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Post by BSJ on Dec 13, 2019 18:15:40 GMT
Because we're rotten at this Helmut and I teamed up. I'm not doing well. Have no clue how he is doing. If by some outrageous chance we get in for the running of a medal, we won't accept it.
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Post by Grroosss on Dec 13, 2019 19:58:02 GMT
*stares at the anagrams for a week, figures maybe 2 of them out* *somehow acquires superpowers very late at night and solves 5 of them in a couple hours* *is smug* *hasn’t been able to figure out any more of them since*
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Post by unomusette on Dec 14, 2019 21:44:56 GMT
I've hit a wall as well, staring at the questions and kicking random things isn't helping. Have made myself a large vodka and orange which I'm hoping will help. Not holding out much hope.
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Post by vlogdance on Dec 22, 2019 10:24:17 GMT
The deadline has passed, so here are the results of the ELO Christmas Challenge 2019: In bronze medal position, pipping another forumhead by just one point, it's eloneen - bravo! In silver medal position, it's Horacewimp - well done to you, sir. But this year's gold medallist, making a magnificent debut, is Grroosss - congratulations! A clear win on your very first entry! Now "it's over" to Horace to officially award the medals. Big thanks to everyone brave enough to take on the Challenge.
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Post by vlogdance on Dec 22, 2019 10:40:10 GMT
For everyone still being driven mad by the Challenge, here are the answers:
THE ANSWERS 2019
ROUND 1
ELO Anagrams
Llama revenge myth The Melvyn Gale Arm Had tidy throne On The Third Day Retro ska Orkestra I, Mr Teeth Out! The Time Tour Racing day Andy Craig It’s nothing secret The string section Rehearse tightly Three Light Years Down aimless corridor Mission (A World Record)
ROUND 2
Connections
a) What’s the connection between these five songs:
Starlight; Birmingham Blues; The Way Life’s Meant To Be; Rock n Roll Is King
(Clue: the list doesn’t include One Step At A Time!)
They all mention feet in their lyrics.
b) What’s the connection between:
It’s Over; Don’t Walk Away; Steppin’ Out; Believe Me Now
(Clue: stay where you are – this isn’t the end of the quiz!)
They all mention “goodbye” in their lyrics.
c) What’s the connection between:
Evil Woman; Don’t Bring Me Down; 10538 Overture; Mr Blue Sky?
(Clue: There’s nothing from Xanadu on this list)
They have all been featured in movie soundtracks.
d) What’s the connection between
Fire On High, Strange Magic, Jungle?
Bev’s voice can be heard on all of these songs.
e) What’s the connection between:
21st Century Man; Nightrider; Illusions In G Major; Doin’ That Crazy Thing?
They all mention a penny in their lyrics.
f) What’s the connection between
Rockaria!; All Over The World; Hold On Tight; In My Own Time?
They all contain phrases in languages other than English.
ROUND 3
Sequences
a) Here’s a sequence of ELO songs:
Don’t Bring Me Down Wild West Hero Shangri-La One Summer Dream
Name a song that could come next in the sequence.
Don’t Bring Me Down is the last track on Time Wild West Hero is the last track on ELO’s previous album: Out of the Blue Shangri-La is the last track on the album before that: A New World Record. One Summer Dream is the last track on the album before that, Face The Music
So, to complete the sequence, we need the last track on the album before that: Eldorado. So the song we’re looking for is Eldorado Finale.
b) Here’s a list of ELO songs.
Confusion Strange Magic Hold On Tight Shine A Little Love One Step At A Time
Can you name two other ELO songs that could follow, on this list?
The first song title on the list contains only one word. The second contains two words, the third three words, and so on... So, to complete the list, we need a song that has six words in its title, and then another that has seven words in its title. Such as From The Sun To The World and Can’t Get It Out Of My Head.
c) Jeff’s planning to record a few songs at the Abbey Road studios. He’s made a list of the ones he wants to do:
Easy Money; Melting In The Sun; Our Last Song Together; Days On End.
Which of these other songs could Jeff add to his list?
Train Of Gold; No Cause For Alarm, Rock ‘n’ Roll Is King; Mr Radio.
The key here is “Abbey Road” – the Beatles album. All the song titles on Jeff’s list end with the same word as Abbey Road tracks: Easy Money (You Never Give Me Your Money) Melting In The Sun (Here Comes The Sun) Our Last Song Together (Come Together) Days On End (The End)
So we need another song title that ends in a word that’s also the last word in an Abbey Road track title: Rock ‘N’ Roll Is King (Sun King)
d) Jeff’s going to perform to an all-female audience on International Women’s Day.
He’s thought of a few songs he’d like to perform at the event:
Eldorado; Xanadu; Believe Me Now; Destination Unknown.
Which of these other ELO songs could Jeff add to his set list? (1 point available)
Livin’ Thing; All Over The World; Calling America; Secret Messages?
The key here is women. The four songs on Jeff’s list all contain women’s names: Eldorado, Xanadu, Believe Me Now, Destination Unknown.
So, of the four possible choices, we need the one that contains a female name: Calling America.
e) Here’s a list of ELO songs:
Letter From Spain Need Her Love Endless Lies Surrender Rain Is Falling Getting To The Point
Can you add two more songs that could follow on this list?
Each song title on the list begins with the last letter of the previous song.
So to continue the sequence, we need a song that begins with T, like Train Of Gold, and then another that begins with the last letter of that song (in this example, D – Don’t Bring Me Down.)
(Some perceptive forumheads pointed out that all the songs contained double letters, and suggested two more titles that also included them. A fair point – so I accepted this answer and awarded them the points!)
f) Jeff’s planning to do some cover versions on his next UK tour.
He’s listed three that he’d like to play:
Never Let Her Slip Away by Andrew Gold This Year’s Love by David Gray Best Years Of Our Lives by Patrick Moraz
Can you name another song by another musician that Jeff might cover?
The key here is the patron saints of the UK countries (Jeff is going to tour the UK). The saints are St Andrew (Scotland), St David (Wales), St Patrick (Ireland) and St George (England). So to complete the sequence we need a song by a musician named George: Such as What Is Life by George Harrison.
ROUND 4
Anagrams – Forum Fun
Yes! X-vibes! Bev is sexy Famous herd Forumheads Half term voters The travel forms A stricter mechanical role Electric Animal Orchestra Pause, grin, join Ninja Groupies Bum-twirling Beryl Trembling Wilbury Recent fond rant Front and center! Listen! A terse, truthful guitar band! As The Dial Turns featuring Buttler
ROUND 5
Miscellaneous
a) The band toured a lot, but each member had his favourite place: (1 point available)
Jeff enjoyed Kuala Lumpur Richard preferred South Thailand Bev was a fan of the Colorado Desert Dave liked Eastern France
Which place did Mik like best?
He liked Las Vegas He liked New Orleans He liked the West Midlands He liked Buenos Aires
The solution here is successive letters of the alphabet:
Jeff, Kuala Lumpur = JKL Richard, South Thailand = RST Bev, Colorado Desert = BCD Dave, Eastern France = DEF
So Mik liked New Orleans = MNO
b) And each member had his favourite landmark:
Jeff admired the Taj Mahal Richard was a fan of Angkor Wat Kelly’s favourite place was the Black Crag Mike Edwards preferred Blenheim Palace.
Which place did Hugh most enjoy? (1 point available)
He liked the British Museum He liked Ayers Rock He liked the Grand Canyon He liked Mont Blanc.
The key here is initials. Each landmark’s name ends with the initials of the band member who liked it: Jeff (Lynne) liked the Taj Mahal Richard (Tandy) was a fan of Angkor Wat
So we need a landmark with a name ending in Hugh’s initials: HM – The British Museum.
c) When ELO went to the local pub quiz.
Clever Richard scored 18 Mik and Mel both scored 13 Louis scored 12 Kelly scored 11.
Which of the other band members got the lowest score that week? Was it Jeff, Bev, Hugh or Dave?
Undeterred, they went back the next week. This time, Richard did even better, scoring 20. Hugh scored 13. Jeff scored 12. Mik scored 11.
Who got the lowest score this time? Was it Louis, Kelly, Mel or Dave?
The key here is the initial of their first names. The first week, Richard scored 18 (the letter R being the 18th letter of the alphabet) Mik and Mel (both with the initial M) both scored 13... and so on. So the lowest scorer in the first week was Bev, whose first name begins with B (2 in the alphabet)
The second week, it’s the initial of their surnames. Richard (Tandy) scored 20 (T being the 20th letter of the alphabet)... and so on. So in the second week, the lowest scorer was Louis (surname Clark, which scored 3).
d) ELO’s music attracted some famous fans, many of whom had a favourite song.
(1 point available)
Larry King liked Dreaming Of 4000. Allan Border liked Sweet Talking Woman. John Major liked Nobody’s Child Tanya Gold liked Letter From Spain.
Which song did Murray Head like? Please select one answer from the four songs listed below:
He liked So Fine He liked Eldorado Overture He liked Wild West Hero He liked Shine A Little Love
In each example, the album track immediately following the favourite song ends with the fan’s surname. For example: In The Hall Of The Mountain King follows Dreaming Of 4,000. Across The Border follows Sweet Talkin’ Woman.
So Murray Head will have been a fan of Eldorado Overture (which comes immediately before Can’t Get It Out Of My Head)
e) ELO attracted many famous fans, some of whom had a favourite member:
The wrestler Lollipop was a big fan of Jeff’s. Singer-songwriter St Vincent admired Louis. Actress Shera Danese preferred Mik. TV chat show host Graham Norton liked Colin.
Which of these singers liked Mike Edwards best?
Was it:
Trisha Yearwood Faith Hill Shania Twain Reba McEntire?
The key to this is the famous fans’ real names: Lollipop (real name Jaimie Lynne) was a big fan of Jeff’s St Vincent (real name Anne Clark) admired Louis Shera Danese (real name Shera Kaminski) preferred Mik Graham Norton (real name Graham Walker) liked Colin.
So the singer who liked Mike had the real surname of Edwards:
Shania Twain (real name Eilleen Regina Edwards).
f) Jeff often produced other musicians’ records. He didn’t always write the songs himself, though.
When Jeff worked with these artists: (1 point available)
Agnetha Faltskog recorded Spirit In The Dark. Paul Simon recorded To Know Him Is To Love Him. Eric Clapton recorded Man Out Of Time. Ringo Starr recorded You’re In My Heart.
Which of these songs did Terry Hall record?
Every Night Reason To Believe Freedom Come, Freedom Go Walk On By
The key here is the songwriters responsible for these songs (the clue was that Jeff didn’t always write the songs himself). Agnetha Faltskog recorded Spirit In the Dark which was written by Aretha Franklin (Same initials) Paul Simon’s song was by Phil Spector Eric Clapton’s was by Elvis Costello Ringo Starr’s was by Rod Stewart
So, of the four songs Terry Hall could have recorded, we need the one written by someone with the initials TH. Reason To Believe was written by Tim Hardin.
g) One year, Davy Jones and Mike Nesmith of The Monkees were among the guests at Jeff’s birthday party.
The rest of ELO started discussing who they’d like to invite to their birthday parties:
Bev said he’d ask Percy Sledge. Dave wanted to ask Ian Gillan. Mik said he’d invite Billy Preston. Louis thought he’d ask Steve Harley.
Which of these singers did Richard say he’d like to invite? (1 point available)
Debbie Harry Sandy Denny Cher Diana Ross
The key here is birthdays. Davy Jones and Mike Nesmith both have their birthdays on December 30th – which is also the date of Jeff’s birthday.
Bev shares his birthday (November 25th) with Percy Sledge. Dave shares his (August 19th) with Ian Gillan. Mik shares his (September 2nd) with Billy Preston. Louis shares his (February 27th) with Steve Harley.
So, of the four singers, we need the one who shares Richard’s birthday of March 26th – Diana Ross.
h) Jeff was once invited on to a radio show, but the producers told him they’d had letters of complaint about ELO’s music. Some listeners had claimed that Jeff and Roy were putting secret backwards messages into their songs, inciting people to drink alcohol!
Jeff saw the funny side when he chose four songs to be played on the show: Tightrope, Night In The City, Lightning Never Strikes Twice, and...
Which of these songs was the fourth one Jeff chose?
Angel Fingers Waterfall Dear Elaine Jumping Biz
The keys here are backwards and alcohol. The three songs Jeff chose all contain the names of alcoholic drinks, spelled backwards, in their titles:
Tightrope =port Night In The City = gin Lightning Never Strikes Twice = kir
So the fourth song is the one that contains a drink spelled backwards in its title: Dear Elaine = ale
i) Jeff’s new bandmates are convinced that he’ll be getting his knighthood from Her Majesty soon. But Jeff, ever modest, says that even if he was invited to Buckingham Palace, he wouldn’t know what to say to the Queen.
His helpful bandmates have suggested some things Jeff could say when meeting the monarch:
“Great palace, Your Majesty – it’s nearly as big as Elton’s house.”
“Is that a sword, Your Majesty, or do ya rule with a rod of iron?”
“Ma’am, you’re a ray of morning light in a blue sky.”
Which of these other comments did the bandmates suggest Jeff make?
“How’s your cousin from Gloucester? I haven’t seen him since Wembley ‘78?”
“Sorry about your corgi, Ma’am – it ran straight under me van.”
“The Queen of the castle’s brought me to my knees!”
“Do you call your house Bungalow Palace as well, Your Majesty?”
The key here is musicians who have received a knighthood. Each of the bandmates’ suggestions contains the name of a British musician who’s been knighted:
“Great palace, Your Majesty – it’s nearly as big as Elton’s house.”
“Is that a sword, Your Majesty, or do ya rule with a rod of iron?”
“Ma’am, you’re like a ray of morning light in a blue sky.”
(The three knighted musicians being Sir Elton John, Sir Rod Stewart and Sir Ray Davies.)
So the correct answer is the comment that also contains the name of another knighted British musician: Van Morrison.
Hope you all enjoyed the Christmas Challenge 2019.
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Post by Horacewimp on Dec 22, 2019 17:26:01 GMT
The deadline has passed, so here are the results of the ELO Christmas Challenge 2019: In bronze medal position, pipping another forumhead by just one point, it's eloneen - bravo! In silver medal position, it's Horacewimp - well done to you, sir. But this year's gold medallist, making a magnificent debut, is Grroosss - congratulations! A clear win on your very first entry! Now "it's over" to Horace to officially award the medals. Big thanks to everyone brave enough to take on the Challenge. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who took part, the medals have been awarded to the top three. Many thanks to vlogdance for running and devising the Christmas Quiz for 2019.
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Post by tremblinwilbury on Dec 22, 2019 17:51:28 GMT
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Post by orioles70 on Dec 22, 2019 22:25:12 GMT
first she figures out how to win the chance to meet Jeff in Chicago now she takes 1st place in the Christmas Challenge oh, she's a clever one
Congratulations Grroosss!
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Post by unomusette on Dec 22, 2019 22:44:22 GMT
Supermassive congrats to all medal winners, I'm in total awe of your brain power to be able to figure out all those fiendish puzzles. I could have stared at them until next Christmas and never done it. vlogdance has really excelled herself this year, nice work, bach!
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Post by BSJ on Dec 22, 2019 22:59:32 GMT
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Post by Timeblue on Dec 22, 2019 23:48:40 GMT
I read the first question and my head imploded.... well done Ms Grrooss!
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Post by Grroosss on Dec 23, 2019 7:53:24 GMT
Huge thanks to vlogdance for making my brain hurt, it was loads of fun Congrats to fellow medallists Horacewimp and eloneen —and, really, to anyone who was able to solve some of these devilishly tricky puzzles!
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Post by Helmut83 on Dec 23, 2019 18:21:59 GMT
Dude, it's good news that only the first 3 positions are revealed. People might think we made the 4th place and not had embarrassing results.
Thanks, Vlog! As happens every year, reading the answers of most of them made me think "I wouldn't have gotten this one in a million years". Oh, well, at least the ones I got were all right!
Congrats to the people who got medals on such a hard challenge!
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Post by BSJ on Dec 23, 2019 18:33:27 GMT
Bub, fourth place? It would take a Christmas miracle! It is very kind of Vlog to keep it from everyone how badly we did, though!
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Post by Chippa on Dec 23, 2019 19:41:32 GMT
My ADHD kicked in and I wasn't even able to make it through the whole quiz. Lol. Kudos to those who did!
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