The AnswerBank Articles

How long has the Eurovision Song Contest being going

A. The Eurovision Song Contest will be in its 46th year, when the faithful gather in Copenhagen on 12 May. Q. How did it all start A. The idea of an international song contest was conceived in00:00 Mon 30th Apr 2001

Has our musical taste improved

Some say that today's music hasn't got the originality or genuine class of the output of the Sixties, but let's face it, there were some serious disasters in the Sixties too. Hindsight is a great00:00 Fri 20th Apr 2001

Q What's the history of the pop video

A. Strange as it may seem, the embryonic notion of promoting pop music through television occurred to Mike Nesmith. Q. That's the same name as the Texan guy who was in The Monkees, the sixties00:00 Mon 16th Apr 2001

Q What does the term 'pirate radio' mean

A. 'Pirate' radio is the term used for any radio station that is broadcasting illegally, in other words, without obtaining the required licence from the Home Office, which governs the allocation of00:00 Mon 16th Apr 2001

Q Why do radio stations ban certain records

A. There are a number of sensible, and sometimes not so sensible, reasons for not playing records on the radio. These are usually governed by the blanket criteria of what is referred to as 'good00:00 Mon 16th Apr 2001

Q How can I begin a pop memorabilia collection

I'd like to start collecting pop memorabilia, where do I start What you collect depends entirely on why you collect, so let's establish a few basic ground rules. Collecting divides neatly into two00:00 Mon 09th Apr 2001

Pop Memorabillia

I'd like to start collecting pop memorabilia, where do I start What you collect depends entirely on why you collect, so let's establish a few basic ground rules. Collecting divides neatly into two00:00 Mon 09th Apr 2001

Q I'd like to collect pop memorabillia, where do I start

A. What you collect depends entirely on why you collect, so let's establish a few basic ground rules: Collecting divides neatly into two distinct areas, fun and profit, some collections will give you00:00 Mon 09th Apr 2001

Q What does the term 'bootleg recording' mean

A. A bootleg is an illegal recording made without the artist's knowledge or consent, and of course, without any payment of copyright fees or profit sharing. The term 'bootleg' refers occasionally to00:00 Mon 09th Apr 2001

Q Why do pop stars become actors

A. An interesting question. There are few areas in life where being successful with one skill leads you to believe you have the wherewithal to perform as well in another. Heart surgeons are not known00:00 Mon 02nd Apr 2001

Q Why do pop stars act in films

A. An interesting question. There are few areas in life where being successful with one skill leads you to believe you have the wherewithal to perform as well in another. Heart surgeons are not00:00 Mon 02nd Apr 2001

Q Why are so many bands reforming these days

A. The quick answer is the most obvious one: they need the money. Q. There seem to be more bands reforming these days than ever, why A. One reason is because there are simply more bands out00:00 Mon 02nd Apr 2001

Q Why are the front men in bands always guitarists

A. The short answer is, they are not always guitarists. There are plenty of 'back line' musicians who sing, and in some cases they lead their bands as well. Q. What about a few of the more famous00:00 Mon 02nd Apr 2001

Q 'Where there's a hit, there's a writ.' What exactly does that mean

A. This is a clever reference to the fact that as soon as a pop star has made enough money, someone somewhere is going to try and relieve him or her, or them, of some of it, and a popular method is to00:00 Mon 26th Mar 2001

My dad says that album cover art is dead. Is he right

A. He's probably harking back to the days when buying an album meant carrying home 12" of vinyl, which meant an album sleeve, and that meant a nice large space to devote to some artwork. Most of the00:00 Mon 26th Mar 2001

Q Are pop fans getting younger

A. If you check the facts, the answer is no, they are not getting younger. The thrust of the marketing machine is aimed at younger music fans, because that is increasingly where the money, and00:00 Mon 26th Mar 2001

Questions roundup

The range and diversity of questions placed here on the Music Section at The Answerbank continues to grow week by week. Grandi Tenori posed a question about recorded works by Giuseppe Campora, the00:00 Mon 19th Mar 2001

Classical music - made easy

Q. I've just started a new job, and my boss is a big classical music fan. I told him I was as well, now I'm panicking in case I get caught out, can you help A. Of course, that's what the Answerbank00:00 Mon 19th Mar 2001

Q Manufactured pop bands: What's it all about

A. The simple answer It's about making money. Its not called the music 'business' for nothing - record companies have always tried to find 'the next big thing' and sign it to a long-term contract.00:00 Mon 19th Mar 2001

Q Why haven't Nirvana released an album since In Utero

asks emberta. A. Click here for a full answer - the simple reason is the death of guitarist and songwriter Kurt Cobain. Q. So rock and pop has its fair share of untimely deaths then A. It does,00:00 Mon 12th Mar 2001