# Puns in band names - can you think of any? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613 "2005-09-08T02:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/102 "2016-12-14T22:03:06Z")
[Electric Light Orchestra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Light_Orchestra#Name) is a pun / reference to “light orchestras”, which were popular in England up through the 1960s, playing “[light music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_music).” ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/103 "2016-12-14T22:10:01Z")
11 years and no-one thought of **Rockapella**?? But I don’t blame y’all for forgetting about **Nsync** … ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/104 "2016-12-14T22:10:32Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > When I first heard the name, I thought The Allman Brothers Band was a pun: “All men (are) brothers.” Aye; [you mentioned that](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6557951&postcount=27). Are you and [**Northern Piper**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=813700) feeling okay? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/105 "2016-12-15T01:37:15Z")
I’ve been patiently waiting _eleven years_. Won’t somebody please explain: **Jello Biafra Average White Band** ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/106 "2016-12-15T02:00:51Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Aye; [you mentioned that](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6557951&postcount=27). > > Are you and [**Northern Piper**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=813700) feeling okay? 😛 Threadja vu! (not my coinage – I’m just diffusing the term.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/107 "2016-12-15T02:07:21Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I’ve been patiently waiting _eleven years_. Won’t somebody please explain: > > **Jello Biafra > Average White Band** Jello Biafra came about because of the massive amount of donated non-nutritional (and non-makeable due to a lack of clean water) food stuffs donated by Americans for the relief of starving people in the short-lived nation of Biafra (which had attempted to secede from Nigeria). He likes the ridiculousness of the dichotomy and the way it pokes at American’s notions of their own goodness as evidenced by their charitable acts. Jello’s current project, btw, is called Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. They are very much in the same vein as old Dead Kennedys stuff. His albums with Allen Jourgensen and Paul Barker under the Lard moniker are excellent. His one-off collaboration with D.O.A., _Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors_ is also excellent and contains the classic (IMO) [Full Metal Jackoff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJMP0FEz51U). —Not sure why but this video took a few seconds to start for me; just FYI in case it does that for others eh— * * * No idea why AWB called themselves that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/108 "2016-12-15T02:07:45Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Average White Band Yeah I’m not seeing a pun there, if any, either. I’ve wondered if that was a phrase used back then to describe a white rock band playing a “typical” hard rock, and if so, the name could be a humorous takeoff on the fact that they played a different style of music from what people would think an “average white band” would play at the time, but I still don’t see it being a pun. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/109 "2016-12-15T02:10:31Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I’ve been patiently waiting _eleven years_. Won’t somebody please explain: > > **Jello Biafra > Average White Band** Okay, did my own research. Jello Biafra is not a pun, but rather a wry commentary akin to “let them eat cake\*”. Average White Band is a pun, but of a very obscure reference that a handful of people would have understood in 1970, let alone today: > [@](#): > > Running out of time, British diplomat pal Rab Wyper’s catch phrase ‘too much for the average white man’ is adapted, and Average White Band is born. \*Thanks to Cecil, I can never read or hear this phrase without immediately picturing Marie Antoinette tripping on LSD while declaring “the theme is quest”! 🙂 ETA – Thanks, Bo! Fits with my summary. And Ludovic, thanks – but now we know. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/110 "2016-12-15T02:10:33Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Threadja vu! (not my coinage – I’m just diffusing the term.) If it’s a case of bad threamory, I think you can get member berries for that now in South Park. 😃 I think ‘thread vu’ is an excellent term and I will add it to my lexicon! ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/111 "2016-12-15T02:39:27Z")
NM. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/112 "2016-12-15T02:46:58Z")
> [@dwc1970](#): > > The [Greg Kihn Band](http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~dale/discography.html) isn’t a pun in and of itself, but several of its album titles are: > > Next of Kihn > GregRocKihnRollBand > Kihntinued > Kihnspiracy > Kihntagious > Citizen Kihn > Kihnsolidation > Greg Kihn Unkihntrollable > Kihn of Hearts > Kihnspicuous Taste Those album titles were decided by his record company, and he hated them. :dubious: I have a relative who played in a band many years ago called the Moving Van Goghs. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/113 "2016-12-15T02:49:04Z")
> [@beckwall](#): > > Blame mr. beckwall if this one disturbs you. He swears it’s a real band name. > > **Crucifucks** :eek: > > _d & r_ It was real. When my brother was in high school in the mid 1980s, he had a radio show through the school, and a colleague was kicked off the program after saying that word on a live broadcast. :eek: (Didn’t realize this was a zombie thread right away, either.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/114 "2016-12-15T02:52:31Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > Also, the solo act known as “Kurt Vile.” That’s his real name. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/115 "2016-12-15T03:34:39Z")
I know we’re not looking for tribute bands here, but what the heck. . . There is (or was, a few years ago, anyway) an all-woman Kinks cover band in San Francisco (they weren’t really a tribute band, because they didn’t try to sound exactly like the Kinks) called the Minks. They billed themselves as “just like the Kinks, but less ladylike.” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/116 "2016-12-15T03:46:24Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Okay, did my own research. Jello Biafra is not a pun, but rather a wry commentary akin to “let them eat cake\*”. Average White Band is a pun, but of a very obscure reference that a handful of people would have understood in 1970, let alone today: > > \*Thanks to Cecil, I can never read or hear this phrase without immediately picturing Marie Antoinette tripping on LSD while declaring “the theme is quest”! 🙂 > > ETA – Thanks, Bo! Fits with my summary. And Ludovic, thanks – but now we know. I always thought that “Average White Band” was along the lines of “Five Man Electrical Band.” Just kind of a “truth in advertising” name. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/117 "2016-12-15T03:54:40Z")
The Original Caste is another punny name (famous for “One Tin Soldier”). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/118 "2016-12-15T04:21:56Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Did I miss a mention of The Beatles? Nope, but you beat me to it. Others spotted in a quick glance through my music folder… Flight of the Conchords Halestorm (the lead singer and drummer are Lzzy and Arejay Hale). The latter reminds me there’s also a band named Alestorm. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/119 "2016-12-15T04:22:13Z")
A friend of mine once put together a band to do punk rock covers of Neil Diamond songs for a wedding. They were so good that they decided to start gigging around town and during sessions to think of a name, I suggested Jehovah’s Eye Witness but they went with The Giving Heads instead. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/120 "2016-12-15T07:05:08Z")
Michael Franti’s old band - The Beatnigs Australian band The Porkers started as the Pork Hunts Rap ensemble including an Australian Aboriginal man - A.B. Original Melbourne Cowpunk band - The Sacred Cowboys ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puns-in-band-names-can-you-think-of-any/320613/121 "2016-12-15T07:07:40Z")
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