A music quiz is the round everyone waits for. It gets the whole room arguing, the quiet person in the corner suddenly knows every answer from 1987, and nobody needs to have revised. This page gives you 60 music quiz questions and answers, split into six rounds of ten, ready to read out at a pub quiz, a family get-together or an office party.
The rounds run roughly from easy to harder, and each mixes UK and international music so a mixed-age table always has a chance. Answers sit right after each question, so the quizmaster can read straight from a phone or a printout.
How to run a music quiz night
Split the room into teams of three to six and give each team an answer sheet and a pen. Read every question twice, slowly, then give the teams about thirty seconds before moving on. At the end of each round, swap answer sheets between teams for marking while you read out the answers. It saves time and stops anyone quietly improving their own answers.
One point per correct answer is plenty. If you want a twist, let each team play a joker on one round to double its score, and hand out half points for answers that are close (the right band but the wrong song, for example). Decide the half-point rule before you start, not halfway through an argument.
Round 1: Pop, easy starters
1. Which band released "Wannabe" in 1996? Answer: Spice Girls
2. Who had a hit with "Rolling in the Deep"? Answer: Adele
3. Freddie Mercury was the lead singer of which band? Answer: Queen
4. "Shape of You" was a huge 2017 hit for which singer? Answer: Ed Sheeran
5. Which Swedish group won Eurovision in 1974 with "Waterloo"? Answer: ABBA
6. Which city did the Beatles come from? Answer: Liverpool
7. Who released the album "1989"? Answer: Taylor Swift
8. Which band had a hit with "Mr. Brightside"? Answer: The Killers
9. Rihanna comes from which Caribbean island? Answer: Barbados
10. How many keys does a standard piano have? Answer: 88
Round 2: The 80s
1. Which Michael Jackson album from 1982 is the best-selling album of all time? Answer: Thriller
2. Who sang "Like a Virgin"? Answer: Madonna
3. Which Scottish band had a hit with "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in 1985? Answer: Simple Minds
4. Wham! was a duo: George Michael and who? Answer: Andrew Ridgeley
5. Who sang "Never Gonna Give You Up" in 1987? Answer: Rick Astley
6. Which band released "Sweet Child o' Mine"? Answer: Guns N' Roses
7. "Livin' on a Prayer" was a hit for which band? Answer: Bon Jovi
8. The 1985 Live Aid concerts were held at Wembley Stadium and in which US city? Answer: Philadelphia
9. Which Irish band released "The Joshua Tree" in 1987? Answer: U2
10. Which charity supergroup released "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in 1984? Answer: Band Aid
Round 3: The 90s
1. Which Britpop band released the album "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?"? Answer: Oasis
2. Which band released "Parklife"? Answer: Blur
3. Who sang "...Baby One More Time"? Answer: Britney Spears
4. Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was the theme of which film? Answer: Titanic
5. Which Seattle band released "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? Answer: Nirvana
6. Robbie Williams left which boy band in 1995? Answer: Take That
7. Which group had a hit with "No Scrubs"? Answer: TLC
8. Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" featured in which 1992 film? Answer: The Bodyguard
9. Dolores O'Riordan was the lead singer of which Irish band? Answer: The Cranberries
10. Which song by Los del Río became a worldwide dance craze in the mid 90s? Answer: Macarena
Round 4: 2000s to today
1. Who had a hit with "Crazy in Love" in 2003? Answer: Beyoncé
2. What was the name of Amy Winehouse's 2006 album? Answer: Back to Black
3. Which TV talent show put One Direction together? Answer: The X Factor
4. "Uptown Funk" was by Mark Ronson featuring which singer? Answer: Bruno Mars
5. Which band released "Viva la Vida"? Answer: Coldplay
6. Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" featured which singer? Answer: Kimbra
7. Which South Korean artist had a viral hit with "Gangnam Style" in 2012? Answer: PSY
8. What was Lady Gaga's debut single, released in 2008? Answer: Just Dance
9. "Bad Guy" won Record of the Year at the 2020 Grammys for which singer? Answer: Billie Eilish
10. Which Harry Styles single topped the charts in both the UK and the US in 2022? Answer: As It Was
Round 5: Music general knowledge
1. How many strings does a standard guitar have? Answer: Six
2. What does "a cappella" mean? Answer: Singing without instruments
3. Which composer wrote "The Four Seasons"? Answer: Antonio Vivaldi
4. What is Elton John's birth name? Answer: Reginald Dwight
5. Which festival is held at Worthy Farm in Somerset? Answer: Glastonbury
6. Which BBC chart show ran every week from 1964 to 2006? Answer: Top of the Pops
7. Which singer is known as the Queen of Soul? Answer: Aretha Franklin
8. Which instrument did Ringo Starr play in the Beatles? Answer: Drums
9. What was the name of David Bowie's 1972 alter ego? Answer: Ziggy Stardust
10. How many members were in ABBA? Answer: Four
Round 6: Film, TV and musicals
1. "Let It Go" comes from which Disney film? Answer: Frozen
2. Which film ends with "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"? Answer: Dirty Dancing
3. Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" was written for which film? Answer: Rocky III
4. Who sang the Bond theme "Goldfinger"? Answer: Shirley Bassey
5. Which musical features the song "Defying Gravity"? Answer: Wicked
6. The musical "Mamma Mia!" is built on the songs of which band? Answer: ABBA
7. The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" plays over the opening of which 1977 film? Answer: Saturday Night Fever
8. Which Queen song gave its name to the 2018 biopic about the band? Answer: Bohemian Rhapsody
9. "Shallow" won an Oscar for which 2018 film? Answer: A Star Is Born
10. Which band recorded "I'll Be There for You", the theme from Friends? Answer: The Rembrandts
Tie-breaker
In which year did the Beatles release their first UK single, "Love Me Do"? Answer: 1962. The closest team wins.
Extra rounds that need no questions at all
Once the written rounds are done, finish with something louder. An intro round is the classic: play the first five seconds of a song and teams write the title and artist. A finish the lyrics round works the same way, pausing a track mid-line and letting teams write the next words; our guide to the finish the lyrics game has round ideas and scoring. For something completely different, try a song association round: read out a word and the first team to sing a real song containing it takes the point.
Music pub quiz tips
Keep each round to ten questions and the whole quiz under ninety minutes, including the marking. Mix decades inside every round rather than giving one table "their" round, so nobody switches off. Have the answers on your own screen and nobody else's. And read the scores out after every round: a close leaderboard keeps the room in it until the end.
Turn the quiz into a sing-off
If the final round ends with everyone singing along anyway, lean into it. Grab The Phone Karaoke is our free party game for 2 to 8 players on one phone: a word lights up, whoever grabs the phone first sings any song with that word for 15 seconds, and everyone else votes it up or down. A leaderboard keeps score, so it slots straight in after the quiz as a bonus round.
