Let's Get Quizzical

Given that we ended up at this one on a whim we were a bit put off by the fact that the quizmaster put more energy into shouting off-mic expletives at the football on the flat screen above his head than asking the questions for a good round and a half. But we did alright and are competitive (and stubborn) enough to sit it through.

When the football was removed (finally) our host revealed himself to have good chat and a rather bizarre selection of questions, which tended to return to centre on certain themes, as if he’d played russian roulette with Wikipedia pages. The ones we noticed were monkeys, TV detectives, Ian Fleming and Les Miserables, though the last one on the list seemed to be a genuine fan thing. We certainly didn’t see our evening ending in him encouraging our table into a rendition of On My Own.

The Angel Inn runs its general knowledge quiz every Wednesday. It starts at 9pm and costs £1 per player. The nearest tube station is Archway, but you might want to get a bus up the hill from there.

Photo by Ewan Munro.

Let’s start with my favourite and work our way back, shall we? There are no aspects of this quiz night not to love, as long as you’re a serious fan of pop trivia. This is an evening for serious music geekery; those whose iTunes collection consists solely of Now That’s What I Call Music compilations will likely find themselves wondering how whoever dragged them there knows all those Morrissey album tracks. And no doubt a bit bored.

There is a prize, though I don’t remember what it is, because I have only ever wanted to win for the glory. But if your team name is judged to be the best (by the clap-o-meter) you’ll win a multipack of crisps. Rounds include Blockbusters, an often hand-drawn picture round and plenty of name-that-tune.

The Lexington’s a pub worthy of a visit anyway, as it offers four of the most desirable assets a venue can provide. Good food, reasonably priced booze, late licence, free jukebox. Even great gigs upstairs. Pound in, quiz starts at 8(ish), get there early for a table. Just leave the fancy sofas for our team please.

Rough Trade organise (sponsor? have something to do with) this music quiz at The Lexington. It’s on every Monday, starting at around 8pm. The nearest tube station is Angel, but it’s also near King’s Cross.

Photo borrowed from The Lexington’s website (ahem, thanks guys!)