Band Name Origins Quiz

Origin	Band
Named after the first book of the Bible
A band member saw this standing on a sewing machine
Named after the state of perfect inner stillness and peace
The first names of two blues musicians, P. Anderson and F. Council
A play on Buddy Holly's 'Crickets'
Named after a Grammy-winning jazz song by Nino & April which was the guitarist's grandmother's favourite song
A combination of the last names of the drummer Mick and the bassist John
Named after a man-sized medieval torture device
Named after Bob Dylan's 'The Ballad of Frankie Lee and band name'
An acronym for the first names of each of the band members
Named after the band members' gym coach, Mr. Skinner, who punished the boys because of their long hair
Surname pseudonym of Paul McCartney
Inspired by the manager's kinky London boutique called SEX
The river that parts the world from the underworld in Greek mythology
Named after an American spy plane
Taken from a 1963 Italian horror movie starring Boris Karloff
Named after a 1963 paperback that reported on sexual paraphilia in the USA
The financial situation of this British band when it was founded
Named after two popular brands of rolling paper, Zig-Zag and Top
Named after a sex toy in the Willian Burroughs novel 'The Naked Lunch'

Origin	Band
The guitarist liked the description ''mischievous little elves' in a dictionary
Named after a lethal, acute disease and biological weapon, gained fame after the deadly leak in Sverdlovsk
Named after the Austrian Archduke whose assassination was a factor in the outbreak of First World War
Named after the last name of the lead singer, whose first name is Jon
According to his schoolteacher, William was very idle
Fusion between the bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns
The last name of the Dutch-born drummer and guitarist of this American band
Named after the town this Massachusetts' band is based
The band was founded on the 41st day of the summer
A synonym for Satan, 'The Red Lord'
Taken from a 1950 Muddy Waters blues song
Named after a French fashion magazine, translated 'fashion news dispatch'
The British guitarist of this American band felt like one
The term used by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II to describe UFOs
A female housemate of the singer was addicted to drugs
A play on Santa Monica's 'Lincoln Park'
Ed, the guitarist's younger brother made a picture of his other brother Jim shoving the Earth up his mouth
The first name of a famous 50's actress and the last name of an infamous convicted criminal and cultleader
Named after the German town where in 1988 a deadly airshow disaster took place
'Shirley Temple's Pussy' didn't work out for them, but they wanted to keep the initials

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Band Name Origins Quiz

by Massagraf

Created Nov 4, 2009 in Music
Featured Aug 2, 2011
Game Plays 48,006

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Archived comments: show them

	barnztormre:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 19:17 GMT	8 points
	I knew that Boris Karloff wasn't in the film "They Might Be Giants" but I tried it anyway.

	zeppelinoid:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 19:31 GMT	5 points
	The Ramones derived their name from a pseudonym used by Paul McCartney, the Travelling Wilburys would be a more accurate answer. U2 was the 1950s spy plane (Gary Powers etc), not a pun. I think the rest are correct. I inadvertently created an identically titled quiz a year or so ago but with few duplicates: http://www.sporcle.com/games/zeppelinoid/band_name_origins

	ClintT13:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 19:34 GMT	12 points
	"When this band decided to change its name from 'The New Yardbirds', The Who drummer Keith Moon said the idea would go over like a ... " Led Zeppelin.

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	monstro:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 19:40 GMT	2 points
	Yo La Tengo and Joy Division would be interesting additions to this.

	kidcanada:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 19:47 GMT	1 point
	My Morning Jacket - named after the frontman found a jacket with the initials "MMJ" stitched inside; Kasabian - named after one of Charles Manson's followers; Porno For Pyros - inspired by the LA Rodney King riots;

	kindler:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 20:06 GMT	2 points
	U2 was first and foremost named for the spy plane.

	Brizza:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 20:16 GMT	3 points
	This is a brilliant quiz, thank you for taking the time to make it. Definitely agree that Joy Division would be an excellent addition to the quiz.

	amwoods13:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 20:18 GMT	11 points
	U2 was named neither after the spy plane nor as a pun on "you too." They wanted a short name that was vague and could mean many different things. The band had a friend put together a list of potential names, of which U2 was on the list. The band members liked that suggestion the best because it could mean a variety of things without denoting anything specically and was strong graphically. So it really should be removed from this quiz.

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	bazmerelda:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 20:40 GMT	7 points
	Yeah, I tried Hanson for the surnames clue. I hate myself a little bit now. Could possibly be a valid alternative though. I'm sure there must be quite a few family bands who have just used their surname as the band name.

	Mutford:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 20:40 GMT	1 point
	Wow, I'm quite surprised that the STP clue was allowed.

	zeppelinoid:	Aug 2nd, 2011 at 20:41 GMT	2 points
	@amwoods13: A source would be appreciated. My understanding is that Bono has tried to rewrite history because it is not the best of band names (and he is full of s**t). It is illogical that you would "spell" the name in the same manner as the spy plane unless that is what you were trying to refer to. I suspect that it was originally an attempt to create an archaic aeronautical reference à la Led Zeppelin. Happy to be proved wrong.