LOOK INSIDE ROCK FORMATIONS Below and on the following pages is a sample of the entries featured in ROCK FORMATIONS (approximately 1,000 of them!). This page is excerpted from the chapter entitled "THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS", featuring bands and artists whose names were inspired by other groups. Monkees The Monkees were one of the first manufactured bands, being brought together by NBC TV in the States, and the name was based on the Beatles, i.e. a mis-spelt animal name. Other names which were considered included The Inevitables and The Turtles. The Beatles’ connection was further extended by the format of their show, which was based on the Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night (1964), also they acquired the nickname “Pre-Fab Four” in reference to the Beatles’ nickname of “Fab Four” and the fact that they were a “pre-fabricated” boy band. The show was recreated in the 1980s with four new actors, calling themselves The New Monkees. Peter Tork formed a band, also in the 1980s, which he christened The New Monks. Peter Tork (bass–b. Peter Thorkelson). Mötley Crüe This name was taken from that of a defunct ’70s band, Mottley Croo. The band used umlauts in tribute to Löwenbräu beer, and not as a Nazi reference as is often reported. Bandmembers Vince Neil (b. Vincent Neil Wharton); Tommy Lee (b. Tommy Lee Bass). Mick Mars (b. Robert “Bob” Alan Deal) changed his name because he didn’t like the initials associated with Bob Alan Deal (B.A.D.), picking “Mick” because he had always liked that name, and “Mars” from the Roman God of War. Nicki Sixx (b. Frank Carlton Serafino Ferrano) changed his name legally after being rejected by his father (also called Frank Ferrano), and took the name Nikki Sixx after his friend Angie’s ex-boyfriend Niki Syxx. He later told journalists that the name was based on the fist two digits of his California drivers license, N6. Pink Floyd Pink Floyd were named by original member Syd Barrett, initially as The Pink Floyd Sound, after Carolina bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Earlier names had included Sigma 6, The T-Sets, The Abdabs, The Screaming Abdabs, The Architectural Abdabs (Roger Waters had attended architectural college), Sigma 6 (again), before changing to The Pink Floyd Sound after Barrett joined. Ramones The name Ramones was inspired by the pseudonym, Paul Ramon, used by Paul McCartney for production purposes in the ’60s. The various band members adopted the surname Ramone to suggest brotherly togetherness. Joey Ramone (b. Jeffrey Hyman), Johnny Ramone (b. John Cummings), Dee Dee Ramone (b. Douglas Colvin), Tommy Ramone (b. Thomas Erdelyi). Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers took their name from a combination of two early jazz and blues band names–jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong’s The Hot Five, and Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers. The name was suggested by band member Flea (b. Michael Peter Balzary) who himself had learned to play jazz trumpet and idolized Louis Armstrong. Balzary became known as “Mike B The Flea” while at high school, which eventually got shortened to “Flea”. Sneaker Pimps Originally called Line of Flight, the Sneaker Pimps took their name after watching an interview with the Beastie Boys on the UK TV Channel 4 music show, The Word. When asked about their interesting sneakers, Beastie Boys’ Mike D said that they had a guy who searched out classic trainers for them, and referred to him as a “sneaker pimp”. The Beastie Boys have since denied ever using the term. HOME