Leighton Buzzard man proud finalist in Radio 2's PopMaster quiz

Colin Pike, dubbed by presenter Ken Bruce as ‘the man who gets Leighton Buzzard buzzing’, scored an impressive 91 points during the Champions League final, but was beaten by Manchester competitor Drew Tosh.

The Radio 2 quiz tests players’ knowledge of pop music across the decades, and Colin certainly proved his worth, being one of the talented listeners to make it into the 2020 final out of 484 competitors.

Colin, whose Christmas Eve final was heard by an estimated audience of 10m, said: “PopMaster is the most listened to part of the programme in the whole of Western Europe - your heart rate definitely increases when you’re live on air.

“For the most part, I found it quite easy, but when you get to the Champions League the questions are very obscure!

“Well done to Drew; it was very well deserved.”

Colin has been an avid pop music fan since he was a nipper, and used to note down the announcements from the Radio 1 chart hits show every Sunday and, like many fans, illegally taped some songs!

His favourite period is 1965 - 1980, which saw iconic bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, as well as the ska, punk and new wave genres.

Colin, 56, said: “What I like about music is that you can hear a song and it takes you back to a certain time and place. I tend to listen to songs from the last century rather than this one; there’s a lot more emphasis on lyrics.”

Colin, encouraged by his wife, Yoke Ping, first entered PopMaster in 2017 and finished in third place.

He will be allowed to enter the daily pop quiz again in two years’ time, and hopes to be crowned champion.

Colin joked: “I’m trying hard not to let success go to my head. The 2019 winner was invited to open his local Greggs store, so anything is possible.

“It was incredible - after I went on I received hundreds of messages and emails from people: ‘Are you the same Colin Pike that was on PopMaster?’ You’ll be aghast to know how many people skive off work at 10.30am!”