Comments on: Weird Origins of 8 Popular Band Names

By: ???????? ??????

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By: Temac

Temac — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:41:05 +0000

“Dancing the Spandau Ballet” was WWII British soldiers slang for the dancing of soldiers mown down by the German Spandau machine gun (1200 rounds per minute) – the fastest machine gun of the time

By: tristan

tristan — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:56:07 +0000

Supposedly Led Zepplin got their name because when someone they knew heard they were staring band they said “That will go over like a lead balloon”. I could never verify this though

keith moon the drummer from the who said that

By: cardigan

cardigan — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:21:39 +0000

Re: Led Zep. True story. The person who gave them the name was none other than Keith Moon.

Re: The Eels. Essentially true, but the Eels are a full band, not just Mark Oliver Everett, even though he is the mastermind behind it.

By: dntnoisus

dntnoisus — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:07:48 +0000

In his song “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah” comedic recording artist Alan Sherman named one of the boys at camp “Leonard Skinner”. This was 10, maybe 15 years before the band took the name. I think this may be the origin of the band’s name.

By: The Manticore

The Manticore — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:56:33 +0000

Barbarella is amazing, Gogol Bordello is sucky. gypsy punk? wtf.

By: inkedkoi

inkedkoi — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:52:08 +0000

Gogol bordello, is the best band evar!
I’ve been listening to his lastest album for months now! never gets old!

By: sandburr

sandburr — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:59:04 +0000

ZZ Top got their name from from rolling papers. Zig Zag and Top.

By: Frau

Frau — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:49:33 +0000

Welcome to the Hützovina border
Come see what we got….

By: Hat

Hat — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:20:20 +0000

The Doors might have taken their name from Aldous Huxley’s “The Doors of Perception,” but Huxley took his title directly from William Blake.

Also, the band 10cc (best known for the song “I’m Not In Love”) got its name because that is 1 cc more than the average male ejaculation.

By: Ighuaran

Ighuaran — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:16:12 +0000

Pearl Jam claimed their name came from Vedder’s Aunt’s special something or other in a jar. In fact the name Pearl Jam is believed to simply mean a “circle jerk” which I recall the band mentioning in a more discrete zine back in the early 90′s.

Also Barbarella is one of the great science fiction movies.

Also also, I completely am onside with the Porno For Pyros/LA Riots theory – when that was going on it seemed like a no-brainer though the younger readers may not reflect on it that way. Great post.

By: Zakk?

Zakk? — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:26:57 +0000

Wlstone totally stole my comment..

By: Profkilljoy7z

Profkilljoy7z — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:00:45 +0000

Supposedly Led Zepplin got their name because when someone they knew heard they were staring band they said “That will go over like a lead balloon”. I could never verify this though.

By: Wlstone

Wlstone — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Doors of Perception* sorry

By: Wlstone

Wlstone — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:00:23 +0000

And, I think the Doors is probably a reference to Huxley’s Doors or perception, but I may be wrong.

By: Wlstone

Wlstone — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:59:25 +0000

START A-WEARIN-A PURPULH FOR-A-ME NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!

By: Paul D

Paul D — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:09:18 +0000

Blondie supposedly picked their name because that’s what truck drivers and construction workers would yell at Debbie Harry as she walked around NYC. I think they played as The Stilettos for a bit before that.

Mudhoney took their name from the Russ Meyer movie of the same title.

Spandau Ballet got there name from a term coined in reference to the frequent suicides of Nazis being held for trial at the Spandau prison. A hanged person tends to jerk around and “dance” if the death is caused by strangulation (and not a snap) they say.

Sound Garden is named after an acoustic sculpture display in the Seattle area.

Anybody able to read this should know where The Doors got their name. I think I’ve heard or read that story more than any other band name origin.

Post more of these, please.

By: Reechard

Reechard — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:36:17 +0000

Thank you, I’ve always wondered why they were called Gogol Bordello. I’m also very excited to see them in concert in 3 weeks!

Let’s see, I probably have a couple. The Eels is pretty much just one guy who used to go by ‘E’ (because of his last name) but it was impractical and too hard to find his stuff so he arbitrarily started putting his stuff under The Eels.

The band Flogging Molly is named after a bar in LA that they played in their early days (and still play now sometimes) called Molly Malone’s.

ZZ Top got there name from a place called the Pizza Stop. I’ll let you guys which letters were illuminated (not 100% sure on this one, but I like it).

Pennywise is of course named after Pennywise the Clown from IT

Radiohead is named after a Talking Heads song

Neutral Milk Hotel… You got me, this name makes no sense.

By: Rico

Rico — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:33:49 +0000

Ah…you’ve forgotten my favorite band, Steely Dan, whose name was taken from a William S. Burroughs novel, Naked Lunch. A “steely dan” was an, er, dildo.

By: Another Tim

Another Tim — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:02:02 +0000

I think the best band name is “Strawberry Alarm Clock”–and I would like to know how they came up with that name (and since it is a 60′s band, I imagine illicit drugs were involved).

In case you don’t know, their only hit was “Incense and Peppermint”–real trippy, man.

By: kam00n

kam00n — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:47:47 +0000

It’s Jane’s Addiction. No “y”.

By: Evilbeagle

Evilbeagle — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:28:38 +0000

I love anything that Perry Farrell has been involved in whether it’s Jane’s Addiction, Porno for Pyros, or his solo work.

The Tea Set just cracks me up.

Very interesting post.

By: Steeliecat

Steeliecat — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:23:18 +0000

Barbarella is awesome!!!

By: Snob

Snob — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:03:13 +0000

Barbarella is nor B nor Bad. It’s intentionally camp and hilarious, like 60′s Batman, it had high production values when it was made, and it stars Jane Fonda!!

By: James Schend

James Schend — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:38:50 +0000

Whoa whoa whoa, did you just call Barbarella “a really bad B-movie?”

By B-movie standards, Barbarella is KING of the B-movies. It’s the Citizen Kane of B-movies.

Feh.

By: Gle3nn

Gle3nn — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:17:18 +0000

Has Bartók been forgotten in America? Sad.
I used to have a t-shirt that said
Sex, Drugs and Béla Bartók

By: Gail Pink

Gail Pink — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:02:37 +0000

“Bad B Movie”? Oh please, get some taste. “Barbarella” is one of the greatest B movies of all time! And the soundtrack is fantastic! Speaking of bands that took their names from lines in moives, I’m surprised you didn’t put “Heaven Seventeen” (taken from “A Clockwork Orange”) on here.