Episode 13 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together they make up the Eggheads -

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is...

..can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads,

the show where a team of five quiz Challengers pit their wits against

possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

Well, taking on the awesome quiz champions today are

The Marymass Mob. Now, this team share a passion for folk music

and are all associated with the Irvine Folk Club in North Ayrshire.

So let's meet them.

Hello, I'm John, I'm a sound engineer.

Hi, I'm Kris, I'm also a sound engineer.

Hi, I'm Stewart, I'm a retired operations engineer.

Hello, I'm Fraser, I run my own construction company.

Hello, I'm Rab, I'm a songwriter and performer.

So, John and team, hello. Hello. Hello.

And so much to ask you.

Firstly the significance of the name Marymass. John, what's that?

It's a festival going back to medieval times.

There's just lots of different events going on

and a part of the Marymass Festival is a traditional music element.

And what sort of vibe is there at the Irvine Folk Club?

Very, very vibrant and very varied music going on all the time.

Anyone else want to jump in? We meet once a fortnight... Yeah.

We get varied bands from all over the country.

Who's our biggest folk music fan? Kevin, I reckon you love it.

I go to Celtic Connections, for instance. Right.

So probably the... Here in Glasgow? The big one here in Glasgow, yes.

Always try and go to that.

Now, the awkward question is, do you quiz?

John? Not as a team.

I mean, I have to say our team has been specifically chosen due to their availability.

ALL LAUGH

I thought you were going to say due to their music skills.

No, just due to their availability.

So you were outside the building earlier, were you? Pretty much.

Are you available on the day? Right. you're in.

Good luck, team. Thank you very much.

Everyday there is ?1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for our Challengers. However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

that prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Marymass Mob, the Eggheads have won the last four games.

They're on a bit of a roll

and that means there's ?5,000 to play for today.

Would you like to start?

Yes, please. I thought so.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of History.

John, you need to choose a player and then you can pick either Judith,

Kevin, Pat, Steve or Dave to go against.

John? I think it's John.

OK, I think it's me, that's John, for History. OK, John, the captain.

Who do you think, guys? Take the middle one out.

Take the middle one out. The middle one?

Pat. Oh...

OK, let's give it a try.

Right, we'll take Pat. Take out the middle one, I like that.

John from The Marymass Mob versus Pat from the Eggheads.

And just to ensure there's no conferring, would you please take

your positions in our legendary Question Room.

So, John, History. First or second?

I think I'll go first, please.

So here we go. What were African-American members

of the US cavalry, who served in the late 19th century, often called?

I don't think it's Rattlesnake Soldiers.

Coyote Soldiers doesn't sound familiar.

I'd say Buffalo Soldiers.

It's an interesting one. Buffalo Soldiers is right. Well done.

I've realised that that's where Bob Marley gets the song from.

Yes. Is that right? I think so.

OK, so, well done, John.

Buffalo Soldiers is quite right.

Pat.

Which country's Navy was formally known as the Kriegsmarine?

I think that's, er...

That's Germany.

Yep. Germany's the right answer.

OK, John, your question.

By what name was the notorious 18th-century pirate

John Rackham better known?

I don't think it was Blackbeard because that was Teach, I think.

So it's either Captain Kidd or Calico Jack.

I think I'll have to go with Calico Jack.

These all feel like they're kind of folk song material, don't they?

In a strange way. They do.

I'm feeling this is going our way.

Calico Jack is quite right.

Two out of two, John, well done.

Here's your question, Pat.

The Siege of Lucknow,

in which forces of the East India Company

fought against Indian rebels,

took place in which century?

I presume it's part of the...

Is it part of the Indian Mutiny?

Siege of Lucknow.

Well, it's not the 17th.

So it's the 18th or the 19th.

Now, the Indian mutiny was sort of well into the British administration

of India. It was an eruption in the midst of business as usual.

And all the more alarming to the powers that be for that reason.

I think I'll have to say the 19th century.

19th century is your answer.

For some reason I thought you would do this one in your sleep, but it

caused you a bit of trouble. Let's see.

Eggheads, do we know more exactly?

1857. 1857 now.

Pat, you're right! 19th century.

2-2 after two questions.

Couldn't be closer, John. Yep.

I'm hoping for a folk-related question now.

In around 330 BC, Alexander The Great

ordered The Royal Palace in which of these cities to be burnt down?

It's not an area of history that's my strong point at all.

I'm going to go with Constantinople.

Constantinople is your answer, but the answer is Persepolis.

Ah.

So it gives Pat a chance.

Pat, the Borghese family, prominent in 17th-century Rome,

moved there from which other city?

Well, in terms of proximity there's not a great deal to choose.

They're all 50 to 100 miles away from Rome.

150 perhaps.

The Borgheses.

Yep. I can't remember anything about their existence prior to Rome.

So I will just pick at random.

I'll say Siena.

Siena's correct. Oh!

Ah, they do that, don't they, these Eggheads?

They're good guessers. Pat, you're in the final round.

Sorry, John, knocked out. That can happen on the third question. OK.

It's early days. Return to your teams, please, and we'll play Round Two.

All right, The Marymass Mob have lost a brain.

Do we say lost a guitar?

You could.

Lost a string. Lost a string. Lost a string, all right!

You can have at least one string in the final but let's hope for more.

The Eggheads are all still sitting there.

The next subject is Arts Books.

You're all artists, come on.

This is good, isn't it? This is not me.

No, it's not me. OK, I'll have a go.

Right, before you go, choose an Egghead. Anyone but Pat.

I'll try Dave.

So it's Rab from Marymass Mob versus Dave from the Egghead mob.

Please go to the famous Question Room.

Rab, you're a songwriter and performer?

Yes, I am, Jeremy.

And play mainly the guitar? Mainly guitar, yes.

I dabble in a couple of other bits but it's mostly guitar

and mostly guitar as the writing implement as well.

You've worked with Ringo Starr on his label?

I was on Ringo's label back in the late '70s

and in 1978 made an album,

and we used the studios at Tittenhurst Park.

That was the house that John and Yoko had lived in,

down near Ascot, Sunningdale.

I think there was film of John Lennon sort of recording

Imagine and everything else in there. Yes, that's there, yes.

Is that right, Rab? Is that where he did Imagine?

That's right. They still had that big room with the wooden shutters

and Yoko's This Is Not Here above the front door and all that kind of stuff.

Oh, wow! And that's where they therefore did the video for Imagine?

That's right, the whole thing.

Brilliant. You're playing Dave here on Arts Books.

I'm thinking, Rab, they've chosen the right player because this will be up your street.

I hope so. I hope so. Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. What does Henry V call his troops in the Shakespeare play

of the same name?

Swathe Of Siblings, a lovely alliteration, isn't it?

But it doesn't ring a bell.

Crowd Of Kinsman, I'm tempted to that.

But I think that's the origin of the phrase which has had other lives.

Band Of Brothers. I think it's Band Of Brothers.

Yeah, powerful phrase, you're quite right.

Band Of Brothers, it was Shakespeare who coined it. Well done, Rab.

Dave, which fictional detective is depicted

by his creator in two later works

as having retired and taken up beekeeping on the Sussex Downs?

I'm going to have to go Sherlock Holmes, but I'm not totally sure.

I love Sherlock Holmes. I wouldn't have been able to answer this.

It's obviously not Hercule Poirot.

But you're right, David, it's Sherlock Holmes.

Rab, your second question.

Not Dead Yet is the title of a 2016 autobiography by which musician?

I don't think it's Iggy Pop.

Nor I think is it Eric Clapton.

I'm coming down the middle there to Phil Collins.

I think it's Phil.

Phil Collins is right.

He relaunched really in 2016, got a lot of attention, wrote a book.

Dave, on which subject has author

and presenter Suzannah Lipscomb published several books?

I've not heard of her in politics. I could be very wrong here.

Fashion, I've got a blank spot for.

I'm going to go with history, please.

I always think, if you don't know, choose fashion.

In this case it would've led you astray. It is history, Dave.

History's right. OK.

Now, get this right, put some pressure

on tremendous knowledge Dave. Rab, your third question.

"A screaming comes across the sky,"

is the first line of which novel by Thomas Pynchon?

Thomas Pynchon.

I'm reaching out for this with a bit of possible connection.

I'm going to call it.

I'll go for Gravity's Rainbow.

And you're right. It is Gravity's Rainbow. Well done.

Ah, Dave. Yes?

That looks a bit interesting now!

It does. Can you hold your place in the contest? Let's see.

What was the name of the radical literary group in San Francisco

to which Jack London belonged?

Right, I've got no inkling on it.

Let me just have a think.

No. I think Rab's going to have to write a lamentation for me.

Could be The Group.

Seeing as it's been mentioned in the question.

Got The Crowd or The Gang.

It's 50-50.

I'm going to go with The Crowd and as I say, take my, take my beating.

Eggheads, do you know? Favour that one but don't know it.

Favourite. It's a difficult question.

The Crowd is the right answer.

Unbelievable!

Sorry.

My apologies. As they said in the Premiership once, Dave,

the team that wins the Premier League is the one that's gone around

the country perpetrating injustices at every stadium.

Yep.

And so it is with quizzing.

So we go to Sudden Death, Rab.

OK. Gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternatives. Sure.

The 2016 novel Rather Be The Devil is a murder mystery by which

Scottish crime novelist?

Possibly either Christopher Brookmyre or Ian Rankin.

I know Ian has a penchant for song titles.

So I'm going to go Ian Rankin.

Ian Rankin is the right answer. Thank you.

Rather Be The Devil by Ian Rankin, well done.

Sudden Death, Dave, back to you.

This to stay in.

Which UK fitness coach has published a series of books

entitled Lean In 15?

Nah, I'm going to be...

I'm in trouble here because I can't think of any.

Modern person.

Fitness coach.

Lean In 15.

Dana Moran.

You've got Busylizzy.

You've got Mr Motivator, Derrick Evans, he did sell a lot of books.

I don't know. I can't even get a timescale on it,

so I'm going to go Derrick Evans, Mr Motivator.

Dave, right. We're going a bit retro here.

Yes. We'll be going back to the '80s. Yes, why not.

It's Joe Wicks. You've been knocked out. I would never have got that.

Well done, Rab, you're in the final round.

Thank you. OK, the guitar string is unbroken.

You've taken on an Egghead and you've emerged triumphant.

Please return to us and we'll play on.

As it stands, The Marymass Mob have pulled it back here thanks to Rab.

So they have lost a brain from the final round,

but the Eggheads have lost one too now.

Let's see where we go. We're on Sport.

Who would like Sport?

That's yours. I've kicked a ball.

THEY CHUCKLE

Fraser's kicked a ball, so I think Fraser's...

You have kicked a ball. Yeah, he's kicked a ball.

Fraser, any Eggheads you want to take on?

You haven't got Pat or Dave, you've got Steve in between them,

or on my side Kevin or Judith.

Now, I think I'm going to be...

I'm going to try Judith, I think.

Why not? Fraser, from The Marymass Mob, versus Judith.

To ensure no conferring, please take your positions.

We're on Sport.

Is that your thing, Fraser?

In comparison with the rest of the team, yes.

I do... I think I'm the only one who actually plays any sport,

so that's why I've been thrown into this.

OK, well, good luck, and would you like to go first or second?

I will go first, thank you.

Fraser, here's your first question.

Who became the number one ranked tennis player in the world

for the first time in his career in 2016?

Well, that should be easy for me.

If I've got this correct,

his home is only about 20 miles from where I live, and he's a Scot,

and it's got to be Andy Murray.

Absolutely right, well done to him.

Andy, or Sir Andy Murray.

OK, Judith, how often

are the Commonwealth Games held?

Judith...

I wonder if they're like the Olympics and held every four years.

I think, I mean, it's quite a big event, that, isn't it?

And the organisation must be very expensive and everything.

I think I'm going to say every four years.

Every four years is correct. Mmm.

Fraser. In which country are the champions

of the top division in football said to have won the Scudetto?

Is it...

I am going to go on this one for Italy.

Yeah, it sounds... It does sound more like an Italian word.

Italy's right. It means "little shield".

Little shield, OK.

Judith, your question.

What name is sometimes given to the area of the treble 20 in darts?

Is it the...

Well, it's around something, I suppose.

Which sort of implies an eye.

So I think the likelihood is rather than blush or lipstick,

it would be mascara. Dave will know this.

How can I put it? It's like a little rectangle,

rectangular type of thing.

It's the redness, which means it's the lipstick.

Lipstick is the answer, Judith.

Oh. OK, so this is good now.

2017 marks the 100th edition of which of cycling's grand tour races?

The 100th edition of...

Well, I had Italy in the last one,

so I'm not going to try that.

Should I go for the obvious and try

Tour de France? Tour de France.

Eggheads?

It's not that. I would have gone with Giro d'Italia but...

It is the Giro d'Italia.

Oh! You've had two Italys there.

I thought that was too obvious.

Judith, get this right, you're still in it.

Get it wrong, the sin bin.

In which sport has Indian sportswoman Mithali Raj

captained her national team?

I have absolutely no idea.

I think India is so keen on cricket, so I'm going to say cricket,

without any knowledge about it at all.

Cricket is the right answer. Oh!

So two each after three questions. Fraser, we go to Sudden Death.

It gets a bit harder, I don't give you alternatives.

Fraser, what word meaning to obtain something on loan

is also a golfing term

for the deviation of the ball from a straight line on the green?

That's a borrow.

Borrow is the right answer. Thank you. Well done.

Judith.

To stay in the contest.

Whom did Muhammad Ali fight in his comeback bout in 1970

after having been out of the sport for three years?

I don't know. I'm terribly bad about boxers.

Carl Foreman.

Carl Foreman. When you say Carl, it's George Foreman, isn't it?

Oh, George Foreman. Yeah, so....

I can tell you it's not Carl Foreman, Judith. Yeah.

Eggs, Dave?

George Chuvalo? No. Jimmy Ellis? No.

Jerry... Quarry. Jerry Quarry.

I would never have got that. Jerry Quarry, that's a bit of a stinker.

Fraser, it doesn't matter, you've won the round, well done! Thank you very much, thank you.

Well done on Sudden Death.

It's not easy to get through those Sudden Death questions on Sport.

Please return to us. One more round to go.

Right, The Marymass Mob have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are having one of those days, aren't you,

where the ground is shaking a little bit?

The next subject for you is Music.

It's looking even better.

That's not me. I suppose I'll have to do that.

OK, Kris, our sound engineer.

So you can have either Kevin or Steve.

I'll take Steve, please. Very good.

OK, so Kris from Marymass Mob versus Steve from the Eggheads.

And for the last time, gentlemen, go to the Question Room.

OK, Music. Kris, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Good luck. Which singer's version of White Christmas is often said to be

the best-selling single of all time?

I would have to say that was probably Bing Crosby.

Bing Crosby's right.

Steve.

"Music can be such a revelation, dancing around,

"you feel the sweet sensation"

are lines from which 1985 UK hit for Madonna?

Into The Groove, Jeremy. Yeah.

Kris, your question.

Which band achieved their first UK number one album

for 14 years with Voodoo Lounge in 1994.

The Kinks haven't been that late, I don't think.

Actually, I'm pretty sure it's the Rolling Stones.

Yeah, Rolling Stones in the right answer.

Steve, which of these Italian composers

was born in the Republic of Venice?

Right. Again, I'm not entirely sure,

but the one I think I associate with Venice is Vivaldi,

so that is my answer.

Antonio Vivaldi is the right answer.

OK, Kris, your question.

Chicha is a subgenre of Latin American music

that originated in which country?

I have absolutely no idea of any Peruvian music,

apart from the panpipes.

Brazil's best known for the salsa, and stuff like that.

Chicha.

I'll go Peru. Yes, you've got it right.

It is Peru. Well done, Kris.

OK, a bit of pressure on Steve here.

The pop band Lukas Graham was formed in which country?

I'm pretty sure that they're Danish, so I'll say Denmark.

Yes, you've got it right, Denmark it is.

3-3, Sudden Death.

Kris, I don't give you alternatives.

Thinking Out Loud was a 2014 UK number one single

for which singer-songwriter?

This is where I come unstuck.

I don't really know much in the way of more modern music.

I can't think.

I'll have to pass, I can't think of any.

Nothing? Nothing at all, no.

I thought he'd be up your street.

He's a guitar man.

Ed Sheeran.

OK, you have a chance to take the round with this, Steve.

In which decade was the pop music magazine Smash Hits first published?

All right, I know Neil Tennant famously wrote for it.

I certainly read it in the '80s,

but I think that it'd been around before then, so...

I'm going to... Hopefully, a semi-educated guess

and say the 1970s.

1970s is right. 1978 in fact.

Well done, you've taken it on Sudden Death. You're in the final round.

Kris, sorry, you've been knocked out. Come back to us, both of you,

rejoin your teams and we will play the final for ?5,000!

This is what we have been playing towards,

it's time for the final round which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round.

So that's John and Kris from The Marymass Mob

and Dave and Judith from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio.

Stewart, Fraser and Rab, you're playing to win The Marymass Mob ?5,000.

Good jackpot today.

Steve, Pat and Kevin, you're playing for the Eggheads' reputation,

but also just to keep this run going on,

which I know means an awful lot to you.

As usual, I will ask each team three each questions in turn.

They're all General Knowledge, gentlemen.

You can confer. So, Marymass Mob,

the question is are your three brains better than these three over here?

Have these three been weakened with age?

Stewart, Fraser and Rab, would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first.

OK, Stewart and team, here we go.

General Knowledge. Which of these is a translucent fossil resin,

often containing prehistoric flora and fauna?

Right. Well, I'm going back to Jurassic Park,

my memories of... That was the basis of that story, wasn't it?

And I don't...

Quartz is not really translucent. No.

Graphite is definitely not. No, no.

And I can remember the scene in Jurassic Park where they looked at

something or other - was it a mosquito or something?

So I think it's amber.

It's clear, is it? It's orange.

Translucent. It's an orange colour but you can see through it.

I think it's amber. Are you sure about that?

Well, I'm not sure...

We say amber.

I like that you got the answer from a Spielberg movie. Why not?

Amber's right. Thank you.

Well done.

Here we go, Eggheads.

Complete the saying attributed to Theodore Roosevelt,

"Speak softly and carry a..." what?

Happy with big stick? Think so. Mmm.

It's, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Big stick is the right answer.

I didn't realise that was his.

All right, Challengers,

they may get harder. Here we go.

Evan Spiegel is the founder of which mobile phone app?

I don't know. I don't do social media, so I don't know.

I do bits, but I don't... Evan Spiegel?

Evan... Spiegel.

Do you know, there was something...

Is this the guy that sold it for a... Could well be.

..a fortune? They all sell it for fortunes.

Any ideas which one?

I don't know Snapchat, so that wouldn't...

Twitter... I've not tried Snapchat.

I don't have accounts with any of them, so...

Erm...

It's not a name I recognise from any of the...

..comments that are coming through.

If it was Twitter, you would know it, wouldn't you? Aye.

I've a feeling it's Instagram. I've got a feeling...

Are we going for Instagram? Yeah. That sounds a good idea.

Instagram.

So you don't do social media.

No. I think they probably all have, you know,

come out of nothing and are worth a lot.

Yeah. The answer is Snapchat.

Snapchat. OK.

OK, Eggheads.

The airport of Brindisi is located within which Italian region?

It's on the Adriatic.

Yeah, it is, yeah. It's right down in the, erm...

in the heel of Italy.

It's poking away from the Adriatic.

Yeah, yeah. No, it's erm...

So you've got the heel coming down like that.

Brindisi is right down to... Not quite down to the very end,

but it's right down there. So it's Puglia.

Yeah. That is Puglia.

Puglia is quite right, Eggheads.

They've taken the lead.

OK. That's only disastrous if you get this one wrong.

Right.

Native to Asia, and now an invasive pest in the USA,

what type of creature is the snakehead?

I think it's going to be a fish. I think it is as well.

I'm dragging things up that sort of...

I remember it being a fish.

If it came from Asia, it could have come from anywhere.

It can fly in... Yes. OK.

Try that. Yeah. A fish, please.

Right. What is this, Eggheads?

Fish. Fish is right. Oh!

From the way you were going, I thought we were...

OK. So two each, but the Eggheads have a question in hand.

You can take the contest with this.

What are the colours on the flag of Thailand?

Red, white and blue. Yeah, it's stripy. Mmm.

It's a... Well, it's a sort of, erm...

You've got three coloured stripes

with a couple of white bands in between.

So it's erm... Yeah.

There's no yellow, there's no green. No.

Red, white and blue? Yeah. Very happy.

Er, we believe that's red, white and blue.

Are they right? I think they are.

They do... It's sad to say,

they often go to bed looking at books of flags.

Flags are something that they do.

Eggheads... He thinks he's making a joke, but that's actually true.

Oh, yeah, he's got flags on his bedside table!

The flag of Thailand is indeed red, white and blue.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won!

One day we're going to stump them with a flag.

Well done, guys. Well done. Thank you.

Well played, lovely to have folk musicians in.

Commiserations, Marymass Mob,

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the ?5,000, guys.

The money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, well done. On good form.

No doubt about it. Who will beat them?

Join us next time to see what a new team of Challengers can do.

There'll be ?6,000 to play for.

Till we quiz again, goodbye.

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