Original names of the Beach Boys and other iconic groups might surprise you

So many of our top groups, like the Beach Boys, started out under quite different names originally. Sometimes there were two or three attempts to clinch the right title for the group. Quite a few of the original names are well known, others much less so.

It can get complicated at times though. Often some lineup changes happen around the same time. Members of the group leave, perhaps new ones arrive, and the group sets off in a slightly different direction, but under a new name.

Take Queen for example, it’s often quoted that they used to be known as Smile. Well, yes, sort of, Roger Taylor and Brian May were two of the four group members in Smile: no Roger Deacon, no Freddie Mercury. The question is, does Smile really count as an early name for Queen if only half the group were in it? That's a no in my book, especially so when the legendary Mercury was one of those missing. So that's a rule in use for the original names which follow here, 50% of the group in place as a minimum. 

What were the original names of some iconic bands?

The original name for The Beach Boys

Way back in the 1960s what we might have called a boy band got together and decided on a particular look for themselves. They wanted to look like the young surfers of the day. So they wore a blue and black plaid pattern Pendleton shirt, over a T-shirt, just like the boarders heading for the beach. 

They took the name of The Pendletones for a while before changing it to become The Beach Boys. The shirts and that surf’s up look stayed on. Have a look at the covers for their early albums Surfin’ Safari or Surfer Girl and the shirts are very much in place.

Original names for three more iconic groups

The Beatles

A well-known early name was The Quarrymen. Three of the Fab Four, John, Paul, and George played under that name, just Ringo was missing. Those three also worked under the lesser-known names of Johnny And The Moondogs and Japage 3. It was John, who with his love of Buddy Holly and The Crickets picked out Sliver Beatles from a list involving many other insect variations. That then became the Beatles shortly after.

Coldplay

Again three of this group were involved when they were known as Big Fat Noises. Drummer Will Champion joined to complete the foursome and they had their first gig in January 1998, but quickly decided to go under the name Starfish. With a little more time after the gig to reflect on names they decided on Coldplay. It's hard to imagine a Big Fat Noise getting announced on the Glastonbury Festival Pyramid Stage. 

INXS

The core of this Australian group when initially formed was three brothers,  Andrew, Jon, and Tim Farriss. They also had singers Michael Hutchence, Garry Beers, and Kirk Pengilly. So the startup name of The Farriss Brothers makes a lot of sense. 

After a break for school/college final year they reformed as the less obviously named The Vegetables. A lucky break saw them supporting Midnight Oil and other local bands on a run of gigs. It was a member of the crew from Midnight Oils who suggested their new name INXS. He’d been inspired by a UK band and a jam maker, XTC, and IXL, to come up with the letters and phonetic play on In Excess.

Top groups with their original names

Joy Division

The new wave pioneers played their first gig as Warsaw in a reference to David Bowie’s instrumental “Warszawa” from his Low album. They had been gigging for several months before deciding there was a clash with a punk band Warsaw Pakt. They picked the name Joy Division using that of a wing at a Nazi concentration camp in a novel, House Of Dolls. Joy Division played their first gig under the new name in January 1978 but kept Warsaw on that billing to ensure fans knew who they were.  

Nirvana

Kurt Cobain had a few near misses with names for the group he formed. Starting out as The Sellouts, they progressed through Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss, and Ted Ed Fred as names. Eventually settling on Nirvana which Cobain liked for being beautiful, nice, and pretty. For their first gig as Nirvana in 1988 they used all their previous names on the posters.

Led Zeppelin

Formed from The Yardbirds, whom Jimmy Page had been playing with. He was joined in a new variation, The New Yardbirds, by John Bonham, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones. The band was all there. 

A dispute arose with previous Yardbirds member Chris Dreja over naming, legal action allowed New Yardbirds only for a Scandinavian tour and a fresh name had to be found. Page’s memory went back to a comment made a couple of years before. Keith Moon and John Entwistle of The Who had been recording a track with him and Jeff Beck. The Who guys reckoned Beck and Page as a supergroup that would be an issue, ‘It’d go down like a lead balloon’ was the phrase that stuck in Page’s mind. That developed into Led Zeppelin and the new name was taken on. 

Where did Black Sabbath get their early name from?

Black Sabbath

There is an unusual name in this group’s history. Why doesn't that surprise with Ozzy Osbourne involved?  In an early stage they were called The Polka Tulk Blues Band, and at times dropped the Blues and just used Polka Tulk. Some stories suggest those came from a brand of talcum powder used by Osbourne’s mother. Others suggest it’s from a local clothing shop name. 

Soon after they became Earth, but much to Osbourne’s relief that had to be changed. He wasn’t keen on it and wasn't unhappy when they had to change because of another band with the same name. A cinema local to rehearsals was showing a horror film, Black Sabbath, with Boris Karloff. That led to the song “Black Sabbath” being written and it became the new band name too.

Van Halen

Brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen formed a band in the 1960s known as The Broken Combs. That later became Trojan Rubber Co., followed in 1972 by Genesis. But that name hit a problem as news of the UK prog rock band of the same name spread. So the Van Halen’s opted for Mammoth instead. 

A year later when singer David Lee Roth joined he persuaded a change to Van Halen.  It might not have been highly original, but it worked and remained in place. That's despite Eddie Van Halen admitting that at one point he wanted to alter it to Rat Salad, after a Black Sabbath song.

Mott The Hoople

Variations of the band had been playing as the Doc Thomas Group, then Shakedown Sound, and also as Silence.  A new manager for the band then decided on a new name for them. He based it on a book about a freak circus performer, Mott The Hoople. Lots of us have been wrongly wondering for years about ‘what’ a hoople is rather than ‘who’.  

A quick decision and a horrendous tale lie behind these name changes

Pink Floyd

It's perhaps no surprise that this group went under a few names before settling on Pink Floyd, in what may have been a quickfire decision. One of the early names was Sigma 6, with Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and Roger Waters joining up with others. They went through a few name changes and lineups fairly quickly.

They performed as Meggadeaths, The Abdabs, Leonard's Lodgers, and the Spectrum Five. Another name they used, The Screaming Abdabs, was later used on bootleg recordings for Pink Floyd. A further name, Tea Set emerged when Syd Barrett joined the band. 

Barrett gets the credit for the final name changes. He made a quick change when another band called Tea Set appeared on the bill for a gig alongside them. He initially chose Pink Floyd Sound, later dropping Sound. Apparently, Barrett took inspiration from a couple of his favourite blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. So now we know more about which one’s Pink.

Maroon 5

Starting as Kara’s Flowers while still at school in 1994, there was a break while the band members went through college. In 2001 they managed to secure a record deal and lead guitarist James Valentine joined the group. The name then became Maroon which developed into Maroon 5. 

There is a bit of a secret behind the name change. But it seems as if it's staying that way. Adam Levine has disclosed that it comes from a bad origin and has a horrendous story, best left a mystery. He’s also revealed that Billy Joel is the only band outsider who knows the background. 

Some fans reckoned it's related to Five Towns College, which has maroon as a college color and five in the name. That seems a very long shot, especially as the band didn't attend there. There's no obvious horrendous element either. We'll have to wait to see if more is ever revealed by the band or Joel. 

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