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Do you know the reasons behind these 30 artist and band names? - Many artists become iconic household names throughout their careers, but most fans don't have a clue where these names came from. Have a look at these 30 famous singers and bands and see where they drew their name inspiration from!
© Reuters/Getty Images/All Rights Reserved
0 / 31 Fotos
Lady Gaga - Stefani Germanotta was so inspired by the song 'Radio Ga Ga', by Queen, that she used it for her artist name.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
The Rolling Stones - Brian Jones, one of the band's founders who died aged 27, was inspired by the proverb 'A rolling stone gathers no moss' and the song 'Rollin' Stone', by Muddy Waters.
© Reuters
2 / 31 Fotos
Radiohead - Led by Thom Yorke, the band was inspired by the song 'Radio Head', by The Talking Heads.
© All Rights Reserved
3 / 31 Fotos
Bastille - Vocalist Dan Smith's birthday is the 14th July, which is Bastille Day in France.
© Getty Images
4 / 31 Fotos
Sting - When he used to play in a jazz band, singer Gordon Summers used to wear a black and yellow stripey shirt which looked like a bee. The nickname Sting came from there.
© Reuters
5 / 31 Fotos
Lorde - Diplo told the New Zealand singer Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor that her name wasn't catchy enough for the music world. The singer was fascinated with royalty and aristocracy, and choose "Lorde" spelt with an "e" to make it sound more feminine.
© Reuters
6 / 31 Fotos
The Beatles - The group loved the band Buddy Holly & the Crickets. Lennon liked the name 'cricket' for the double meaning it had in England and wanted to look for other insect names that could be used in the same way. He chose 'Beetles', changing the spelling to 'Beatles' in a play on words with beat music.
© All Rights Reserved
7 / 31 Fotos
The Weeknd - Musician Abel Tesfaye didn't like his name and had decided to leave home at the age of 17, at the weekend. He became The Weeknd, incorrectly spelt, because there was already a Canadian band called The Weekend.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
Bob Dylan - His real name is Robert Zimmerman. As he was a big admirer of the poet Dylan Thomas, he changed his name to Bob Dylan.
© Reuters
9 / 31 Fotos
Elton John - His name is a mixture of two jazz and blues musicians, Elton Dean and John Baldry. His real name is Reginald Dwight.
© Reuters
10 / 31 Fotos
Led Zeppelin - The drummer from The Who, Keith Moon, said that the bad, which was called The New Yardbirds at the time, was heavy like lead and floated like a Zeppelin. From here came 'Led Zeppelin'.
© Reuters
11 / 31 Fotos
Lana Del Rey - The singer Lizzy Grant revealed that she often went to Miami and spoke a lot of Spanish with Cuban friends. Lana Del Rey sounded like a glamorous, seaside name.
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
Coldplay - It could have been worse...'Starfish' was on the final list of names. There was another group called Coldplay who were friends of theirs, who agreed to let them have the name. Chris Martin and the band got the title from a collection of children's poems called 'Child’s Reflections: Cold Play'.
© Reuters
13 / 31 Fotos
Alice In Chains - The musicians made a bizarre pun from the book 'Alice in Wonderland'. The original idea was that the rock band would play Slayer covers wearing dresses, but this never happened. However, the name stuck!
© Reuters
14 / 31 Fotos
Chemical Brothers - They were originally called 'The Dust Brothers' in tribute to the American producers, who were not happy with this and got them to change the name. They chose Chemical Brothers in reference to 'Chemical Beat', a track by the duo.
© All Rights Reserved
15 / 31 Fotos
Foo Fighters - The expression came from the Second World War, meaning UFOs. They say it all began when a group of pilots tried to shoot down possible UFOs.
© Reuters
16 / 31 Fotos
Foster The People - Singer Mark Foster said that the band started doing shows for charity and fundraising events, and ended up being called 'Foster the People'. The name utilizes both his surname and in the sense of providing encouragement.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
Green Day - 'A green day' is a day where you lay aside the things you have to do and smoke weed. It is also said that the name was taken from a sign written in the film 'Soylent Green' .
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
Iron Maiden - Taken from the film 'The Man in The Iron Mask', an 'iron maiden' is a torture weapon. It is also one of the nicknames give to former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
© All Rights Reserved
19 / 31 Fotos
Linkin Park - The name was chosen as Chester Bennington often used to pass Lincoln Park, in Santa Monica (which was a neighborhood full of homeless people) .
© Reuters
20 / 31 Fotos
Deep Purple - Ritchie Blackmore's grandma, loved the song 'Deep Purple' by Bing Crosby.
© All Rights Reserved
21 / 31 Fotos
Nirvana - The group, led by Kurt Cobain, was inspired by Hinduism, with Nirvana being the highest state that your spirit can reach.
© All Rights Reserved
22 / 31 Fotos
Phoenix - The French indie rock band was inspired by the song 'Phoenix', from Daft Punk's album 'Homework'.
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
Queens of The Stone Age - Singer Josh Homme thought that rock should be heavy enough for men and soft enough for women, so that everyone would be happy. He didn't want to use 'kings' because it would sound too 'macho'.
© All Rights Reserved
24 / 31 Fotos
System of a Down - The name comes from a poem written by guitarist, Daron, called 'Victims Of A Down'. System was chosen as it was a stronger word.
© Getty Images
25 / 31 Fotos
The Clash - The British trio got their name from a newspaper headline 'A Clash With Police'. Bassist Paul Simonon came up with the idea and they all agreed.
© All Rights Reserved
26 / 31 Fotos
Two Door Cinema Club - There's a place called Tudor Cinema in the band's home town, which guitarist Sam Halliday had once ended up pronouncing this as 'Two Door Cinema'. He was teased, but the name stuck.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
U2 - There are two sources of inspiration for the name. U2 was a type of spy plane used by the American government, but Bono also once said that the name came from the idea of interaction with their public, 'You Too'.
© Reuters
28 / 31 Fotos
Vampire Weekend - Singer Ezra Koenig wanted to pay tribute to the vampire film 'The Lost Boys'.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
Weezer - Singer and guitarist Rivers Cuomo was teased when at school, for his asthmatic breathing noises. His nickname was Weezer.
© Getty Images
30 / 31 Fotos
Do you know the reasons behind these 30 artist and band names? - Many artists become iconic household names throughout their careers, but most fans don't have a clue where these names came from. Have a look at these 30 famous singers and bands and see where they drew their name inspiration from!
© Reuters/Getty Images/All Rights Reserved
0 / 31 Fotos
Lady Gaga - Stefani Germanotta was so inspired by the song 'Radio Ga Ga', by Queen, that she used it for her artist name.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
The Rolling Stones - Brian Jones, one of the band's founders who died aged 27, was inspired by the proverb 'A rolling stone gathers no moss' and the song 'Rollin' Stone', by Muddy Waters.
© Reuters
2 / 31 Fotos
Radiohead - Led by Thom Yorke, the band was inspired by the song 'Radio Head', by The Talking Heads.
© All Rights Reserved
3 / 31 Fotos
Bastille - Vocalist Dan Smith's birthday is the 14th July, which is Bastille Day in France.
© Getty Images
4 / 31 Fotos
Sting - When he used to play in a jazz band, singer Gordon Summers used to wear a black and yellow stripey shirt which looked like a bee. The nickname Sting came from there.
© Reuters
5 / 31 Fotos
Lorde - Diplo told the New Zealand singer Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor that her name wasn't catchy enough for the music world. The singer was fascinated with royalty and aristocracy, and choose "Lorde" spelt with an "e" to make it sound more feminine.
© Reuters
6 / 31 Fotos
The Beatles - The group loved the band Buddy Holly & the Crickets. Lennon liked the name 'cricket' for the double meaning it had in England and wanted to look for other insect names that could be used in the same way. He chose 'Beetles', changing the spelling to 'Beatles' in a play on words with beat music.
© All Rights Reserved
7 / 31 Fotos
The Weeknd - Musician Abel Tesfaye didn't like his name and had decided to leave home at the age of 17, at the weekend. He became The Weeknd, incorrectly spelt, because there was already a Canadian band called The Weekend.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
Bob Dylan - His real name is Robert Zimmerman. As he was a big admirer of the poet Dylan Thomas, he changed his name to Bob Dylan.
© Reuters
9 / 31 Fotos
Elton John - His name is a mixture of two jazz and blues musicians, Elton Dean and John Baldry. His real name is Reginald Dwight.
© Reuters
10 / 31 Fotos
Led Zeppelin - The drummer from The Who, Keith Moon, said that the bad, which was called The New Yardbirds at the time, was heavy like lead and floated like a Zeppelin. From here came 'Led Zeppelin'.
© Reuters
11 / 31 Fotos
Lana Del Rey - The singer Lizzy Grant revealed that she often went to Miami and spoke a lot of Spanish with Cuban friends. Lana Del Rey sounded like a glamorous, seaside name.
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
Coldplay - It could have been worse...'Starfish' was on the final list of names. There was another group called Coldplay who were friends of theirs, who agreed to let them have the name. Chris Martin and the band got the title from a collection of children's poems called 'Child’s Reflections: Cold Play'.
© Reuters
13 / 31 Fotos
Alice In Chains - The musicians made a bizarre pun from the book 'Alice in Wonderland'. The original idea was that the rock band would play Slayer covers wearing dresses, but this never happened. However, the name stuck!
© Reuters
14 / 31 Fotos
Chemical Brothers - They were originally called 'The Dust Brothers' in tribute to the American producers, who were not happy with this and got them to change the name. They chose Chemical Brothers in reference to 'Chemical Beat', a track by the duo.
© All Rights Reserved
15 / 31 Fotos
Foo Fighters - The expression came from the Second World War, meaning UFOs. They say it all began when a group of pilots tried to shoot down possible UFOs.
© Reuters
16 / 31 Fotos
Foster The People - Singer Mark Foster said that the band started doing shows for charity and fundraising events, and ended up being called 'Foster the People'. The name utilizes both his surname and in the sense of providing encouragement.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
Green Day - 'A green day' is a day where you lay aside the things you have to do and smoke weed. It is also said that the name was taken from a sign written in the film 'Soylent Green' .
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
Iron Maiden - Taken from the film 'The Man in The Iron Mask', an 'iron maiden' is a torture weapon. It is also one of the nicknames give to former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
© All Rights Reserved
19 / 31 Fotos
Linkin Park - The name was chosen as Chester Bennington often used to pass Lincoln Park, in Santa Monica (which was a neighborhood full of homeless people) .
© Reuters
20 / 31 Fotos
Deep Purple - Ritchie Blackmore's grandma, loved the song 'Deep Purple' by Bing Crosby.
© All Rights Reserved
21 / 31 Fotos
Nirvana - The group, led by Kurt Cobain, was inspired by Hinduism, with Nirvana being the highest state that your spirit can reach.
© All Rights Reserved
22 / 31 Fotos
Phoenix - The French indie rock band was inspired by the song 'Phoenix', from Daft Punk's album 'Homework'.
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
Queens of The Stone Age - Singer Josh Homme thought that rock should be heavy enough for men and soft enough for women, so that everyone would be happy. He didn't want to use 'kings' because it would sound too 'macho'.
© All Rights Reserved
24 / 31 Fotos
System of a Down - The name comes from a poem written by guitarist, Daron, called 'Victims Of A Down'. System was chosen as it was a stronger word.
© Getty Images
25 / 31 Fotos
The Clash - The British trio got their name from a newspaper headline 'A Clash With Police'. Bassist Paul Simonon came up with the idea and they all agreed.
© All Rights Reserved
26 / 31 Fotos
Two Door Cinema Club - There's a place called Tudor Cinema in the band's home town, which guitarist Sam Halliday had once ended up pronouncing this as 'Two Door Cinema'. He was teased, but the name stuck.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
U2 - There are two sources of inspiration for the name. U2 was a type of spy plane used by the American government, but Bono also once said that the name came from the idea of interaction with their public, 'You Too'.
© Reuters
28 / 31 Fotos
Vampire Weekend - Singer Ezra Koenig wanted to pay tribute to the vampire film 'The Lost Boys'.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
Weezer - Singer and guitarist Rivers Cuomo was teased when at school, for his asthmatic breathing noises. His nickname was Weezer.
© Getty Images
30 / 31 Fotos
Do you know the reasons behind these 30 artist and band names?
The stories behind these musician's names are sometimes unusual, but fascinating!
© Reuters/Getty Images/All Rights Reserved
We can rattle off lists of our famous artists and singers without a thought, but do we know where their artist names actually came from?
When it comes to choosing a name in the music industry, there's a lot of creativity involved, with inspiration taken from poems, idols, historical facts and figures...even animals and insects.
Why was 'Coldplay' chosen instead of 'Starfish'? Why did Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor choose 'Lorde'?
Have a look at these 30 famous singers and bands to see where their names came from!
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