Do you have Tony Flo and The Majestic Masters of Mayhem records in your collection?
Let's look back at the early days of classic bands.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Tony Flo and the Majestic Masters of Mayhem
That was the name Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak of the Original Chili Peppers, and drummer Jack Irons used when they played their first gig at Hollywood's Rhythm Lounge in February 1983. They were so well received that I was asked back and chose a less ridiculous name. names for the rest of their careers.
Depeche Mode – Sound composition
Returning to Basildon, Essex in 1977, Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher originally played together in a traditional guitar-based band called No Romance in China. The pair and Martin Gore then formed a similar band called Composition of Sound, with Clark on guitar. After listening to Liverpool synth-pop duo OMD, Clark decided to move into electronic music and was joined by singer Dave Gahan. That was the point at which they changed the name to Depeche Mode.
Blur – Seymour
When Albarn, Coxon, James, and Rountree first got together in 1988, they titled it Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour: An Introduction, after J.D. Salinger's collection of novellas . Food Records boss Andy Ross didn't like the name and suggested it be changed. The monosyllabic name “Blur” was consistent with shoegaze/noise bands of the time such as Ride, Rush, Curve and Loop.
Kaizer Chiefs – Parva
Ricky Wilson and the Leeds-based bard spent their previous lives as young up-and-comers Parva. Originally named Lanston Parva, he shortened his name and released the album 22 in 2003. However, the label closed and the band left the band, so they restarted the following year as Kaiser Chiefs.
Joy Division – Warsaw
The Manchester band, with legendary frontman Ian Curtis, were almost given the nickname Stiff Kitten by Buzzcocks frontman Pete Shelley. The band liked Warsaw and recorded their first very punkish EP under that title, after David Bowie's song “Warsaw'' from his album “Low''. However, this name caused confusion with the London band Warsaw His Park, so a rethink was required and a more graceful type of music was adopted.
radiohead – on friday
The band that would become Radiohead first began rehearsing in 1985 at a school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The rehearsal day gave rise to its name, and it wasn't until about six years later, with 'On A Friday', that the band first caught the attention of his EMI label. . When they signed a record deal, the label requested a name change. Radio Head was the title of a song by Talking Heads on their album True Stories.
Editor – Pilot
Tom Smith and his associates were known by various other titles during their early days in the Midlands. Their first show was a pilot in 2002, but they realized they had a more famous pilot who had a hit with the song “January” in 1975. Their first demo was titled “The Pride,” but once Ed Ray joined them on drums, they transformed. After signing with Kitchenware in 2004, the band settled on the name Editors.
U2 – Hype
Larry Mullen started a school band called Feedback in 1976 at Mount Temple Comprehensive in Dublin. The following year, they changed their name to The Hype, and it wasn't until The Edge's older brother left the band in 1976 that they became the four-piece U2 we know and love. 1978.
Oasis – The Rain
Worldwide Oasis originally started out as a band that took its name from the B-side of a Beatles paperback writer. Singer Chris Hutton was replaced by Liam Gallagher, but it was only after his brother Noel got involved that a name change was considered (the fact that Liverpool had a band called Reign didn't help either). There was no). Legend has it that the oasis came from a leisure center in Swindon that Noel visited during his Inspiration Carpet roadie.
Pearl Jam – Mookie Blaylock
Eddie Vedder's grunge giants were initially called Mookie Blaylock after the NBA basketball player, but Blaylock was not amused and threatened legal action. A quick name change was necessary, and the rest is history.
Led Zeppelin – New Yardbirds
When Jimmy Page wanted to continue his London-based R&B band The Yardbirds with a new line-up in 1968, he capitalized on the fame of his previous band and called himself “The New Yardbirds.'' It seemed natural to come forward. But contractual haggling left them searching for a new name, and inspiration struck when The Who's Keith Moon suggested that the entire company would collapse “like a lead balloon.” It came up.
The Beatles – The Quarry Men
The very first incarnation of the greatest band of all time took its name from Quarry Bank School in Allerton, Liverpool, where John Lennon attended. The lineup changed, eventually centering around the trio of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. They performed under various names, including Johnny and the Moondogs and the Silver Beatles, but became the regular Beatles in 1960 as an homage to Buddy Holly's Crickets.
Block Party – BMX Superhero
Russell Lysack and Kele Okereke decided to form a band at the 1999 Reading Festival and, with the help of Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong, created the BMX, Angel Range, Diet and Union superheroes. He performed under a number of lame names, including: They settled on Block Party in 2003, just before the release of their debut single, “She's Hearing Voices.”
The Cure – Malice
Robert Smith originally started out in Crawley's school band 'Obelisk' in the early 1970s, but began his full musical career in 1976 under the name Malice. The following year, they became known as Easy Cure after a song in their set, but with the advent of punk, Smith abandoned the first part of their name in favor of a more dynamic title.
Coldplay – Starfish
Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland formed a band at university in London in 1996 under the awful name The Pectorals. Guy Berryman joined the group the following year, and the group was playing shows in the capital under the unassuming name Starfish. With the addition of drummer Will Champion, their name was finally changed to Coldplay…and superstar status soon followed.
Pink Floyd – The Tea Set
Roger Waters, Rick Wright, and Nick Mason first performed as a six-piece group called Sigma Six in the early 1960s, later renamed The Megadeth, The Screaming Abdubs, Leonards Rogers, and The Spectrum Five. and became The Tea Set in 1964. They continued to perform under that name until the end of 1965, when the band changed to the Pink Floyd sound.
Nirvana – Pen Cap Chu
Kurt Cobain had been recording demo tapes under the charming name Fecal Matter, but when the time came to form a formal band with bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Aaron Burkhardt, Bliss, Skid… It went through names like Lowe, Ted Ed Fred, and Penn. cap chew. Thankfully, they chose the timeless name Nirvana for his first proper demo in January 1988.