Unutterably Silly Quiz

[Kumabjorn]

And I'm watching the Masters this weekend so I'm living in two time zones at the moment, on to Issybird.

[Shayne Parkinson]

I'm feeling rather better now, so here's a quiz I heard on the radio recently: what do these songs have in common?

Lionel Ritchie, "All Night Long"
Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven"
Taylor Swift, "Breathe"
Laura Brannigan, "Gloria"

They were all successful songs, but I'm looking for something quite specific that they have in common, not related to (e.g.) a particular chart position or number of sales.

[orlok]

I can't really think of anything apart from the fact that Stairway was accused of having hidden backward Satanic messages in it. Do they all have hidden lyrics/messages?

[Shayne Parkinson]

A smart suggestion, Orlok! But not the answer.

[orlok]

Clutching at straws, and I'm sure this is wrong, but I remember Stairway to Heaven was played non-stop for a whole day on a radio station in the States. Could the link be related to this?

[Shayne Parkinson]

That makes me tired just thinking about it! No, not the answer.

I'm for bed. Clues in the morning if necessary.

[Shayne Parkinson]

Originally Posted by Shayne Parkinson

What do these songs have in common?

Lionel Ritchie, "All Night Long"
Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven"
Taylor Swift, "Breathe"
Laura Brannigan, "Gloria"

They were all successful songs, but I'm looking for something quite specific that they have in common, not related to (e.g.) a particular chart position or number of sales.

Adding two to the list, including the one that told me the answer when I first heard this quiz:
Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"
Bruno Mars, "Just the Way You Are"

[orlok]

Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" was "deleted/withdrawn from sale" at the artist's request, and I think Robert Plant did something similar with "Stairway to Heaven". Could this be the link?

[Shayne Parkinson]

Originally Posted by orlok

Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" was "deleted/withdrawn from sale" at the artist's request, and I think Robert Plant did something similar with "Stairway to Heaven". Could this be the link?

Another very good answer that isn't the one I'm after.

[Shayne Parkinson]

Lionel Ritchie, "All Night Long"
Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven"
Taylor Swift, "Breathe"
Laura Brannigan, "Gloria"
Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"
Bruno Mars, "Just the Way You Are"

Clue: each of these songs has something in common with some other song that isn't on the list.

More clues:
Faith Hill
Van Morrison
Neil Sedaka

[orlok]

I think all of them have the same title as other unrelated songs (i.e. not cover versions), So "Gloria" is a song by Patti Smith (amongst others), which is not the same song as Laura Brannigan's "Gloria".

I'm reaching, I know...

[Shayne Parkinson]

Originally Posted by orlok

I think all of them have the same title as other unrelated songs (i.e. not cover versions), So "Gloria" is a song by Patti Smith (amongst others), which is not the same song as Laura Brannigan's "Gloria".

I'm reaching, I know...

Reaching for the stars! You're exactly right, Orlok. Each of these songs has the same title as another unrelated song that also had success in the charts.

Lionel Ritchie, "All Night Long" - also a song from The Dave Clark Five
Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven" - also a song from Neil Sedaka (no, really)
Taylor Swift, "Breathe" - also a song from Faith Hill
Laura Brannigan, "Gloria" - Patti Smith, Van Morrison, the Doors
Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" - Patsy Cline
Bruno Mars, "Just the Way You Are" - Billy Joel

Very well done. All yours.

[orlok]

Wow, got there in the end (the clues helped ). I do like the song questions. Thanks Shayne.

I'm about to go to bed, so I'll set a literary quiz and respond to replies in the morning.

Q.1 What kind of animal is Ratty in Wind in the Willows?

Q.2 Who was Sir Percy Blakeney better known as?

Q.3 “A screaming comes across the sky” is the first line to which novel?

Q.4 What was the name of Frodo’s mother in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings?

Q.5 What is the sequel to William Thackeray’s The History of Henry Esmond?

Q.6 Who said this about Jane Austen: “Every time I read her, I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin bone”?

Q.7 To whom did Dorothy Parker say: “So you're the man who can't spell f***?”

Q.8 In the ladybird classic First Day of the Holidays, what illegal activity do the penguins Pen and Gwen get up to?

Q.9 What connects Don Quixote, Pilgrim's Progress, Le Morte d'Arthur and The Pisan Cantos?

Q.10 About which Shakespeare play did Samuel Pepys say: "it is the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life"?

[Glorfindel]

4. Primula Brandybuck

[Glorfindel]

1. water rat