5 European bands that (fortunately) changed their names
Antje Binder sb
January 23, 2018
A band's name is its trademark. And many superstar bands had early names which - luckily - no one can remember today. Have you ever heard of Pectoralz or The Quarrymen?
Image: picture-alliance/maxppp/Selva/Leemage
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5 European bands who fortunately changed their names
A band's name is its trademark. And many superstar bands had early names which - luckily - no one can remember today. Have you ever heard of Pectoralz or The Quarrymen?
Image: Getty Images/K. Winter
The Beatles
The band's name in their early years, The Quarrymen, had fit quite well as several band members went to Quarry Bank High School. The band was actually named after the school song, "The Song of the Quarry." In 1960, the band decided to change their name to fit their new image. They tried five different names before deciding on The Beatles.
Image: Getty Images
Radiohead
As with many bands, Radiohead also first formed while still at school. In the Abingdon Public School south of Oxford, they were allowed in the practice room only once a week, on Fridays. So the band called themselves "On a Friday." After their first record deal, however, they had to change their name, and from 1991 were known as Radiohead.
Image: picture-alliance/PA Wire/D. Jensen
ABBA
For their first joint TV appearance in 1970, the four Swedes were still a loose collective with the name "Festfolk" - or "party people." They released their first single together with their names on the record cover: Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid. As their success grew, this name was too cumbersome and they shortened it to ABBA - an acronym for their first names.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Pink Floyd
This band had many names before becoming Pink Floyd. Among others were The Abdabs, which means nervous anxiety, and The Tea Set. Yes, one of Europe's most famous rock bands was named after tea cups and saucers. Sure, they were British; but when the band finally changed their name to Pink Floyd in 1965, no one really complained.
Image: Pink Floyd Music Ltd
Coldplay
In terms of name selection, this band had some questionable taste. Known as Pectoralz after forming in 1996, and then as Starfish, the group led by singer Chris Martin fortunately changed their name in 1998 to Coldplay, after a book of poems by Philip Horky - which, as opposed to stomach muscles, is a better fit for a band known for its lyrical pop ballads.
Image: Getty Images/K. Winter
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In 1956, no one knew yet who John Lennon was. But he had high ambitions. At the tender age of 16, Lennon gave up studying guitar because it was too theoretical, and let his mother show him how to play the banjo instead. That same year, with only a few chords in his repertoire, Lennon founded the band The Quarrymen with friends who were musically even more inexperienced than him.
The name The Quarrymen was a tribute to the school song that celebrated hard working local laborers. They performed as a skiffle band, playing on washboards or bowls with thimbles, and appeared at music contests, school balls, or in jazz dive bars where they did Elvis Presley covers.
The first turning point for The Quarrymen was in 1957, when the band got to know a young musician after a concert, Paul McCartney. He was only 15 years old, but the son of a trumpeter and pianist was insanely musical. He impressed John Lennon. The two were on the same wavelength.
The Beatles still playing underground bars after ditching name The Quarrymen Image: APPLE CORPS LTD
Name changes come with success
When 15-year-old George Harrison, a friend of McCartney, joined the band in 1958, the fate of the group was sealed. But the better they got, the less they liked their name. In 1960 the "Quarrymen" became the "Beatles," a name which soon was known to the whole world.
Which other famous bands were named differently in their early years? You can find out in our High Five above.
