Mike Read had been co-presenter for Yorkshire's Pop Quest the previous decade and
his knowledge of pop music, together with his co-editorship of The Guinness Book
of Hit Singles made him the ideal candidate to host the show. Pop Quest's finale
had pop stars tested on their music knowledge and this became the basis of Pop Quiz.
Two teams of three celebrities pitted their pop knowledge against each other. The
idea of seeing competitive pop stars caught off-guard proved attractive, but for
many the real attraction was the range of archive television and film clips shown
each week.
One of the question setters was Peter Fincham, later to co-found production company
Talkback Television. He was paid £5 per question.
The show proved successful and lasted four series, but for the final series it was
moved from Saturday tea-time to early Tuesday evening, a certain sign that the end
was in sight.
Ten years later the show was back with a new host, Capital Radio's breakfast DJ and
ex-Tiswas legend Chris Tarrant, starting in January 1994 with a Top of the Pops 30th
anniversary special before the series started properly in May that year. Read looked
tame in the host's chair, while Tarrant commanded it, but it would take Never Mind
The Buzzcocks in 1995 to prove that a little knowledge, however little, could be
funny.
