The Questions
Encyclopedia
The Questions were a Scottish
pop
band
, active during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
, Aztec Camera
and The Bluebells
, The Questions were distinguished from their peers for their blue-eyed soul
sound.(Allmusic.com retrieved 14th september 2010) They formed in the summer of 1977 at St. Augustine's High School in Edinburgh
and performed their first gig
in December of that year at St. Margaret's Church Hall in Davidson's Mains
, a suburb
of Edinburgh.
The following year they sent a demo
tape
of rehearsal
s to Bruce Findlay of Bruce's Records Shop, which led to signing with a recording contract
with Zoom Records in Edinburgh in 1978. The band's first single
was "Some Other Guy" backed with "Rock & Roll Ain't Dead" (August 1978). They were crowned Young Band of the Year by Southern Television
on Saturday Banana
in December 1978.
"I Can't Get Over You" backed with "Answers" followed in January 1979. The band subsequently left school in June 1980 and came to the attention of Paul Weller with "Get Away From it All", a track that was never officially released. The band supported The Jam
at the Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre
on the first of many occasions in October 1980, and signed to Weller's fledgling Respond Records in 1981. The Questions contributed three songs to Respond's Love the Reason album
- "Work and Play", "Building on a Strong Foundation" and "Give It Up Girl". They also contributed to the track "Mama Never Told Me" with Tracie Young as Tracie & The Questions. Many tours, TV
appearances and singles followed, including "Work and Play", "Tear Soup" and "Price You Pay". In 1983, band members Paul Barry and John Robinson penned the Top 10 hit
"The House That Jack Built" for fellow Respond Records label
mate Tracie Young
. They would go on to write three additional songs - "I Can't Hold on Till Summer", "Moving Together" and "What Did I Hear You Say" - for Young's debut LP, Far From the Hurting Kind.
In 1984, Belief, the band's only full-length album was finally released. "Tuesday Sunshine" and "A Month of Sundays" were released as singles.
The album did not sell well, and the band played its final concert
on 30 November 1984, at the 100 Club
in Oxford Street
, London.
After a twelve year wait, Belief was issued on CD
by the Japanese label, Trattoria Records
. The re-issue included the album's original eleven songs, plus eight previously unreleased tracks.
The above is the 1996, CD re-issue, track listing
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, active during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
History
Although they emerged from the same scene as Orange JuiceOrange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
, Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
and The Bluebells
The Bluebells
The Bluebells were a Scottish pop group in the 1980s.-Career:The Bluebells performed jangly guitar based pop not dissimilar to their Scottish contemporaries Aztec Camera and Orange Juice. They had three Top 40 hit singles in the UK, all written by guitarist and founder member Bobby Bluebell - "I'm...
, The Questions were distinguished from their peers for their blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul is a media term that was used to describe rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and...
sound.(Allmusic.com retrieved 14th september 2010) They formed in the summer of 1977 at St. Augustine's High School in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and performed their first gig
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
in December of that year at St. Margaret's Church Hall in Davidson's Mains
Davidson's Mains
Davidsons Mains is a former village which is now a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is adjacent to the areas of Barnton, Cramond, Silverknowes, Blackhall and Corbiehill/House O'Hill...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Edinburgh.
The following year they sent a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
tape
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
of rehearsal
Rehearsal
For other uses, see Rehearsal or Dress rehearsal A rehearsal is a preparatory event in music and theatre that is performed before the official public performance, as a form of practice, and to ensure that all details of the performance are adequately prepared and coordinated for professional...
s to Bruce Findlay of Bruce's Records Shop, which led to signing with a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Zoom Records in Edinburgh in 1978. The band's first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
was "Some Other Guy" backed with "Rock & Roll Ain't Dead" (August 1978). They were crowned Young Band of the Year by Southern Television
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
on Saturday Banana
Saturday Banana
The Saturday Banana was a Saturday morning children's television show produced by Southern Television for ITV and presented by Goodies star Bill Oddie. Oddie also wrote and sang the theme tune...
in December 1978.
"I Can't Get Over You" backed with "Answers" followed in January 1979. The band subsequently left school in June 1980 and came to the attention of Paul Weller with "Get Away From it All", a track that was never officially released. The band supported The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
at the Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre
Edinburgh Playhouse
The Edinburgh Playhouse is a former cinema in Edinburgh, Scotland which now hosts touring musicals and music concerts. Its capacity is 3,059, making it the UK's largest working theatre in terms of audience capacity....
on the first of many occasions in October 1980, and signed to Weller's fledgling Respond Records in 1981. The Questions contributed three songs to Respond's Love the Reason album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
- "Work and Play", "Building on a Strong Foundation" and "Give It Up Girl". They also contributed to the track "Mama Never Told Me" with Tracie Young as Tracie & The Questions. Many tours, TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearances and singles followed, including "Work and Play", "Tear Soup" and "Price You Pay". In 1983, band members Paul Barry and John Robinson penned the Top 10 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
"The House That Jack Built" for fellow Respond Records label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
mate Tracie Young
Tracie Young
Tracie Young was a pop singer in the 1980s. She achieved success after becoming a protégée of Paul Weller.-Career:...
. They would go on to write three additional songs - "I Can't Hold on Till Summer", "Moving Together" and "What Did I Hear You Say" - for Young's debut LP, Far From the Hurting Kind.
In 1984, Belief, the band's only full-length album was finally released. "Tuesday Sunshine" and "A Month of Sundays" were released as singles.
The album did not sell well, and the band played its final concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
on 30 November 1984, at the 100 Club
100 Club
The 100 Club is a music venue in London situated at 100 Oxford Street, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942....
in Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
, London.
After a twelve year wait, Belief was issued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by the Japanese label, Trattoria Records
Trattoria Records
Trattoria Records is a Japanese record company. The record company was founded by Keigo Oyamada in 1993 and is currently owned by Polystar, a group of independent record labels.- Current roster :*Keigo Oyamada*Louis PhilippeThis label no longer exists....
. The re-issue included the album's original eleven songs, plus eight previously unreleased tracks.
Band members
- Paul Barry - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - John Robinson - rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, vocals - Frank Mooney - drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s
Other members
- Stephen Lennon - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals - Chris Kowalski - drums
- Joseph Jones - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed... - Maureen Barry - vocals
Albums
- Belief (1984)
- "Belief"
- "All The Time In The World"
- "The Bottom Line"
- "Month Of Sundays"
- "Someone's Got To Lose"
- "Body And Soul"
- "Tuesday Sunshine"
- "December"
- "The Learning Tree"
- "Drop That Burden"
- "Everything I See"
- "It's In Me" - Demo
- "Boys Back Home" - Demo
- "What Did I Hear You Say" - Demo
- "Tuesday Sunshine" - Demo
- "Drop The Burden" - Demo
- "Month Of Sundays" - Rough Edit
- "Tear Soup" - Live
- "Body And Soul" - Live
The above is the 1996, CD re-issue, track listing
Singles
- "Some Other Guy" / "Rock & Roll Ain't Dead" (1978)
- "I Can't Get Over You" / "Answers" (1979)
- "Work and Play" / "Saved By The Bell" (1982)
- "Price You Pay" / "The Groove Line" (1983) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#56 - "Tear Soup" / "The Vital Spark" (1983) - UK #66
- "Tuesday Sunshine" / "No One" (1984) - UK #46
- "A Month of Sundays" / "Someone's Got To Lose" (1984)
- "Building on a Strong Foundation" / "Dream Come True" (1984)