Five on Friday: 5 band names and their origins

Have you ever wondered where your favourite music groups got their names?

I have.

Sometimes the names are pretty straightforward. For example, ABBA is made up of the initials of its four members, and Linkin Park is an alternate spelling for Lincoln Park, where the late Chester Bennington used to drive past on his way to the studio.

Sometimes the name evolves, but still has obvious links. Like Foster The People, which was formerly Foster and The People after lead singer Mark Foster.

For others, the reason for their name is not so immediately apparent. In this week's Five on Friday, we take a look at five of them:

MICHAEL LEARNS TO ROCK

Let’s start with this one since they're coming to Singapore soon – who’s Michael and why is he learning to rock?

None of the band members has the name Michael anyway.

As it turns out, “Michael” refers to the King of Pop himself: Michael Jackson.

Shortly after the band was formed in 1988, they made a demo tape to be sent to the Rock Grand Prix competition in their hometown of Aarhus, Denmark. They had to quickly come up with a name before they posted it, however, and singer Jascha Richter wrote the name Michael Learns To Rock on the sender line.

In a 2007 interview with the Taipei Times, guitarist Mikkel Lentz said Richter may have been inspired by Jackson. “It was kind of funny, because it was like, what would he sound like if he learned to rock? It was wordplay,” he said.

He also noted the similarity with English bands Johnny Hates Jazz and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

“Sure, I’ve regretted calling ourselves this many times, but we were successful so quickly we had to stick with it and over time I got used to it,” Richter said.

THE WHO

These days, if you happen to mention The Who to any music fan, they will know exactly who you are talking about. (As opposed to looking at you blankly and asking “What?”)

But did you know that this English rock band used to have a different name?

The Who was originally not called The Who.

But The Detours. 

However in February 1964, after mostly playing gigs at corporate events and weddings, they decided to change their name after they found out there was another group called Johnny Devlin and the Detours.

Guitarist and singer Pete Townshend then spent a night considering new names for the band – coming up with names themed on joke announcements such as “No One” and “The Group”.

The final names in contention were “The Hair” – preferred by Townshend – and “The Who”, which his housemate Richard Barnes liked because it “had a pop punch”.

The next morning, lead singer Roger Daltrey chose the latter, and the rest, as they say, is history.

QUEEN

One of the biggest names in music, the name Queen was suggested by singer Freddie Mercury, who was known for his flamboyant performance style.

Before Mercury joined, the band was called Smile and consisted of guitarist Brian May, bassist Tim Staffell and drummer Roger Taylor.

When Mercury suggested the name, the other members (now May, Taylor and new bassist John Deacon) were apprehensive, but he insisted. “It’s wonderful, dear, people will love it,” he had said.

In an interview, he shared that he chose the name because “it was very regal, obviously, and it sounds splendid”.

“It’s a strong name, very universal and immediate,” he added. To complement the name, Mercury also designed a crest, which consisted of a stylised letter “Q” surrounded by elements from the members’ zodiac signs.

Queen went on to become a household name and one of the best-selling acts of all time, so the name eventually proved to be a good choice, don't you think?

THE BEATLES

There are many theories going around about where the name the Beatles came about, but the most widely accepted one was told by John Lennon's first wife Cynthia.

According to her, the British invasion band came up with the name during a drunken brainstorming session.

Inspired by Buddy Holly's band The Crickets, former member Stuart Sutcliffe is said to have come up with the name The Beetles. At some point, the name morphed to include an "A" but it was never clear how the final The Beatles came about.

In an interview, John Lennon once said he "just thought of it". Another time, he said the name came about because of a pun.

“It was beat and beetles and when you said it, people thought of crawly things, and when you read it, it was beat music,” Lennon said. 

Before The Beatles, John Lennon was in a skiffle group called the Blackjacks, which they later changed to the Quarrymen after finding out that there was another local name with that name.

Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined this group in 1957 and 1958, respectively. Ringo Starr completed The Beatles in 1962. 

NIRVANA

If you hear the name Nirvana, what comes to mind is probably the religious concept of enlightenment - a peaceful state in which there is no suffering or desire.

Kind of an unorthodox choice for a grunge band, isn't it?

The band wasn't always named that - they initially went by names like Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew and Ted Ed Fred.

Eventually, they settled on Nirvana at the suggestion of frontman Kurt Cobain, who said he "wanted a name that was kind of beautiful and nice and pretty, instead of a mean, raunchy punk name".

Here's another fact: They actually got sued by a British psych-rock band of the same name over usage rights of the name, but eventually reached a settlement.