# Lady Antebellum is now Lady A **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486 "2020-06-11T21:20:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/81 "2020-06-15T01:30:23Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Care to share that meaning with the rest of us? I’m sorry. I forgot to include a link: [Joy Division - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Division#Formation) > [@](#): > > the band renamed themselves Joy Division in early 1978, borrowing the name from the sexual slavery wing of a Nazi concentration camp mentioned in the 1955 novel House of Dolls. ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/82 "2020-06-15T02:16:26Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I’m sorry. I forgot to include a link: [Joy Division - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Division#Formation) And then when they changed their name after Ian Curtis killed himself, they changed it to [New Order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Order_(Nazism)), which is just as bad. I don’t think it can ever be justified or explained, outside of that scene (post-punk/industrial) being obsessed with the imagery of Nazism. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/83 "2020-06-15T02:47:07Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Agreed, but I’m not sure that they made a wise choice of name. > > Am I the only one who, when they saw the title of this thread, thought “Lady A–hole? What’s this thread about?” And that still pops into my head each time I see it. Did they not focus-group the new name? They did it because their fans have called them “Lady A” for a long time. It makes a lot of sense in that respect. I’m not even that much of a fan, but I knew immediately to whom Lady A referred. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/84 "2020-06-15T11:32:47Z")
Black keys changed their name to We’re Actually 2 white guys ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/85 "2020-06-15T16:34:47Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Black keys changed their name to We’re Actually 2 white guys (_Googles “Black keys changed their name”; finds nothing._) OK, he’s joking again. I’ll rate this one as funny. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/86 "2020-06-15T17:00:11Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > They are obviously not around anymore but the most disgusting band name of all time is Joy Division. Whenever those fucking cretins have been asked about the name in interviews, as far as I have seen, they just crack a joke about it. They knew exactly what it meant when they formed the band. Well, duh. It’s not like they just made up the name. But it was a different time. Edgy was in. Giving your band a directly offensive name was a way to show you were cutting edge. Even if bands didn’t name themselves after Nazi concentration camp brothels, there were a lot of band names chosen deliberately to offend or named after repulsive things, such as The Dead Kennedys, Butthole Surfers, The Slits, The Circle Jerks, N.W.A., Cherry popping’ Daddies, Steely Dan, and Ted Nugent. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/87 "2020-06-15T17:09:30Z")
[There’s already a Lady A.](https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/lady-antebellum-lady-a-country-blues-1013919/) Dunno what the lawyers here think, but from what I’ve read, if Anita White wants to fight about it she’s got a good chance of winning, even if she never formally trademarked her stage name. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/88 "2020-06-15T17:28:51Z")
The band Lady A probably won’t be able to use it if the singer Lady A wants to fight it. The band The English Beat was just The Beat but there was already a band called The Beat in the US so they couldn’t use it here. As I recall, they were briefly The Beat U.K. before The English Beat. A good friend of mine had a band called Alarm who performed live shows in Kansas and Missouri. The Welsh group The Alarm were going to embark on a US tour opening for U2 in the early 80s. My friend found out when his phone started ringing off the hook with his friends calling him to congratulate him. He and his band mates sold the rights to the name for several thousand dollars and used the money to move to California. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/89 "2020-06-15T17:35:57Z")
There was a DC goth band called Madhouse back in the day. Prince wanted the name for a side project and offered them $50,000, which they happily took. ETA: Lady A seems pretty set on keeping her name and it would be pretty terrible optics for the former Lady Antebellum to fight her over it, so I guess it will be name three for them. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/90 "2020-06-15T18:26:19Z")
McIntosh stereo company let Apple use the Macintosh name as long as Apple did not get involved with sound. Eventually they said Apple was involved with sound and they sued Apple. I don’t know the outcome but I assume Apple paid them off. If you don’t know McIntosh is very high end equipment, $2000 would be a cheap item for them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/91 "2020-06-15T18:58:38Z")
There was a similar trademark dispute between the computer company and Apple Records. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/92 "2020-06-15T19:08:40Z")
Black flag is now: Oh Yeah big deal, we are 4 white guys!! ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/93 "2020-06-15T21:19:19Z")
Maybe Lady Antebellum could be Lady A-Minus and Lady A could be Lady A-Plus. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/94 "2020-06-15T21:29:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There was a similar trademark dispute between the computer company and Apple Records. Apple Records still exists. I figured wrong that it went away long ago. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/95 "2020-06-15T21:51:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There was a similar trademark dispute between the computer company and Apple Records. Which I believe was the reason that the Beatles took so long to have their music on iTunes. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/96 "2020-06-15T21:57:19Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Maybe Lady Antebellum could be Lady A-Minus and Lady A could be Lady A-Plus. … > [@](#): > > Samir: Hmm… well, why don’t you just go by Mike instead of Michael? > > Michael Bolton: No way! Why should I change? He’s the one who sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/97 "2020-06-16T03:51:20Z")
How about, White Lady A. Or maybe, Crazy Cat Lady A. Just thinkin’. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/98 "2020-06-16T03:53:40Z")
Lady My Belle Ami ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/99 "2020-06-16T04:15:44Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Well, duh. It’s not like they just made up the name. > > But it was a different time. Edgy was in. Giving your band a directly offensive name was a way to show you were cutting edge. Even if bands didn’t name themselves after Nazi concentration camp brothels, there were a lot of band names chosen deliberately to offend or named after repulsive things, such as The Dead Kennedys, Butthole Surfers, The Slits, The Circle Jerks, N.W.A., Cherry popping’ Daddies, Steely Dan, and Ted Nugent. Looks a whole damn lot like a set list at the station I once worked in in the 80s… ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486/100 "2020-06-16T04:21:31Z")
Some years ago I saw a poster for a lineup of bands playing at a nearby club, and judging from the names, they all seemed to hew to a certain genre. The one name that stuck out to me was “Anal [c-word]” and the wordmark rather resembled that anatomy, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-antebellum-is-now-lady-a/855486.md?page=6)