Clue in today’s Observer Everyman crossword

[Simond]

“Rock group performing kind of play without hint of actors” (4,5)

😉

[YASHA]

And who could it be???

[Journey Man]

Something on a similar quiz theme,.. A couple or so years ago when we were all confined to endless online Zoom meetings and quizzes, my group of friends took turns at compiling them. My turn was greeted with, 'If it's a Pink Floyd quiz, I’m not interested'. So I set about compiling not (ahem) a PF quiz. I got away with it until about question nine.😂

1. What was the tag line used for the 1986 British Gas privatisation advertising campaign, which gave the company's share sale one of the highest profiles of any of the 1980s privatisations?

2. Which of Shakespeare's plays was written in around 1610 around the same period that theatres had reopened after a lengthy period of being closed due to the plague?

3. Over 140km long, what structure underwent a major refurbishment in 1975, which was completed in around 1980 and lasted for a further 10 years?

4. Which 1980 film, based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth of the same name, starred Christopher Walken who is hired to gain access to a large deposit of platinum in a fictional African country?

5. What was the name of the 1995 controversial third series of the BBC's House of Cards political drama trilogy starring Ian Richardson as Prime Minister Frances Urquhart, in which the opening scenes showed the funeral of Margaret Thatcher 18 years prior to her actual death?

6. The designer of the original K2 red telephone boxes, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was the architect of which iconic London building, several floors of which are due to be occupied in 2021 by Apple as their UK HQ?

7. In 1991 Frank Sinatra was granted permission by the chief archaeologist of which historic Italian city to perform what was his most intimate concert on his Diamond Jubilee World Tour?

8. Which TV series first broadcast in 1974 and featured a long list of celebrity guest presenters was recommissioned by ITV in 2008 with 'Now & Then' added to the original title and featured Mark Durden-Smith and Sarah Heaney as hosts?

9. What is the name given to the devices, of which there are over 380, situated throughout the House of Commons, House of Lords and other parliamentary offices to alert members that a vote is due to take place and requires them to be in the relevant chamber within eight minutes?

10. In one of the most influential political novels of the Twentieth century, written by Eric Arthur Blair under his better-known pseudonym, what were Napoleon, Minimus and Snowball who were the main antagonists in the novel?

[Simond]

Ha! You did well. I knew they’d all be ‘relevant’ but had to Google a couple

[David S CA]

That was a very clever "non-PF" quiz! I'm sure your friends must have echoed their groans to you once they realized where your questions were leading them.

Being American, I was able to get just questions 6, 7 and 10 without having to google them.

I don't believe I've ever heard of the particular Shakespeare play in question 2 ever being performed in festivals devoted to his plays over here.

Once I googled 9, I realized I had known the answer. But now I know a lot better how these devices actually function, along with understanding the MOP's voting process. So, thanks.

I tried many different search phrasings for question 3, but I could not get an answer from Google for that one. So, that one has me stumped for the moment.

EDIT: After 24 hours of sub-conscious brain activity, I thought to "reverse-engineer" a PF song or album title that involves a structure in response to question 3. Although I can't dredge up on the Web information regarding its refurbishment, I was able to find a structure in the UK that is approximately 140km in length. It's a relic once built by a certain Roman Emperor. These days, according to what information was available on the Web, it is now more of a walking path than the structure it was once was, as most of the materials of the original structure have since be taken and re-purposed over the centuries following the end of the Roman Empire.