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The Questions were a Scottish pop
band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
, active during the late 1970s and early 1980s.


History

They formed in the summer of 1977 at St. Augustine's High School in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, and performed their first
gig Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...
in December of that year at St. Margaret's Church Hall in
Davidson's Mains Davidson's Mains is a former village and now a district in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is adjacent to the districts of Barnton, Cramond, Silverknowes, Blackhall and Corbiehill/House O'Hill. It was absorbed into Edinburgh as part ...
, a
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of Edinburgh. The following year, they sent a
demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
tape of
rehearsal A rehearsal is an activity in the performing arts that occurs as preparation for a performance in music, theatre, dance and related arts, such as opera, musical theatre and film production. It is undertaken as a form of practising, to ensure t ...
s to Bruce Findlay of Bruce's Record Shop, which led to signing a
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Zoom Records Ray Lindstrom is an American entrepreneur known as the father of the infomercial industry. He has been referred to as "Mr. Infomercial," creating more than 100 businesses and selling through television-only spots during the 1980s. Lindstrom al ...
in Edinburgh in 1978. The band's first
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
was "Some Other Guy"
backed with The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
"Rock & Roll Ain't Dead" (August 1978). They were crowned Young Band of the Year by
Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...
on ''
Saturday Banana ''The Saturday Banana'' is 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. The series began on 8 July 1978, running ...
'' in December 1978. "I Can't Get Over You" b/w "Answers" followed in January 1979. The band subsequently left school in June 1980 and came to the attention of
Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...
, with "Get Away From it All", a track that was never officially released. The band supported
The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...
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 An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
- "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 Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...
, 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 Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
"The House That Jack Built" for fellow Respond Records
label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...
mate
Tracie Young Tracie Young (often just billed as Tracie; born 25 March 1965) is a former English pop singer in the 1980s. She achieved success after becoming a protégée of Paul Weller. Career Born in Derby, England, Young was discovered by The Jam frontman ...
. 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 The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...
in
Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
, London. After a twelve-year wait, ''Belief'' was issued on CD by the Japanese label
Trattoria Records Trattoria Records is a Japanese record company formed by Keigo Oyamada in 1993. 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 *Lou ...
. The re-issue included the album's original eleven songs, plus eight previously unreleased tracks.


Members

* Paul Barry -
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
,
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
* John Robinson -
rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
, vocals * Frank Mooney -
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
s * Stephen Lennon -
lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
, vocals * Chris Kowalski - drums * Joseph Jones -
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
,
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
* Maureen Barry - vocals


Discography


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) - UK No. 56 * "Tear Soup" / "The Vital Spark" (1983) - UK No. 66 * "Tuesday Sunshine" / "No One" (1984) - UK No. 46 * "A Month of Sundays" / "Someone's Got to Lose" (1984) * "Building on a Strong Foundation" / "Dream Come True" (1984)


References


External links


The Questions' Myspace


{{DEFAULTSORT:Questions, The Scottish pop music groups Scottish rock music groups Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Musical groups from Edinburgh