Band Names with a Literary Origin

[Farin]

One of the most interesting topics in music trivia is "How did they get their name?"

And as a slight variation: Which bands (or artist's pseudonyms) do you know that were inspired by a book/author/fictional character/etc. ?

the example that made me think of this topic:

Belle & Sebastian's name was inspired by the French children's book Belle et Sébastien by Cécile Aubry

[RockyRaccoon]

The Doors got their name from Aldous Huxley's book "The Doors Of Perception," one of my favorite books.

And Huxley got it from William Blake's "Heaven And Hell" in which he says, "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite," one of my favorite books of poetry.

[bluesboy]

Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse

[bluesboy]

Jethro Tull was a writer on agriculture (1674- 1741).

Bob Dylan changed his name from Zimmerman to Dylan in honor of Dylan Thomas.

[Farin]

it could be that Aerosmith was inspired by the novel 'Arrowsmith' by Sinclair Lewis

and Supertramp got their name from 'The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp' by William Henry Davies

(that's also the name of one of their Best Of albums btw)

[Heimann47]

As I Lay Dying got their name from the novel of the same name by William Faulkner, which is actually taken from book 11 of The Odyssey, where it is used in a conversation between Odysseus and Agamemnon

[Farin]

^ oh, that might be the oldest source for a band name yet

They Might Be Giants got their name from a film, which in turn got its name from the exclamation Don Quixote made when he decided to fight against the windmills...

[Heimann47]

^ oh, that might be the oldest source for a band name yet

maybe, but it's an indirect source. the novel was published in 1930, and as far as The Odyssey, well, it was quite some time ago.

and one i forgot-

The Number Twelve Looks Like You, which is the title of a Twilight Zone Episode (thanks to ryansgirl for the reminder!)

[Farin]

yes, but still

[Heimann47]

i see what you're getting at though, not many bands with names that date back to the greek empire

[Farin]

yes, exactly

the only comparable date might be Genesis

[Heimann47]

true, but that one's a bit more obvious

[skybluesky]

The Number Twelve Looks Like You, which is the title of a Twilight Zone Episode (thanks to ryansgirl for the reminder!)

I gots to respect The Twilight Zone.

The Boo Radleys took their name from Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird

Pretty Girls Make Graves comes from a Smith's song, which apparently was taken from Jack Kerouac.

[Ombre Vivante]

Shakespeare's Sister also comes from a song by The Smiths

There's a German band called Faust

There's a crappy BritPop act called The Divine Comedy...

[cyberjudge]

Duran Duran is named after a character in the movie Barbarella.

T'Pau is named after a character in the Star Trek episode "Amok Time". (I just watched this episode again tonight.)

[skybluesky]

Steely Dan is named for a "device" in Naked Lunch.

[cyberjudge]

Edward Bear (of "Last Song" fame) is named after the actual name of Winnie the Pooh.

Cinderella is named after ... well, duh.

Spanky and Our Gang is named after the Little Rascals.

Styx got its name from the legendary river in Greek mythology.

[MindCrime]

Alice in Chains is a parody of a Lewis Carrol book called Alice in Wonderland, but in a sadomasochism sort of reference.

Velvet Underground got their name from a book about sadomasochism of the same name.

Coldplay got their name from a book of collected poems.

My Chemical Romance got their name from "Three Tales of Chemical Romance," a book written by Irvine Welsh.

[Heimann47]

Styx got its name from the legendary river in Greek mythology.

there's three now from another millenia

[blind-fitter]

UK post-punk alt-rock legends The Fall are named after a philosophical novel by French existentialist Albert Camus. Published in 1956, the novel's original (French) title is "La Chute".

[blind-fitter]

Early 80s synthpoppers from Sheffield, Yorkshire (UK), Heaven 17, whose classic "We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thing" still gets an occasional airing at Fitter Mansions, took their name from a fictional pop group mentioned in Anthony Burgess's novel, "A Clockwork Orange",.

[blind-fitter]

Interesting stuff about GENERATION X:

(In the UK), the term was first used in a 1964 study of British youth by Jane Deverson. Deverson was asked by Woman's Own magazine to interview teenagers of the time. The study revealed a generation of teenagers who "sleep together before they are married, were not taught to believe in God as 'much', dislike the Queen, and don't respect parents,"; these controversial findings meant that the piece was deemed unsuitable for the magazine. Deverson, in an attempt to save her research, worked with Hollywood correspondent Charles Hamblett to create a book about the study. Hamblett decided to name it Generation X.

The term was popularized by Canadian author Douglas Coupland’s 1991 novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, concerning young adults during the late 1980s. While Coupland's book helped to popularize the phrase “Generation X,†in a 1989 magazine article he erroneously attributed the term to Billy Idol. In fact, Idol had been a member of the punk band Generation X from 1976-1981, which was named after Deverson and Hamblett's 1965 sociology book—a copy of which was owned by Idol's mother.

[blind-fitter]

Post-punk neo-psychedelic popsters The Teardrop Explodes took their name from a panel in the Marvel Comics' Daredevil #77.

[Farin]

^ great examples, especially Generation X is really interesting

German indie group Blumfeld got their name from the (incomplete) Franz Kafka short story "Blumfeld, an elderly Bachelor"

[Crazy Don]

Uriah Heep is a character in Dickens' David Copperfield.