Heartbreaking tales of these fleeting stars
The Scottish band is named after the lyrics to David Bowie 'The Jean Genie.' More specifically, where it goes "He's so simple-minded, he can’t drive his module..."
The band was inspired by The Platters 1956 song 'The Great Pretender.'
The rather poetic name used by the English new wave band is derived from a song called 'Toiler on the Sea' by The Stranglers. The lyrics go: "The young ones used their hands, pointed the way to a flock/A flock of seagulls/A flock of seagulls…"
Sepultura (which means grave in Portuguese) drew inspiration for their name from a Motörhead song called 'Dancing On Your Grave.'
Dr. Feelgood's 'Roxette' inspired the Swedish duo to take up the name.
The Aussie rockers were inspired by Paul McCartney and Wings' song 'Jet.'
The Danish rockers got their band name from an album from front man Michael Poulsen's previous band, Dominus. The album was titled 'Vol. Beat.' So, not quite a song, but close enough!
Sources: (Radio X) (Mental Floss) (Planet Rock) (Tone Deaf) (Revolver) (The Independent) (Ranker)
The band originally known as Roundabout changed their name to Deep Purple, based on a 1933 Peter DeRose piano composition of the same name.
British heavy metal legends Judas Priest drew inspiration for their name from a Bob Dylan song called 'The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest.'
The metalcore act was inspired by punk rock legends Misfits and their song 'Hatebreeders.'
The New York thrash metal act got their name from the namesake album and song by Motörhead.
Brendon Urie's band was named after a song by The Smiths called 'Panic,' which contains the lyrics "burn down the disco."
The band was named after the Free song 'Mr. Big.' Interestingly, Mr. Big covered that very song on their 1993 album 'Bump Ahead.'
The Washington, D.C. punk rockers drew inspiration for their name from another iconic punk rock band: the Ramones. From their song 'Bad Brain,' to be more precise.
Boyz II Men drew inspiration for their name from a song by New Edition called 'Boys to Men.'
The name of the post-punk act was inspired by the lyrics of a Poison song called 'Talk Dirty to Me.' The lyrics go "Cause baby we'll be / At the drive-in."
The Scottish hard rockers are named after the lyrics of 'The Weight' by The Band. The lyrics go: "I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead."
The alt rock outfit got their name from a 1967 song by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band called 'Death-Cab for Cutie.'
The Welsh post-hardcore band drew inspiration from a namesake song by Illinois group Planes Mistaken for Stars.
Pretty Girls Make Graves not only is the name of a band, but it's also a track on The Smiths' 1984 self-titled debut album.
Slowdive were named after a Siouxsie and the Banshees song, which can be heard on the band's 1982 album 'A Kiss in the Dreamhouse.'
The goth rockers drew inspiration from a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. The song, called 'Sister of Mercy,' can be found on his 1967 debut album 'Songs of Leonard Cohen.'
Ladytron was named after a Roxy Music song of the same name.
Lemmy Kilmister didn't have to think too much about his new band's name. He went with the name of a song by his former band, Hawkwind. The song is called 'Motorhead.'
The band drew inspiration from a song on Morrissey's debut solo album 'Viva Hate,' called 'The Ordinary Boys.'
The British indie rockers are named after the 1971 David Bowie song 'Kooks.'
The English band named themselves after a song of the same name by Prince Buster.
Thom Yorke and crew drew inspiration from a song called Radio Head, which can be found on the Talking Heads album 'True Stories.'
So, where did the Stones' get their name from? From a Muddy Waters song called 'Rollin' Stone.'
The only solo artist on this list drew inspiration for her artistic name from Queen's song 'Radio Ga Ga.'
Coming up with a good name for a band is no easy task. Especially when there are millions of names out there that have already been taken. So it's natural that music artists look for inspiration everywhere, and that includes other bands' song titles and their lyrics. And the truth is that many were indeed quite successful, partially thanks to drawing inspiration from their fellow musicians.
In this gallery, we bring you the stories behind the many musical acts that drew inspiration from other bands' songs. Click through to see if your favorites are on the list.
Bands named after other bands' songs
A surprising number of musical acts are named after other bands' tunes
MUSIC Namesake
Coming up with a good name for a band is no easy task. Especially when there are millions of names out there that have already been taken. So it's natural that music artists look for inspiration everywhere, and that includes other bands' song titles and their lyrics. And the truth is that many were indeed quite successful, partially thanks to drawing inspiration from their fellow musicians.
In this gallery, we bring you the stories behind the many musical acts that drew inspiration from other bands' songs. Click through to see if your favorites are on the list.