The Questions
| Company type | Pop group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh , Scotland |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
The Questions were a pop group originating from Scotland, active during the late 1970s through the early 1980s.
History
The band was established in the summer of 1977 at St. Augustine's High School located in Edinburgh. Their inaugural performance took place in December 1977 at St. Margaret's Church Hall in Davidson's Mains, Edinburgh.
In 1978, after submitting a demo tape to Bruce Findlay of Bruce's Record Shop, they secured a contract with the Edinburgh-based Zoom Records. Their first single, "Some Other Guy" backed with "Rock & Roll Ain't Dead," was released in August 1978. That December, they were honored with the Young Band of the Year award by Southern Television on the program Saturday Banana.
The follow-up single "I Can't Get Over You" backed with "Answers" came out in January 1979. Upon finishing school in June 1980, they attracted Paul Weller’s interest and subsequently supported his band, The Jam, during a show at the Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre in October 1980. The following year, The Questions signed to Weller’s Respond Records label and contributed three tracks—"Work and Play," "Building on a Strong Foundation," and "Give It Up Girl"—to the compilation album Love the Reason. They also partnered with Tracie Young under the name Tracie & The Questions for the single "Mama Never Told Me."
Throughout their career, the band issued multiple singles including "Work and Play," "Tear Soup," and "Price You Pay." In 1983, members Paul Barry and John Robinson penned the Top 10 hit "The House That Jack Built" for Tracie Young and wrote three additional songs featured on her debut album, Far From the Hurting Kind.
Their sole full-length album, Belief, was released in 1984 alongside singles such as "Tuesday Sunshine" and "A Month of Sundays." Although commercial success was modest, The Questions performed their final live show on 30 November 1984 at London's renowned 100 Club.
Twelve years later, Japanese label Trattoria Records reissued Belief on CD format, expanding it to include the original eleven tracks plus eight unreleased recordings.
Members
- Paul Barry – bass guitar, vocals
- John Robinson – rhythm guitar, vocals
- Frank Mooney – drums
- Stephen Lennon – lead guitar, vocals
- Chris Kowalski – drums
- Joseph Jones – keyboards, clarinet
- Maureen Barry – vocals
Albums
- Belief (1984) – The 1996 CD re-release contains:
- "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"
- Additional demos and live recordings including "It's In Me," "Boys Back Home," and "Tear Soup"
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) – reached UK No. 56
- "Tear Soup" / "The Vital Spark" (1983) – reached UK No. 66
- "Tuesday Sunshine" / "No One" (1984) – reached UK No. 46
- "A Month of Sundays" / "Someone's Got to Lose" (1984)
- "Building on a Strong Foundation" / "Dream Come True" (1984)