Where Dya Get That Name ? The Sequel

Way back in 2024, January to be exact, I published a blog that looked into the names of some of the world's most famous bands and where they originated from. Sort of a "band name etymology" sort of vibe. You can read that blog by following the link below, just to set the scene if you like, or just to see what I'm chattering on about!

Here's the link, just click the highlighted words, and as quick as a flash, you'll be transported back to 2024. H.G. Wells would be so proud!

In this sequel, I shall be doing the same as before, just short paragraphs detailing the bands origins and how they decided upon their name. I shall also feature an example of that artists finest musical release on a Spotify Playlist for your listening pleasure. Many of these groups may have an extensive back catalogue, but I will just include either their most famous track, or the one I like the best. I will be listening to the playlists as well, so I'm not going to include a song I don't like.

So without further procrastination, here the first offering...

Formed in 1958, after moving from their birthplace on the Isle of Man to Manchester, the three brothers, Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb began as The Rattlesnakes, a skiffle / rock and roll band. Rumour has it that on the way to an informal gig at a cinema, where hopefuls would lip sync to records, they broke the disc on the way and decided to just sing. The rest, as they say, is history.

The name has often been thought to refer to the Brothers Gibb, however this is incorrect.

I have chosen "Massachusetts" for the Spotify list.

The first comment on my last blog contained the phrase "I thought for sure, based on the title, you'd mention Led Zeppelin" well, Dimby, here they are.

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968, since then they have become one of the best-selling artists world-wide. They evolved from a previous band called The Yardbirds, and originally calling themselves The New Yardbirds, however, one of the former members of the original Yardbirds issued a "cease and desist" notice, stating that the name was only to be used on a Scandinavian tour.

There were many songs I could have chosen as an example of this band's work, Stairway to Heaven is an obvious choice. However, as good as that song is, I am going to choose "Immigrant Song" which was written after a successful gig in Reykjavik, Iceland.

This band was formed whilst the members, or at least some of them, were studying architecture at London polytechnic in 1962. They first played together as a group called Sigma 6, although with changes of members came changes of names. Several incarnations of the group became the Meggadeaths, the Abdabs, the Screaming Abdabs, Leonard's Lodgers, and the Spectrum Five, before settling for a while on the name Tea Set.

When attending a gig in 1965, they discovered another band with the same name, and Syd Barrett, the lead singer at the time, came up with Pink Floyd Sound on the spur of the moment. The name was taken from two of Syd's favourite blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Their manager suggested they drop the word "sound" from their name. They played their first gig as Pink Floyd in 1966 at the Roundhouse music venue in London, England.

The track I have chosen for the playlist is "Time" from the Dark Side of the Moon album. That's the one in the picture above.

Bob Geldof, yes, he of Band Aid fame, formed this band in Ireland in 1975 at the start of the punk rock era. Five of the original six members were from just outside Dublin, with the other musician from Co.Cavan.

They initially took the name of The Nightlife Thugs, but at the interval in the middle of their first gig, which was at Bolton St College of Technology in Dublin, Geldof rubbed out their name from the chalkboard at the side of the stage and wrote The Boomtown Rats. So effectively the band changed their name halfway through their first public performance.

The name comes from the autobiography of Woody Guthrie, Bound for Glory, which details a boyhood gang that Guthrie was a part of called....wait for it....The Boomtown Rats!

The song from their repertoire I shall add to the playlist is "Rat Trap"

The band was formed in 1962 when members of Stax Records own group of session musicians, the Mar-Keys, decided to release their own music under the name Booker T. and the MG's.

Booker T. was the frontman and founder member, also known by his full name of Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. He was named after his father, who in turn was named after African-American educator Booker T. Washington.

For many years, Stax Records insisted that MG stood for Memphis Group, but in 2007, in an interview Jones stated that they were in fact named after the car that their record producer, Chips Moman, drove.

Jones and another member of the band were originally part of another group also named after one of Chips' cars, The Triumphs. Stax later conceded the origin of the name was from the car, however they stated that they didn't admit to this through fear of lawsuits from the car manufacturer. In an early interview when asked about the name, Donald "Duck" Dunn, the bands bassist, stated the MG stood for "Musical Geniuses"!

I have chosen their most famous hit, the instrumental "Green Onions" for the playlist.

The band were formed in Oxfordshire, England in 1985 at a private boys school in Abingdon, calling themselves "On A Friday". The name came about because they rehearsed in the school music room "on a Friday", any other time the group were charged by the school for the use of the facilities. Following their first gig at the Jericho Tavern in Oxford, they were offered a record deal by Island Records, but turned it down to pursue their education at university.

Following a four year hiatus, where they still rehearsed but didn't play live, they regrouped, recorded a demo tape, and played at the Jericho Tavern once more. There they were seen by several record companies. A report in the British music press stated they had "astonishing intensity", but said their name was "terrible". They subsequently changed their name to Radiohead, which was taken from a track on the Talking Heads album True Stories stating that  the name "sums up all these things about receiving stuff ... It's about the way you take information in, the way you respond to the environment you're put in."

The only obvious track to send to the playlist is "Creep".

As you may have surmised, Alice Cooper isn't this performers real name. His mother named him Vincent Damon Furnier in 1948 in Detroit. Alice Cooper was also originally the band name, not the individual.

They started as The Earwigs at a school talent contest, dressed as The Beatles and singing parodies of their songs. After winning the show, they changed their name to The Spiders. By 1967, they were making regular trips to Los Angeles and another name change to Nazz. But on moving permanently to LA, they discovered that another band existed with the same name.

With their on stage performances becoming more elaborate, they decided on a name that appeared innocuous and the opposite to their on-stage persona. Legend has it that a session with a Ouija board revealed the name Alice Cooper, although in a radio interview with the BBC, Alice denied the story stating it was "an urban legend". The band thought the name Alice Cooper sounded like someone's aunt, a sweet old lady name, and fit perfectly as a contrast to their stage show. People started calling Furnier Alice, assuming that was the singers name. Soon after it was, when he changed his name legally to Alice Cooper.

On the playlist will be the track, "Poison"

The Sex Pistols evolved from a band known as the Strand, or sometimes the Swankers, that allegedly played on stolen instruments. The band regularly hung out at a clothing shop on the King's Road in Chelsea, London owned by Malcolm McLaren and Vivien Westwood, and called "Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die". The shop was a centre point of the emerging early punk rock scene in London. McLaren was asked to take over the management of the band at the time that the shop was renamed Sex.

Amongst the many tracks I could have chosen, I think the iconic "Pretty Vacant" fits the bill perfectly.

As you probably know by now, I can't write a blog without a summary at the end, well almost always anyway. I often spout some drivel about things completely unrelated to the blog itself, sometimes it even makes sense. Well, to me anyway, I don't know about you, dear reader. It's sort of a tradition now, so I have to just write as I think, whatever comes to mind at the time, no forethought or premeditated notes. Just me.

Anyway, I think I've rambled on enough already, but suffice to say, this sequel is just that, a sequel. As far as I know, it won't be a series, although since it took over two years for this blog to be released, I can't guarantee it. And obviously, if my public demands it, I may make a third part, but then, I may not. (Well done, toowise, just sit on the fence and don't commit to anything eh!)

That's it then, another list of bands and their names for your delight.

Oh, almost forgot, Spotify Playlist, just under 32 minutes for your perusal. Thank you for reading, and for listening. If you did, obviously. If you didn't then I won't hold it against you, but you're missing out. Here is a link to my Spotify Profile, there are many playlists on there, connected to my quizzes, and some other users quizzes, and to my blogs. Plus there's also some playlists I've made just for myself. You're more than welcome to follow me, and listen to any of my lists.

That's it! ("Finally!" I hear you scream!) See you next time!