That Lieutenant Pigeon Moment

I think I probably had more joy from one question in Thursday night’s quiz than I’ve had from any single question in the rugby club quiz since the end of my lost weekend, and I think it illustrates what I believe I shall now call ‘that Lieutenant Pigeon moment’. Allow me to explain.

The question went like this: - “Only one act has ever had a UK number 1 featuring a mother and son in the group. Which was the act?” As is my wont, I cudgelled my memory, but found, to my consternation that a) I have no recollection of ever being asked that question before, and b) I have no recollection of ever having heard or read that particular piece of information. All of which qualified it as a hit and hope question – that is one where you have to shove down any old answer in the hope that out of all the acts that have ever had a UK number 1 you just happen to pluck the right one out of thin air – fat chance.

I was fixated on the question though. First of all I tried to go through any ‘family’ type bands whom it might conceivably be. This didn’t work, since all the ones I could come up with who might conceivably have had a UK number 1were almost all of them siblings.

So then I started thinking about , how should I put it, older ladies on number 1 singles. Into my head popped up a memory of watching Top of the Pops in 1972. Now, you remember Lieutenant Pigeon? No? Honestly, you young people nowadays. Have a look at this video then, and get back to me when you’re done.

TOTP2 Lieutenant Pigeon Mouldy Old Dough

So that’s pretty much what I remembered – back to back pianos, one of which played by a very cheery looking lady of a certain age. Might she conceivably have been the mother of one of the other members of the group? It was a possibility, and certainly the most plausible answer on the menu. So I shoved it down, while rather bumptiously informing the rest of the team that if this one was right, then it would be hands down winner of the best answer of the night.

Well, it was right. The cheery lady, clearly having a whale of a time, was called Hilda Woodward, while the chap on the other piano was her son, Rob Woodward. Hilda was 58 at the time – which coincidentally is my age now. In the comments on the Youtube video her granddaughter commented that when she passed away her last words were ‘mouldy old dough’. I had thought that Lieutenant Pigeon were a one hit wonder, but I was wrong about that. They did have some other chart success, although nothing on the scale of “Mouldy Old Dough” though.

My dear old friend Allan Coombs, often mentioned in these witterings, used to say that the best type of question is the one where you fail to get the answer correct, then, when told the answer, you say that you really should have known that. Allan always knew what he was talking about and far be it from me to gainsay his opinion. However I do love question like this one where it seems like there is no way you are going to get the answer if you don’t already know it, yet somehow you do. Some flash of inspiration, some weird and convoluted chain of connection leads you to the correct answer. After all, while we all know that the capital of France is Paris, there’s not a great deal of pleasure in writing it down as the answer to a question because we jolly well should know it. Not an achievement. But when you get a question right which there’s no real reason you should get right, well I think that’s very pleasurable.Thanks Hilda and Rob.