# What other band/group just up and changed their name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313 "2011-10-30T21:15:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/21 "2011-10-31T03:58:01Z")
Brave Belt \> Bachman-Turner Overdrive The Golliwogs \> Creedence Clearwater Revival The Warlocks \> Grateful Dead The New Yardbirds \> Led Zeppelin The Quarrymen \> The Silver Beatles \> The Beatles The Who, in a bizarre twist, changed their name to the High Numbers in 1964 and released a single, “Zoot Suit.” When it failed to chart, they changed their name back to The Who. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/22 "2011-10-31T04:18:09Z")
A lot of bands change their names before they become really successful. The OP’s asking about bands that made it pretty big and then changed their names. I’m not sure if George Clinton’s bands qualify, but I’ll throw them out there. First there were The Parliaments and Funkadelic, then it became Parliament and Funkadelic, and I think the official name is now The P-Funk All Stars, but people call them Parliament-Funkadelic or P-Funk just as often. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/23 "2011-10-31T04:22:31Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > \ Because that’s what we do when we listen to geezer music-- see who can shout out the artist first.\ Heh - we do that too. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/24 "2011-10-31T04:40:40Z")
Teddybear Suicide \> Mouse Rat \> God Hates Figs \> Department of Homeland Obscurity \> Flames for Flames \> Muscle Confusion \> Nothing Rhymes With Orange \> Everything Rhymes With Orange \> Punchface Champions \> Rad Wagon \> Puppy Pendulum \> Opossum Pendulum \> Penis Pendulum \> Hand Grill Suicide \> Angel Snack \> Just The Tip \> Threeskin \> Jet Black Pope \> Mouse Rat (again) \> Scarecrow Boat…They finally settled back on Mouse Rat. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/25 "2011-10-31T05:21:30Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > By the time the final The Move album, “Message from the Country”, was released, The Move was down to three members: Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, and Bev Bevan. All three of them (as well as a violinist and a horn player) appeared on the first ELO album, “The Electric Light Orchestra”; both were recorded at more-or-less the same time (“Message from the Country” was released in October 1971; “The Electric Light Orchestra” was released in December 1971). > > The original plan seems to have been that ELO was going to be a side project of The Move, but it wound up that the band’s interest in The Move had waned by that point, and they simply went on as ELO. (Note that Wood then left the band soon after the initial album was released.) I agree with most of your post, except that the first ELO album was titled “No Answer.” According to legend, this title was based on a clerical error, but it IS the title on the album cover. I’m looking at the label on the LP as I type. It says: > [@](#): > > Move Enterprises Ltd. Presents The Services Of The ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA NO ANSWER ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/26 "2011-10-31T07:47:54Z")
Australian band of the 70s / 80s: Sherbet \>\> The Sherbs \>\> Highway (for the US market) Them was the days… ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/27 "2011-10-31T09:52:48Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I agree with most of your post, except that the first ELO album was titled “No Answer.” According to legend, this title was based on a clerical error, but it IS the title on the album cover. > > I’m looking at the label on the LP as I type. It says: According to Wiki > [@](#): > > The Electric Light Orchestra is the debut studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra, released in December 1971. In the US, the album was released in early 1972 as No Answer, after a misunderstood telephone message made by a United Artists Records executive asking about the album name.[3] The caller, having failed to reach the ELO contact, wrote down “no answer” in their notes, and this was misconstrued to be the name of the album. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/28 "2011-10-31T10:17:41Z")
I guess a lot of the name changes occur when a key band member leaves or dies; was there a particular reason that the Byrds changed their name to McGuinn, Clark and Hillman? It’s not like they had a stable line-up for much of their recording history. After Jerry Garcia’s death, he Grateful Dead toured as the Dead until 2009. Lynyrd Skynyrd briefly recorded as Rossington Collins, until a Ronnie Van Zandt relative joined and they returned to their more marketable name. Sometimes, when the Member That Matters leaves, he takes the name with him, leaving the cast-off bandmates to soldier on under a different name: Stray Cats became Phantom, Rocker and Slick, Talking Heads became the Tom Tom Club (and eventually the Heads; not sure how Jerry Harrison figure into that), GnR became Velvet Revolver, Jane’s Addiction functionally became Porno for Pyros, some configuration of Camper Van Beethoven became Cracker, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/29 "2011-10-31T12:11:50Z")
Ian Astbury left _Southern Death Cult_ and formed _Death Cult_, which morphed into _The Cult_. The rest of Southern Death Cult became _Getting the Fear_, among other names, and one of them went on to form _Fun-Da-Mental_ ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/30 "2011-10-31T12:18:29Z")
Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy Dirty Money. Very unusual for someone at the top of his niche change his name so drastically. Prince and the Revolution, that weird glyph, Prince. Eric Clapton let a truckload of one-off bands, any of which would have sold better under the name Eric Clapton. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/31 "2011-10-31T12:24:40Z")
Panic! at the Disco dropped the bang when they tried to become a more “adult” band with the album _Pretty. Odd_. Then, when the faction of the band that was pushing this change in direction left to form The Young Veins, they put back the ! character and resumed making more… well, let’s say non-baroque music. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/32 "2011-10-31T13:28:49Z")
Green Jello --\> Green Jelly After their “Three Little Pigs” song became popular, Jello pointed out a trademark issue with the band’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/33 "2011-10-31T13:39:03Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy Dirty Money. Very unusual for someone at the top of his niche change his name so drastically. Diddy is still Diddy. Diddy Dirty Money is the group he’s in with the two girls. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/34 "2011-10-31T13:40:20Z")
The Detours --\> The Who --\> The High Numbers --\> The Who ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/35 "2011-10-31T13:57:16Z")
Tom & Jerry --\> Simon & Garfunkel. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/36 "2011-10-31T14:18:01Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Eric Clapton let a truckload of one-off bands, any of which would have sold better under the name Eric Clapton. They weren’t supposed to be one-offs. Blind Faith was supposed to be his next band, but that wasn’t the musical direction he wanted to go in, and Derek and the Dominos fell apart because drug addiction (mostly his). ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/37 "2011-10-31T14:22:20Z")
Can I ask, one more time, that these bands have at least one top 40 hit under each name? Because changing your name when no one knows who you are isn’t really that big of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/38 "2011-10-31T14:30:36Z")
The Originals → Thamesmen → Dutchmen → Ravebreakers → Doppel Gang → Silver Service → Bisquits → Love Bisquits → Tufnel-St. Hubbins Group → Spinal Tap (Source: Rocklopedia Brittanica) ETA **Biggirl’s** request about Top 40, I’m not sure Tap qualifies then. According to the Rocklopedia Brittanica, “Though neither a critic’s nor a public favorite, Spinal Tap continues to fill a much needed void.” Still, there you are with name changes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/39 "2011-10-31T14:48:23Z")
\*Small Faces \*became \*Faces \*(with some lineup changes). They had hits under both monikers. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313/40 "2011-10-31T23:14:44Z")
The awesome **Burn The Priest** released a demo and a couple of split albums, then finally released their debut full-length in 1999. Sometime in the next year they decided to rechristen themselves **Lamb Of God** before releasing 2000’s _New American Gospel_. After that they slowly began to suck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-band-group-just-up-and-changed-their-name/601313.md?page=3)