Q 01/05

Before pop fame, Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant was an assistant editor at which British pop magazine?

A) Melody Maker

B) Smash Hits

C) The Face

D) Record Mirror

Answer · why

B) Smash Hits

Smash Hits sent Neil Tennant to New York in 1983 to interview Sting, and he used the trip to hand the duo's demo tape to a producer he admired.

Q 02/05

Which 1960s star sang with Pet Shop Boys on the 1987 transatlantic number two What Have I Done to Deserve This?

A) Petula Clark

B) Marianne Faithfull

C) Dusty Springfield

D) Sandie Shaw

Answer · why

C) Dusty Springfield

Dusty Springfield had not agreed to sing it for the duo's debut album, and they would not record it with anyone else. The hit revived her career.

Q 03/05

Which American disco group first recorded Go West, the song Pet Shop Boys took to number two in 1993?

A) Village People

B) The Trammps

C) Sister Sledge

D) Earth, Wind & Fire

Answer · why

A) Village People

Village People released it in 1979. After the Pet Shop Boys cover, football crowds across Europe set chants to the tune, among them fans of Arsenal, t...

Q 04/05

Pet Shop Boys first played their 1987 Christmas number one on a TV special marking ten years since which star's death?

A) John Lennon

B) Karen Carpenter

C) Buddy Holly

D) Elvis Presley

Answer · why

D) Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was remembered in the ITV programme Love Me Tender. The duo chose a song for the show, then decided to release their synth-pop cover as ...

Q 05/05

Pet Shop Boys' 1993 album Very came in an orange CD case nicknamed after which toy?

A) Meccano

B) Lego

C) Play-Doh

D) Jenga

Answer · why

B) Lego

Lego lent its name, unofficially, to the orange case with raised bumps, which was designed by Daniel Weil of the London design firm Pentagram.