# Bands with letters in their names
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 22, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776 "2017-03-22T17:36:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/1 "2017-03-22T17:36:45Z")
(It’s something of a broad topic, I know.)
What I’m looking for are musical groups that use acronyms, initialisms, or other abbreviations in their names. Driving home from work last night, I heard the song [Restart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izA3N4zWHAU) (YouTube link) by the group BNQT (pronounced “banquet”). It prompted me to think about other bands with only letters in their names, such as:
Acronyms (abbreviations that form pronounceable words):
[ul]
[li]ABBA[/li][li]INXS[/li][li]XTC[/li][/ul]
Initialisms (abbreviations with letters representing words in a phrase that are pronounced separately and that don’t themselves form words)
[ul]
[li]KMFDM (abbreviation for “Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid”)[/li][li]NRBQ (abbreviation for “New Rhythm and Blues Quartet”)[/li][li]REM (abbreviation for “rapid eye movement”)[/li][/ul]
Other abbreviations:
[ul]
[li]MGMT (short for “management,” a reference to the band’s original name of “The Management,” but pronounced as separate letters)[/li][/ul]
There are also bands that went under both their full name and the name’s abbreviation, such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
I’m not necessarily looking for common but unofficial shortenings of band names, such as “TFF” for “Tears For Fears,” but they can certainly be added to the discussion. What you got?
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/2 "2017-03-22T17:49:00Z")
[MFSB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MFSB) – Mother Father Sister Brother (officially).
NSYNC (from the last letter of the first names of the singers)
[PFM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premiata_Forneria_Marconi) – for Premiata Forneria Marconi, the name of the band. The group released albums using both names.
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### Author:  [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/3 "2017-03-22T17:50:42Z")
The most obvious: AC/DC
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### Author:  [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/4 "2017-03-22T17:53:47Z")
GTR - their name was an abbreviation of “guitar”; their album infamously received a review that read, in its entirety, “SHT.”
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/5 "2017-03-22T17:54:37Z")
> [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#):
>
> Acronyms (abbreviations that form pronounceable words):
> …XTC
I don’t think this counts as an [acronym](http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/05/the-difference-between-an-acronym-and-an-initialism/). What do the individual letters stand for? And it isn’t really a “pronounceable word.”
What about band names made up of both letters and numbers, like U2 or UB40?
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### Author:  [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/6 "2017-03-22T17:55:44Z")
> [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#):
>
> [li]KMFDM (abbreviation for “Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid”)[/li]
The joke I heard was it stood for “Kill Motherfucking Depeche Mode”
AC/DC is the first one to come to mind.
From the early 90s, there was
EMF
The KLF
Bachman-Turner Overdrive frequently used the BTO acronym in album titles (usually live albums or best-of compilations)
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### Author:  [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/7 "2017-03-22T18:00:45Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> I don’t think this counts as an [acronym](http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/05/the-difference-between-an-acronym-and-an-initialism/). What do the individual letters stand for? And it isn’t really a “pronounceable word.”
> What about band names made up of both letters and numbers, like U2 or UB40?
I think XTC is pronounced similarly to ecstasy.
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### Author:  [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/8 "2017-03-22T18:06:16Z")
OMD (Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark)
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### Author:  [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/9 "2017-03-22T18:14:19Z")
KISS - Knights in Satan’s Service, of course
b52s
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### Author:  [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/10 "2017-03-22T18:21:19Z")
[CSS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_(band)), which is short for Cansei de Ser Sexy, which is Portuguese for “tired of being sexy.”
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/11 "2017-03-22T18:24:10Z")
[GRIMMS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimms), a supergroup made up of members from the Bonzo Dog Band, the Scaffold, and the Liverpool Scene (all much bigger in the UK than the US) got its name from the last name initials of the members: John Gorman, Andy Roberts, Neil Innes\*, Mike McGear\*\*, Roger McGough, and Vivian Stanshall.
[Pacific Gas & Electric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Gas_%26_Electric_(band))changed their name to PG&E after a threatened lawsuit from the utility company of the same name.
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young are referred to as CSN and CSNY, but that’s more unofficial.
Same for CCR for Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Tyrannosaurus Rex shortened their name to T-Rex, so that half fits.
\*“The seventh Python.” As in Monty.
\*\* Real name: McCartney. Yes, his brother.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/12 "2017-03-22T18:26:13Z")
N.W.A. = Niggaz Wit Attitudes
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### Author:  [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/13 "2017-03-22T18:34:43Z")
**ZZ Top** (Nearly)
TCMF-2L
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### Author:  [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/14 "2017-03-22T18:40:15Z")
[P.O.D.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ChrdJoBCk)
[S.O.D.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhzLM_zR8Jo)
[D.R.I.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNMEbaQtMR8)
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### Author:  [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/15 "2017-03-22T18:40:27Z")
As well as **ELP** for **Emerson Lake and Palmer** there was **ELP2** for **Emerson Lake and Powell**.
TCMF-2L
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### Author:  [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/16 "2017-03-22T18:45:08Z")
As well as often being called **MSG** , the **Michael Schenker Group** also used the initials as an album title.
Plus for the double: **Michael Schenker** himself rose to fame in **UFO**. (After starting in The Scorpions.)
TCMF-2L
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### Author:  [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/17 "2017-03-22T18:47:40Z")
> [@mcgato](#):
>
> [CSS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_(band)), which is short for Cansei de Ser Sexy, which is Portuguese for “tired of being sexy.”
Not to be confused with CCS, who had a hit in 1970 with a cover of Led Zep’s “Whole Lotta Love.” I never knew what their name stood for; Wiki tells me it’s [Collective Consciousness Society](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_Consciousness_Society).
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/18 "2017-03-22T18:53:33Z")
> [@Crotalus](#):
>
> I think XTC is pronounced similarly to ecstasy.
Yes, but my point is that that’s not pronouncing it _as a word_\*—it’s pronouncing the individual letters. (As if you pronounced ABBA “aybeebeeay.”)
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### Author:  [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/19 "2017-03-22T18:55:49Z")
Russian female duo **t.A.T.u**. perhaps best known internationally for the hit **All The Things She Said** (note use of lower case letters to distinguish from the Australian female band **Tatu**.)
tCMf-2L
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-letters-in-their-names/782776/20 "2017-03-22T19:01:03Z")
Though it never really got off the ground, there was, briefly (late 1980-early 1981), a supergroup entitled [XYZ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XYZ_%28UK_band%29), for “Ex Yes and Zeppelin”; it featured Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin (Robert Plant was invited, but opted out after one rehearsal), and Chris Squire and Alan White of Yes.
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