Welcome to Jon Kutner's website
Here you can have a go at my on-line quiz and find out about my weekly quiz venues. You can view the galleries as well as see a comprehensive list of featured artists and dates when they were done. Just click on quiz venues at the bottom.
You can also read about some of the latest news items or read my biography.
There is an interactive guestbook, please feel free to make a suggestion or leave a comment on it.
If you are looking to book me for a function why not take a browse at Function DJ / Host page and then contact me directly.
I am continuing to do a 'single of the week' piece and if you have a track you'd like me to write about, please send your requests via the site by clicking here. This week it's the request of Mitch Colin who asked for Wordy Rappinghood by the Tom Tom Club. Click here to read the story. You can also view the archive of all past Singles and Albums of the week on this page.
You Tube Clip Of The Week:
In 1967 the UK won the Eurovision song contest for the first time with Sandie Shaw singing Puppet On A String, this meant that the contest had to be held in the UK the following year. It was at the Royal Albert Hall, it was presented by Katie Boyle and went out on April 6th and, for the first time, in colour.
Our entry was Cliff Richard singing Congratulations which came second in the contest, just one point behind the Spanish winner, Massiel singing La La La.
The BBC had launched four brand new radio stations just six months earlier and for the first time the contest was broadcast simultaneously on Radio's One & Two with commentary provided by Pete Murray.
This is the video of Cliff doing a great Austin Powers impression amazingly some 28 years before Austin was invented! Click here to view it.
Did You Know...
Here are fifteen things you may not know about Eurovision.
Ireland has won the Eurovision Song Contest the most times, with seven wins in all, closely
followed by the UK, France and Luxembourg with five wins each.
Italy boycotted the 1981 Eurovision Song contest, saying that it was too old fashioned, while the following year France ducked out saying that the cost was too great for such mediocre results.
Some of the most popular entries to the Eurovision Song contest have included wonderful titles like, Boom Bang-aBang (UK, 1969), A-Ba-Ni-Ba (Israel, 1978), Bana Bana (Turkey, 1989) and Bourn Badaborun (Monaco, 1967).
The UK's winners are: Puppet On A String –Sandie Shaw (1967); Boom Bang-A-Bang – Lulu (joint winner in 1969); Save Your Kisses For Me – Brotherhood Of Man (1976); Making Your Mind Up – Bucks Fizz (1981); and Love Shine A Light – Katrina & The Waves (1997).
In the 1978 competition, Norway became the first country to not receive a single vote for their entry, Mil Etter Mil (Mile after Mile).
Finland has finished last on eight occasions, closely followed by Belgium and Austria, who have lost it seven times each.
1983 Turkish Eurovision entry, Opera consisted entirely of the word Opera being repeated over and over while Spain's cleverly titled, La La La contained no fewer than 138 la's.
The contest seems to favour female soloists who have won it 26 times (including all four winners in
1969). The only male duo to win the Contest is the Irish entry in 1994, Paul Harrington and
Charlie McGettigan.
In the 1968 event Britain complained that Spain had not voted for their entry (Cliff Richard's Congratulations) to make it lose. In 1966 Scandinavians Sweden & Norway, who finished second & third respectively were accused of 'teaming up' to help each other.
Celine Dion kick-started her career with a Eurovision win in 1988. The French-Canadian performed Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi for Switzerland.
The shortest song performed was the 1957 UK entry, All, sung by Patricia Bredin which lasted one minute and 52 seconds and was followed by one of the longest, Italy’s Corde Delle Mia Chitarra, which lasted for five minutes and nine seconds and was performed by Nunzio Gallo.
Norway entered the 1980 competition with a song written about the construction of a hydro-electric power station. Finland, not to be outdone by their Scandanavian neighbours scored nul points in the 1982 competition with a song protesting about the building of a nuclear power station.
ABBA’s first attempt at Eurovision was in 1973 with Ring Ring, which failed to win the Swedish national selection competition.
The youngest ever winner of the Eurovision Song contest was 13 year old Sandra Kim from Belgium in 1986. A natural result of this was that contestants started to get younger until a furore occured in 1989 with France's 11 year old entrant and Israel's 12 year old.
The only person to have won three Eurovision Song Contests is Ireland’s Johnny Logan: firstly as the singer of What’s Another Year? (1980); secondly as singer and composer of Hold Me Now (1987); and then as composer of Why Me? sung by Linda Martin (1992).
The On-Line Quiz
After seven weeks there is still a tie at the top and five points separate the top nine. Last week there were 30 maximum scores and 29 scores of nine.
Week eight is ready so good luck and remind anyone you know who tends to forget!.
The quiz runs from midday Sunday until 11am the following Sunday. Set yourself a reminder to do it every week and this league is all alphabetical.
There will be another randomly pre-picked number and that number is 121, but remember, to qualify for the prize you will need to have taken the quiz for all 12 weeks.
In 10 leagues there have been 8 different winners, can you make it into this elite group. It's here from 12.
If you are doing it on a phone or iPad make sure you have a wi-fi connection otherwise you may score zero as you know what some of these devices can be like.
You can check out the previous week's answers by hovering over the on-line quiz tab at the bottom and selecting the sub menu which says 'last week's answers'.
Here is a list of music related people who celebrate, or would have celebrated, their birthday this week. The ones no longer alive are shown in green.
Sunday:
Shorty Long (72), Paula (Paul &) (70), Joe Cocker (68), Cher (66), Warren Cann (Ultravox) (61), Jane Wiedlin (54), Susan & John Cowsill (Cowsills) (52), Nick Heywood (51), Brian Nash (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) (49) & Sean Conlon (5ive) (31)
Monday:
Fats Waller (107), Terry Lightfoot (77), Tony Sheridan (72), Ronald Isley (71), Vince Crane (Crazy World of Arthur Brown) (68), Steve Currie (T.Rex) (65), Leo Sayer (64), Mike Barson (Madness) (54), Tim Lever (Dead Or Alive) (52), Martin Blunt (Charlatans) (48), Notorious B.I.G. (40) & Gotye (32)
Tuesday:
Richard Wagner (199), Charles Aznavour (88), Kenny Ball (82), Don Estelle (79), Des Dyer (Jigsaw) (64), Bernie Taupin (62), Jerry Dammer (Specials) (58), Iva Davis (Icehouse) (57), Morrissey (53), Jilted John (53), Johnny Gill (46), Donnell Jones (39) & Su-Elise Nash (Mis-Teeq) (31)
Wednesday:
Artie Shaw (102), Humphrey Lyttelton (91), Rosemary Clooney (84), Fred Wedlock (70), General Johnson (Chairmen Of The Board) (69), Bill Hunt (Wizzard) (65), Dean Friedman (57), Thereza Bazaar (Dollar) (55), Baltimora (55), Simon Gilbert (Suede) (45), Phil Selway (Radiohead) (45), Maxwell (39) & Richard Jones (Stereophonics) (38)
Thursday:
Bob Dylan (71), Patti Labelle (68), Dave Peacock (Chas & Dave) (67), Helen Terry (56), Lenny Kravitz (48), Heavy D (45), Rich Robinson (Black Crowes) (43), TQ (36) & Billy Gilman (24)
Friday:
Kitty Kallen (90), Miles Davis (86), Norman Petty (85), Donnie Elbert (76), Dave Lee Travis (67), Klaus Meine (Scorpions) (63), Sugar Minott (56), Paul Weller (54), Rick Smith (Underworld) (53) & Lauryn Hill (37)
Saturday:
George Formby (108), Peggy Lee (92), Levon Helm (70), Ray Ennis (Swinging Blue Jeans) (70), Mick Ronson (66), Stevie Nicks (64), Berni Flint (60), Marian Gold (Alphaville) (54), Wayne Hussey (The Mission) (53) & Colin Vearncombe (50)
The following people died on this week in history:
Sunday:
Rudy Lewis (Drifters) (1964) & John Pertwee (1996)
Monday:
Vaughn Monroe (1973)
Tuesday:
Dermot O’Brien (2007)
Wednesday:
Will Sinnott (The Shamen) (1991)
Thursday:
Duke Ellington (1974), Gene Clark (Byrds) (1991), Desmond Dekker (2006), Steve New (Rich
Kids) (2010) & Paul Gray (Slipknot) (2010)
Friday:
Brian Pendleton (Pretty Things) (2001)
Saturday:
Jimmie Rodgers (1933) & Little Willie John (1968)