Band Names
It took some research, regarding band names, but here we go:
Styx:
From the river Styx, of Greek mythology, which was the borderline between Purgatory and Hell. Originally, the Chicago quintet
was named The Trade Winds, but after discovering there was already a band with that name, they changed to Styx.
Foreigner:
At that time the group was in its original sextet of 3 Americans and 3 Brits;
originally, member Mick Jones had thought of naming the group Trigger, but
found out there was another group with that name--and that was when some
chap, noticing the 3 American/3 Brit lineup said something as a foreigner band
or something. So Foreigner they became.
Cheap Trick:
Whilst waiting for their steak at a eatery, the band members played an Ouija board
game at their table, and during the game, the result was CHEAP TRICK.
Nine Inch Nails:
According to Trent Reznor:
"I don't know if you've ever tried to think of band names, but usually you think you
have a great one and you look at it the next day and it's stupid. I had about 200 of those.
Nine Inch Nails lasted the two week test, looked great in print, and could be abbreviated
easily. It really doesn't have any literal meaning. It seemed kind of frightening. [In his best
he-man voice] Tough and manly!! It's a curse trying to come up with band names."
Go figure....
The Rolling Stones:
That came from some Muddy Waters tune, I believe.
Queen:
Given his lifestyle of his nature, the late frontman, Freddie Mercury thought the name
Queen sounded campy.
Wang Chung:
It's said to have come from "huang chung", a Chinese term for "perfect pitch."
The Beatles:
2 different accounts as to how the name came; one is from the late John Lennon's vision of a
man on a flaming pie saying, "From that day forward, you're Beatles with an a, and will you go to
Hamburg, to play mighty rock for the peasants?" That other account was, according to Paul Mc
Cartney, the name was inspired by Buddy Holly's Crickets, a take on beat music.
Chicago:
Almost self explanatory; they originally called themselves after The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA),
in homage to the company, but when the CTA heads protested, the group shortened their name as
simply Chicago in a compromise.
Bond:
The 4 woman string quartet were at home, trying to come up with a name, when they chanced to
(what else?) tune in on the telly, a James Bond film, resulting in Bond, which was a bond twixt the 2
Aussies Haylie and Tania, Welsh born Eos and half Brit and half Chinese Gay Yee.
The Culture Club:
Again, similar to Bond, a mix of different cultures, in reference to frontman George O' Dowd, better
known as Boy George, black Mikey Craig, white Roy Hay and Jewish Jon Moss.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood:
When the late Frank Sinatra went to Hollywood for his first acting debut, a news headline
came up with that said saying; it was spotted by the band members who in turn used it for their name.
Pink Floyd:
As almost everyone knows, that name was taken from two Georgia blues superstars, Pink Anderson
and The Floyd Council, according to the late Syd Barret--I mean, whoever heard of The Anderson Council?
R. E. M.:
Contrary to popular beliefs, R. E. M.'s name never stood for at all, the Rapid Eye Movement, insisting it didn't
stand for anything at all; they just opened up a dictionary at random and picked a term. But then, that name
was better than, say, Cans Of P***.
The Bee Gees:
No, it don't stand for, at all, The Brothers Gibb; that name came from two friends of the Gibbs,
whose initials were B. G.
Hootie & The Blowfish:
Member Darius Rucker came up with the name from two friends of his during his collage days.
Depeche Mode:
Depeche Mode is French for "Fast Fashion": it's also the name of a French fashion magazine,
which prompted the group to name themselves with that.
Duran Duran:
Barbarella lovers should know THAT one--it's the name of the villain of the same name in the
said Barbarella film. In fact, as was Bond's case, the group was at their telly seeing Barbarella,
and the rest is history. No wonder the group chose to do Electric Barbarella.
Toto:
Beyond any doubt, the group named themselves after Dorothy's dog from the Wizard Of Oz.
The Bay City Rollers:
In an effort to to come up with a name, one of the band mates stuck a pin in a map of the
USA--and it hit Bay City, Michigan.
The Animals:
It's said a lot of critics saw the group's sloppy appearence, thus they called them, "the animals."
The Kinks:
It's also said that a friend of frontman Ray Davies' once said, "Now you look like a Kink."
Jethro Tull:
The group named themselves after an 18th century British farm seed planter inventor.
Lynyrd Skynyrd:
Named after their gym teacher, Leonard Skinner.
Led Zeppelin:
That was first coined by the late Keith Moon of The Who, no less when he
commented on the band Jimmy Page had just formed as The New Yardbirds, saying
the group would fall over like a lead balloon.
The Doors:
It's believed that came from the Huxley book, The Doors Of Perception.
Aerosmith:
A take on the book title Arrowsmith.
The Stone Temple Pilots:
Inspired by the STP oil treatment logo.
Genesis:
From the first book in The Bible's Old Testament, naturally.
Procol Harum:
Latin for "beyond these things."
King Crimson:
That name was invented by member Pete Sinfield as a designation for The Devil.
The B-52's:
Named for the slang term for the beehive hairdos, worn by bandmates Cindy and Kate.
The Little River Band:
One of the bandmates spotted a sign somewhere in Australia that said The Little River Exit,
and used that for the band's name.
The Searchers:
Named after the John Wayne cinema of the same title.
The Sex Pistols:
The group's svengali, Malcolm Mc Laren named them after his shop, Sex. (UGH)
Devo:
Short for "devolution," as envisioned by frontman Mark Mothersbaugh.
Bananarama:
A cross bteween two of the vocal trio's favourite things: The Banana Splits telly show and
the Bryan Ferry album Pyjamarama.
Abba:
Though Abba's name was meant to refer to the four members-- A, Anni Frid, B, Benny, B again, Bjorn and A again, Althega (sorry for the spelling), the name itself originates even LONG before the group's inception; the name comes from The Bible's New Testament book of Mark, where the name, "abba" is Hebrew for "father;" for the record, the Hebrew word for "mother" is "amma."
Kiss:
It's said that the band named themselves as short for Knights In Service of Satan.
The Electric Light Orchestra:
Some say the "electric light" part comes from the rock and the "orchestra" from the classical--a fusion of rock and the classics with a rock band playing with a classical string section, however it's said that when frontman Jeff Lynne was asked why he came up with the name, he replied, "Well.......why not?"
Rammstein:
It's believed that was taken from the German town of Rammstein.
L7:
It's a term for square in which the L forms the left and bottom part and the 7 forms the right and upper part of the square.
Gorky Park:
The Russian band named themselves after the park of the same name in Moscow.
The Scorpions:
The German band named themselves that, because, in their own words, they "played music that stings."
Def Leppard:
Possibly a take on "deaf leopard," if not an homage to Led Zeppelin.
Level 42:
Named after something from the sci fi programme, The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy.
Three Dog Night:
That comes from an Austrailian term in which outback campers had their pet dogs lay with them as blankets to protect them from the cold nights, mostly up to three dogs, thus making it a "three dog night."
Steely Dan:
Inspired by a steel sex thing.
Steppenwolf:
Named after a book titled The Steppenwolf.
Fleetwood Mac:
Named after two of its members Mick Fleetwood and John Mc Vie.
Bread:
The group took that name from a passing bread truck.
Foghat:
That name somehow turned up in a game of Scrabble which the group was playing at the time.
The Doobie Brothers:
Whilst the band members were tossing names around or "doobieing" them, they chose the name "doobie." At least they didn't name themselves after the marijuana joint.
T' Pau:
Named for a character after the Star Trek story, Amok Time.
Supertramp:
Named after a book titled The Autobiography Of A Supertramp.
Boston:
No doubt named after their home city in Boston.
Kansas:
Likewise, named for their home state; their hometown was Topeka.
Air Supply:
Their name comes from the group's trademark of only doing ballads, because most artistes at the time, according to the band, were doing rockers, so doing ballads would be like "a breath of fresh air."
Van Halen:
Obviously named after founders and members Edward and Alex Van Halen.
The J. Geils Band:
Named after guitarist Jerome Geils, considering Peter Wolf and Seth Justman led the band.
.38 Special:
When the group was rehersing in a warehouse they purchased, people thought they were trying to rob the building, which in turn prompted the coppers into making a raid, armed with .38 Special handguns all aimed at the suprised band.
Dexys Midnight Runners & The Emerald Express:
Named after the drug Dexidrine.
Europe:
Again, obviously, that comes from the fact the group's native Sweden is--where else?--in Europe.
UB40:
Named after the British unemployment benefit form; the UB in UB40 stands for Unemployment Benefit.
E.U.:
Short for Experience Unlimited; they were famous for their track 'Da Butt, from Spike Lee's cinema film, School Daze.
Kraftwerk:
German for "power station."
10cc:
From the measurment term of 10 cubic centimeters when giving drugs and such.
Was (Not Was):
One of the bandmates had a child that did some play writing of such lines as "Blue (Not Blue)," the lot, which in turn inspired them to come up with Was (Not Was).
Deee-Lite:
That name came from the cinema film It's De Lovely.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers:
Named for the hard peanut butter based candy.
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Originally Posted by EIENNI
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