PopMaster
Encyclopedia
PopMaster is a popular music
quiz
on the Ken Bruce
Show on BBC Radio 2
. It usually takes place at around 10:30 a.m. on weekday mornings.
. Each contestant is given 10 questions based on popular music from the 1950s right through to the present day. All the questions are worth 3 points excepting the three "bonus questions" (questions 3, 6 and 9) on a topic chosen (from two choices) by the contestant. These bonus questions involve listening to a snippet of music, and if answered correctly are worth 6 points. There is therefore a maximum total of 39 points on offer.
The winning contestant then goes on to play "3 in 10". In this part, they have ten seconds to name three UK Singles Chart
hits for a particular artist or group named by Ken. If they successfully manage this they win the DAB Digital Radio, if they fail they win an mp3 player. However, if a contestant scores 39 points in the main round, they win the Digital Radio anyway, and the other contestant would play "3 in 10" anyway. Should both contestants score the same number of points (and the score is less than the maximum), a tie-break is used to decide which will play "3 in 10". The losing contestant receives a consolation prize
of a Radio 2 CD wallet.
At the end of the year, the best contestants (usually those who scored the maximum 39 points) return for a "Champions League PopMaster".
When Ken Bruce is on holiday PopMaster continues with the stand-in presenter; these include Alex Lester
, Stuart Maconie
, Richard Allinson
, Aled Jones
and Zoë Ball
.
Between 20 July 2007 and 18 January 2008, when the quiz was played with celebrity contestants, the prizes were not given away, and the final "3 in 10" round was not played by the winner.
It was rumoured that members of the public would be able to play again before Christmas
2007, though this did not happen. On 30 December 2007 it was announced that the quiz would be one of the first BBC phone-in competitions to return in January 2008. The quiz returned on Monday, 21 January 2008. New background music and dramatic, orchestral and guitar based jingles for the quiz were introduced on the same day. The contestant application procedure reverted to the original write-in method, but now prospective contestants are invited on the day.
On May 28, 2010, Bruce hosted a special Eurovision celebrity edition of the quiz, live from Oslo
, Norway
. Eurovision Song Contest
commentator for BBC Three
, Paddy O'Connell
, took on the author of The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, John Kennedy O'Connor
, to answer questions on the contest, with O'Connor winning.
web and mobile sites, or in a Facebook
application. The game features text, image, sound and video questions, and scores are determined by how quickly the player answers correctly. A voiceover from Ken Bruce features throughout the game. Players can also challenge friends to beat their High Scores. The maximum score possible is 390.
presenter Jon Holmes
on his weekend show in the game Ken Bruce Master. The game is described thus: "On Popmaster listeners have to answer questions about pop stars. On Ken Bruce Master pop stars have to answer questions about Ken Bruce." Very surreal questions then follow. Many pop and rock stars have played the game for "no prizes whatsover due to current compliance guidelines." At Christmas 2007 Ken Bruce
himself played, and lost.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
quiz
Quiz
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly. In some countries, a quiz is also a brief assessment used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.Quizzes are usually scored in points and many...
on the Ken Bruce
Ken Bruce
Kenneth Robertson Bruce is a British broadcaster known for his programme on BBC Radio 2, which is broadcast on weekdays from 9:30am until 12 noon.-Early life and career:...
Show on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
. It usually takes place at around 10:30 a.m. on weekday mornings.
Structure
Two contestants play against each other for the chance to win a DAB Digital radioDigital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
. Each contestant is given 10 questions based on popular music from the 1950s right through to the present day. All the questions are worth 3 points excepting the three "bonus questions" (questions 3, 6 and 9) on a topic chosen (from two choices) by the contestant. These bonus questions involve listening to a snippet of music, and if answered correctly are worth 6 points. There is therefore a maximum total of 39 points on offer.
The winning contestant then goes on to play "3 in 10". In this part, they have ten seconds to name three UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
hits for a particular artist or group named by Ken. If they successfully manage this they win the DAB Digital Radio, if they fail they win an mp3 player. However, if a contestant scores 39 points in the main round, they win the Digital Radio anyway, and the other contestant would play "3 in 10" anyway. Should both contestants score the same number of points (and the score is less than the maximum), a tie-break is used to decide which will play "3 in 10". The losing contestant receives a consolation prize
Prize
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. Official prizes often involve monetary rewards as well as the fame that comes with them...
of a Radio 2 CD wallet.
At the end of the year, the best contestants (usually those who scored the maximum 39 points) return for a "Champions League PopMaster".
When Ken Bruce is on holiday PopMaster continues with the stand-in presenter; these include Alex Lester
Alex Lester
Alex Lester is a British broadcaster. He presents the weekday overnight/early-morning programme on BBC Radio 2...
, Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week , alongside Mark Radcliffe, called the Radcliffe...
, Richard Allinson
Richard Allinson
Richard John McNeill Allinson is a British broadcaster. He started his broadcasting with a 3-year stint at Bailrigg FM, known at that time as University Radio Bailrigg ,whilst undertaking college courses at Lancaster University Management School. He was firstly Treasurer and then became President...
, Aled Jones
Aled Jones
Aled Jones is a Welsh singer and television/radio personality, broadcaster and television presenter who first came to fame as a treble...
and Zoë Ball
Zoë Ball
Zoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball and his...
.
2007 Suspension and Celebrity version
PopMaster was suspended for one day on 19 July 2007 in line with the BBC's blanket ban on television and radio competitions following several phone-in scandals (although Popmaster or other competitions on Radio 2 were never implicated). The day after, PopMaster was brought back but without prizes or public entry; the contestants selected from celebrities and BBC staff.Between 20 July 2007 and 18 January 2008, when the quiz was played with celebrity contestants, the prizes were not given away, and the final "3 in 10" round was not played by the winner.
It was rumoured that members of the public would be able to play again before Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
2007, though this did not happen. On 30 December 2007 it was announced that the quiz would be one of the first BBC phone-in competitions to return in January 2008. The quiz returned on Monday, 21 January 2008. New background music and dramatic, orchestral and guitar based jingles for the quiz were introduced on the same day. The contestant application procedure reverted to the original write-in method, but now prospective contestants are invited on the day.
On May 28, 2010, Bruce hosted a special Eurovision celebrity edition of the quiz, live from Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
commentator for BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
, Paddy O'Connell
Paddy O'Connell
Guy Patrick Bennett O'Connell , known as Paddy O'Connell, is an English television and radio presenter, working mainly for the BBC....
, took on the author of The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, John Kennedy O'Connor
John Kennedy O'Connor
John Kennedy O'Connor is an author, entertainment and political commentator, based in the United States. Born in North London, United Kingdom, he has written, reported and broadcast for numerous media organizations, as well as writing, creating and producing media events for a number of...
, to answer questions on the contest, with O'Connor winning.
Online
An interactive version of PopMaster was launched on Monday 1 March 2010. The game can now be played on the BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
web and mobile sites, or in a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
application. The game features text, image, sound and video questions, and scores are determined by how quickly the player answers correctly. A voiceover from Ken Bruce features throughout the game. Players can also challenge friends to beat their High Scores. The maximum score possible is 390.
Other
PopMaster is parodied by comedian and BBC 6 MusicBBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
presenter Jon Holmes
Jon Holmes
Jon Holmes is a seven time Sony award-winning and double Bafta winning British writer, comedian and broadcaster.-Early life:...
on his weekend show in the game Ken Bruce Master. The game is described thus: "On Popmaster listeners have to answer questions about pop stars. On Ken Bruce Master pop stars have to answer questions about Ken Bruce." Very surreal questions then follow. Many pop and rock stars have played the game for "no prizes whatsover due to current compliance guidelines." At Christmas 2007 Ken Bruce
Ken Bruce
Kenneth Robertson Bruce is a British broadcaster known for his programme on BBC Radio 2, which is broadcast on weekdays from 9:30am until 12 noon.-Early life and career:...
himself played, and lost.