On this day in 1986 English singer/songwriter Peter Gabriel released his critically acclaimed 5th studio album So it took 10 months to complete and was well worth the wait. It quickly became a favourite amongst his fans this transformed Peter Gabriel from an art‑rock cult figure into a global pop star. The album itself sold over 6M copies worldwide and achieved Certified 5× Platinum in the US and 3× Platinum in the UK; topped charts across Europe and beyond. Four singles were released from the album the lead single Sledgehammer was released a month before the album it was a smash hit alongside his 1980 single Games Without Frontiers both of those peaked at No 4 in the UK charts but Sledgehammer was his only US NO 1 other singles followed but only achieved moderate success. The Sledgehammer video is iconic for a lot of reasons winning a record 9 MTV awards and regularly finishing in the top 10 of the best video polls.........I will leave the rest of you to figure out what the song is actually about !
C1: Champion Tim Rawlinson (2 wins, 155 points.)
C2: Challenger Gordon Innes.
DC: Susie Dent and Lucy Porter .
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S T C R I U A N T
R02: F R O P A E L N O
R03: 25, 50, 1, 3, 8, 9. Target: 184.
TTT: EUROBATS - "He can put a spanner in the works, but it used to be a clog"
R04: G L B I O G A N U
R05: S W R E I E X T O
R06: 75, 10, 10, 9, 8, 4. Target: 385.
R07: L D T P A E I S R
R08: H S U E R I G H O
R09: 50, 9, 2, 4, 5, 6. Target: 611.
TTT: GUNSTORE - "You won't find any bullets in the answer, but probably a lot of eggs"
R10: M J T I E O D S C
R11: N D R K E U A R S
R12: T R O L M I O E T
R13: C P S A O T P I M
R14: 100, 3, 5, 8, 3, 7. Target: 726.
R15: N O N E G R I P E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S T C R I U A N T
Tim: TRUANTS (7)
Gordon: TRUANTS (7)
DC: INSTRUCT (8) CURTAINS (8)
OT: NATURIST (8) SATURNIC (8) TACITURN (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)
Round 2: F R O P A E L N O
Tim: LOANER (6)
Gordon: PAROLE (6)
DC: FLOORPAN (8)
OT: FLAPERON (8)
Score: 13–13 (max 16)
Round 3: 25, 50, 1, 3, 8, 9. Target: 184.
C1: 180.
C2: 184. 3 × 50 + 25 + 8 + 1 (10)
Score: 13–23 (max 26)
Teatime teaser: EUROBATS -> SABOTEUR
Round 4: G L B I O G A N U
Tim: BULGING (7)
Gordon: BULGING (7)
OT: BUGLING (7) BULGOGI (7) GAOLING (7) GLOBING (7)
Score: 20–30 (max 33)
Round 5: S W R E I E X T O
Tim: TOWERS (6)
Gordon: SEXIER (6)
DC: WRITES (6)
OT: EXERTS (6) EXIEST (6) EXSERT (6) OXTERS (6) RESITE (6) RESTIO (6) RETIES (6) SEXTER (6) SOIREE (6) SORTIE (6) STEREO (6) TOWIES (6) TRIOSE (6) WESTER (6) WESTIE (6) WRIEST (6)
Score: 26–36 (max 39)
Round 6: 75, 10, 10, 9, 8, 4. Target: 385.
C1: 383.
C2: 384. 10 ÷ (10 − 8) × 75 + 9 (7)
RR: 385. (9 − 4) × 75 + 10 (10)
Score: 26–43 (max 49)
Round 7: L D T P A E I S R
Tim: TRAIPSE (7)
Gordon: TRIPLED (7)
DC: PILASTER (8) TRAIPSED (8) LARDIEST (8)
OT: DIPTERAL (8) PREDIALS (8)
Score: 33–50 (max 57)
Round 8: H S U E R I G H O
Tim: GUSHIER (7)
Gordon: GUSHIER (7)
DC: ROUGHIES (8)
OT: ROUGHISH (8)
Score: 40–57 (max 65)
Round 9: 50, 9, 2, 4, 5, 6. Target: 611.
C1: 610. 6 × 2 × 50 + 9 + 5 − 4 (7)
C2: 610. 6 × 2 × 50 + 9 + 5 − 4 (7)
RR: 611. (50 × 6 + 5 − 4) × 2 + 9 (10)
Score: 47–64 (max 75)
Teatime teaser: GUNSTORE -> STURGEON
Round 10: M J T I E O D S C
Tim: MEDICS (6)
Gordon: JOISTED (7)
DC: MEDICOS (7) DOMESTIC (8)
Score: 47–71 (max 83)
Round 11: N D R K E U A R S
Tim: DRUNKER (7)
Gordon: DARKENS (7)
DC: UNASKED (7) ERRANDS (7) ASUNDER (7)
OT: DANSEUR (7) DARNERS (7) DUNKERS (7) RANKERS (7) SNARKED (7)
Score: 54–78 (max 90)
Round 12: T R O L M I O E T
Tim: loomier
Gordon: mottlier
OT: MOTLIER (7) ROOTLET (7) TREMOLO (7) TRIOLET (7)
Score: 54–78 (max 97)
Round 13: C P S A O T P I M
Tim: COAST (5)
Gordon: MASCOT (6)
DC: IMPACTS (7) IMPASTO (7) COPITAS (7)
OT: APOMICTS (8)
Score: 54–84 (max 105)
Round 14: 100, 3, 5, 8, 3, 7. Target: 726.
C1: 726. (100 + 3) × 7 + 5 (10)
C2: 726. (100 + 3) × 7 + 5 (10)
Score: 64–94 (max 115)
Round 15: N O N E G R I P E
No one buzzes. The answer was REOPENING.
Final Score: 64–94 (max 125)