Artists Named After Other Artists

“Where did you get your name from?” is the interview question all bands dread, but some answers are a little more interesting than others. Some bands are so inspired by their favourite artists that they not only try to emulate them (or even sing about them) but actually named themselves after them. Surprisingily, there’s quite a few who’ve done just that. Here are a few of the best:

The Killers

Everyone’s favourite indie rock & roll lovers (well maybe not everyone’s, but certainly mine) actually named themselves after a fictional band. The original ‘The Killers’ appeared in New Order’s music video for “Crystal”. If you watch that (below) and then follow it with “Somebody Told Me”, you’ll notice a similarity.

Kids In Glass Houses

No, I didn’t put The Killers on the list twice, this is actually the lovely Kids In Glass Houses channeling some Flowers-inspired ‘Day and Age’-era fashion. Despite, The Killers influencing their taste in dress sense they are not named after one of the fictional bands in their videos (they have The Genius Sex Poets on their drum kit in Mr Brightside – fact). Instead they got their moniker from the Glassjaw lyric “not throwing stones at you anymore”. You can watch the song that line is taken from below:

Panic! At The Disco

They may have one of the oddest names in music right now but its story of origin isn’t that unusual. It actually comes from The Smiths ‘Panic’. Quite dull really. I assume Psychadelic Horesh*t got their name in an equally non-interesting way. Oh, and before you ask there was never an exclamation in the song title.

Lady Gaga

Arguably, the most obvious is the fact Lady Gaga is named after her performance of the Queen song ‘Radio Gaga’ in the musical ‘We Will Rock You’. Despite her namesake, Gaga didn’t join other musicians who paid tribute to Freddie Mercury via video, but she did mark the occassion with a charitable tweet so we’ll let her off.

All Time Low

Another lyrically inspired namesakes here; this time stemming from a line from the New Found Glory songs “Head On Collision”. ‘All Time Low’ may not sound like the most positive choice, but they’ve certainly made sure their music is cheerier than their name. Remember – don’t judge a book by it’s cover title, guys.

The Ravonettes

There’s something rather ‘cutsey’ about this name’s origin. It was inspired by the Buddy Holly song ‘Rave On’ (see what they did there?). It’s a subtle reference but it’s a great one.

If you feel like you want to read more, there’s an extensive Wikipedia list (but remember, this is Wikipedia – don’t believe everything you read). If you feel like you’ve had enough, I apologise for boring you but hey, at least I helped you procrastinate for 5 more minutes.

What artists/songs do you think bands will be named after in the future? Can you imagine The Pokerfacettes or The California Gurls forming anytime soon?