was Guns N' Roses' only US No. 1 single?
Sweet Child o' Mine
'Sweet Child o' Mine' topped the Hot 100 in September 1988; in the UK it stalled at No. 24 until a 1989 reissue took it to No. 6.
Q 13Axl Rose and Slash's band formed in LA in 1985 from Hollywood Rose and which other group?
L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns — Tracii Guns' band merged with Hollywood Rose in March 1985; the classic lineup of Rose, Slash, Stradlin, McKagan and Adler signed with Geffen in 1986.
Q 21U2 formed as teenagers at which Dublin school?
Mount Temple Comprehensive
Mount Temple Comprehensive — Larry Mullen Jr. posted a notice there in 1976; four years later, in March 1980, the band signed to Island Records.
Q 22The Police's only US No. 1 single, from their final album Synchronicity, was which song?
Every Breath You Take
'Every Breath You Take' spent eight weeks at No. 1 in 1983 and won two Grammys; its writer has said it brings in a quarter to a third of his publishing income.
Q 23Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms was the first album to do what?
Sell a million copies on CD
Q 14Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet spent how many weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200?
Eight
Eight — Slippery When Wet spent eight non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and was Billboard's top-selling album of 1987.
Q 15Which two Bon Jovi singles from Slippery When Wet reached No. 1 on the Hot 100?
You Give Love a Bad Name and Livin' on a Prayer
'You Give Love a Bad Name' and 'Livin' on a Prayer' both topped the Hot 100 in 1986-87; the follow-up New Jersey added two more No. 1s.
Q 16In which New Jersey town was Bon Jovi formed in 1983?
Sayreville
Sayreville — Jon Bon Jovi's hometown, where the band came together in 1983 after his single 'Runaway' got local radio play.
Q 17How is the title of Journey's 1981 album Escape stylised on its cover?
E5C4P3
E5C4P3 — the number-for-letter spelling on the 1981 cover; the album topped the Billboard 200 and 'Open Arms' peaked at No. 2.
Q 18Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. produced how many top-ten singles in the US?
Seven
'Dancing in the Dark', 'I'm on Fire' and 'Glory Days' were among them, and the album was the world's best seller of 1985.
Q 19Which Springsteen album was his first to top the Billboard 200?
The River
The River, a 1980 double album mixing party songs and ballads, was his first No. 1; Nebraska, a solo acoustic record, followed in 1982.
Q 20Which U2 album, recorded in two Irish houses in 1986, includes 'With or Without You'?
The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree (1987) — recorded largely at Danesmoate House and Melbeach, it was meant as a 'cinematic' record evoking America's open spaces; the Edge used a prototype Infinite Guitar on the single.
Sell a million copies on CD — the 1985 album was the first to do so, spending nine weeks at No. 1 in the US; 'Money for Nothing' won Video of the Year at the 1986 VMAs.
Q 24Which singer joined Dire Straits for 'Money for Nothing' at Live Aid, a month after its release?
Sting
Sting — he sang the 'I want my MTV' refrain on the record and joined the band for it at Wembley on 13 July 1985.
Q 25Live Aid on 13 July 1985 was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium and which US venue?
JFK in Philadelphia
JFK Stadium in Philadelphia — an estimated 1.9 billion people in 150 nations watched the two concerts, nearly 40 percent of the world's population.
Q 26How long was Queen's Live Aid set, later voted the best rock gig of all time?
21 minutes
21 minutes — Queen's set began at 6:41 pm, ran six songs from 'Bohemian Rhapsody' to 'We Are the Champions', and was recreated as the climax of the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody.
Q 27Survivor wrote 'Eye of the Tiger' for Rocky III after which band refused Stallone a song?
Queen
Queen — Stallone was refused 'Another One Bites the Dust', so Survivor wrote 'Eye of the Tiger', timing the riff to the punches in the boxing footage.
Q 28Which band first recorded 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' in 1975, before Joan Jett's cover?
The Arrows
The Arrows, fronted by Alan Merrill, first recorded 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' in 1975; Jett saw them play it on British TV and cut her version in 1981.
Q 29Which Rush instrumental from Moving Pictures was nominated for a 1982 Grammy?
YYZ
'YYZ', from 1981's Moving Pictures, takes its name and its Morse-code opening rhythm from Toronto Pearson airport's code; it lost the Grammy to the Police's 'Behind My Camel'.
Q 30Which rap group's 1986 collaboration with Aerosmith on 'Walk This Way' revived the band's career?
Run-DMC
Run-DMC — their 1986 'Walk This Way' remake hit No. 4 on the Hot 100 and put Aerosmith back on MTV ahead of the multi-platinum Permanent Vacation (1987).