Here's a fun topic.  Tell me the name of a band and how they got their name?

UB40 - It stands for Unemployment Benefit Form 40.  It was an attendance card issued to people in the UK who were claiming unemployment benefits.  Their debut album Signing Off in 1980 was a picture of said form

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Signing_Off.jpg

Heaven 17
The English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), and Glenn Gregory (vocals). Took their new name from a fictional pop band mentioned in Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel, A Clockwork Orange (where The Heaven Seventeen are at number 4 in the charts with "Inside"), Heaven 17 was intended to be just one of the musical projects for British Electric Foundation.

The Doors took their name from Aldous Huxley's classic book "The Doors of Perception" in which he discusses his  his psychedelic experiences under the influence of mescaline. However, the book itself is named after a line in William Blake's visionary book "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell"; " "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: infinite". So, there are several layers of things going on in regard to the name. Bands were so deep in those days!

The Staccatos were a band from Ottawa in the 60s who had great success only in Canada.  In an attempt to better market themselves outside of Canada, they changed their name to match the title of a song that lead singer Les Emmerson had written about the band that defined essentially what they were:  A Five Man Electrical Band

When Buddy Holly's band were practicing in a garage, there was a cricket who was singing away-so they became Buddy Holly & the Crickets.

The Beatles thought about the Crickets when they came up with their name but rather than being named after a bug, they changed the spelling because they were a "Beat band."


Cat

Steely Dan

Fagen and Becker named the band after a  dildo mentioned in the William S. Burroughs novel Naked Lunch. "Steely Dan III from Yokohama" is the name of an oversized steam-powered strap-on dildo mentioned in William S. Burroughs's psychotropic novel Naked Lunch.

Steely Dan

Fagen and Becker named the band after a  dildo mentioned in the William S. Burroughs novel Naked Lunch. "Steely Dan III from Yokohama" is the name of an oversized steam-powered strap-on dildo mentioned in William S. Burroughs's psychotropic novel Naked Lunch.


1960s band The Soft Machine took their name from the Burroughs novel of the same name. "The soft machine" being Burroughs's name for the human body.

After signing for Decca Records in August 1965, Mark Feld changed his name to Marc Bolan via Marc Bowland. There are several accounts of why Bolan was chosen, including that it was derived from James Bolam, that it was a contraction of Bob Dylan, and – according to Bolan himself – that Decca Records chose the name.

After signing for Decca Records in August 1965, Mark Field changed his name to Marc Bolan via Marc Bowland. There are several accounts of why Bolan was chosen, including that it was derived from James Bolam, that it was a contraction of Bob Dylan, and – according to Bolan himself – that Decca Records chose the name.


Marc Bolan's real name was Mark Feld. For a while he went by the name Toby Tyler as well. He always said the record company changed it, but it is well known that Bolan was often given to telling untruths.  His biographers and myself all believe it was the contraction of Bob Dylan.

Jefferson Airplane got their name from a nickname that had ben bestowed on guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, due to his love of  the music of old bluesmen. A friend called Jorma "Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane" (based on the names of old bluesmen like Blind Lemon Jefferson). When the fledgling band still didn't have a name as their first gig loomed near, they just took part of Jorma's nickname. Simple as that.

Joel Zimmerman, a world famous DJ from Canada who performs under the name deadmau5, found a mouse that had crawled inside his computer and died

Joel Zimmerman, a world famous DJ from Canada who performs under the name deadmau5, found a mouse that had crawled inside his computer and died

Ouch! :o

Any reason why he chose to use a number 5 instead of the letter 'S'? ;) (I mean, many people might look at that and read it as "Deadmau Five" lol.)

Ouch! :o

Any reason why he chose to use a number 5 instead of the letter 'S'? ;) (I mean, many people might look at that and read it as "Deadmau Five" lol.)


A hip and unusual way to spell Dead Mouse.  There were lots of people who thought it was deadmau five when he was starting out, but when he became known around the world, that quickly changed lol

The band Pink Floyd took its name from the given names of two blues musicians whose Piedmont blues records that guitarist Syd Barrett had in his collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

In turn, the first of those musicians, Pink Anderson, was a guy whose given first name was Pinkney. The other one, Floyd Council... well, that was his given name.

A hip and unusual way to spell Dead Mouse.  There were lots of people who thought it was deadmau five when he was starting out, but when he became known around the world, that quickly changed lol

I thought so. ;)

I'm all for creative spellings and such, but sometimes using a number that looks like a letter it's intended to represent, does make it a little misleading at times.

I've seen it in submissions for Amiright. (For the past 15 years I've been an editor at that site; I review incoming entries for various sections and discard ones that aren't appropriate.)

Icehouse were a rock band from Australia.  They had previously been known as Flowers on their 1980 debut album, but were forced to change their name due to legal restrictions.  Icehouse was the title of their debut album

Icehouse were a rock band from Australia.  They had previously been known as Flowers on their 1980 debut album, but were forced to change their name due to legal restrictions.  Icehouse was the title of their debut album



The term apparently refers to an old, cold flat that lead vocalist Iva Davies lived in, and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people (according to what I found on Wiki).

Joel Zimmerman, a world famous DJ from Canada who performs under the name deadmau5, found a mouse that had crawled inside his computer and died

How did it get in there?  :o

How did it get in there?  :o


He must have gnawed his way in lol

Joel Zimmerman, a world famous DJ from Canada who performs under the name deadmau5, found a mouse that had crawled inside his computer and died

How did it get in there?  :o
I have a mouse connected to my computer.  ;D

Joel Zimmerman, a world famous DJ from Canada who performs under the name deadmau5, found a mouse that had crawled inside his computer and died

I have a mouse connected to my computer.  ;D

You know, now that I think about it, it could have been a computer mouse that just stopped working altogether! (IOW, the pointer was just stuck there on the screen.)

Simply Red: The band first went under a number of names like "World Service", "Red And The Dancing Dead", "Just Red" (after lead singer Mick Hucknall's nickname "Red", denoting his hair colour) but then Hucknall decided it would sound better with the addition of the adverb 'Simply' in front.

The British band Duran Duran took their name from an antagonist in the 1968 sci fi film Barbarella. (The character's name was spelled Dr. Durand-Durand.)

The British band Duran Duran took their name from an antagonist in the 1968 sci fi film Barbarella. (The character's name was spelled Dr. Durand-Durand.)


The actor, Milo O'Shea who played Durand Durand, once again played that role in the Duran Duran 1984 concert film 'Arena (An Absurd Notion)'

The actor, Milo O'Shea who played Durand Durand, once again played that role in the Duran Duran 1984 concert film 'Arena (An Absurd Notion)'

What a nice way to pay tribute to his character's namesake band! O0

Right Said Fred, a band universally known for their 1991 hit I'm Too Sexy, took their name from the 1962 song of the same name by British actor/singer Bernard Cribbins.  In case you are wondering, Right Said Fred never had a song called Bernard Cribbins lol

Cribbins is perhaps best known in North America as the cab driver in the 1967 film Casino Royale, as narrator of the 70s children's program Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings and as Wilfred Mott in the 2007 revival of Doctor Who