Not sure whether this has any legs but am curious of examples of song lyrics that include other band names – obviously predominantly unwittingly but here are a couple of examples:
Simon and Garfunkel – The only living boy in New York contains the line ‘I get the news I need from the
WEATHER REPORT’
Hollies – All I need is the AIR that I breathe.
You get the gist – over to you guys
This (I’m not going to name the song) by Mel Brooks features New Order in the lyrics.
In 1983, I got a detention for reading the lyrics in Smash Hits during a woodwork lesson. Why do I remember this rubbish?
This song also features a future U2 album title.
There must be loads with ‘Queen’ in them.
Deniece Williams Free
Maria Muldaur Midnight at the Oasis
Ali Baba’s Camel: by the Bonzos
Yes we have no bananas: Bennett Goodman and his Orchestra,among others.
First there is a Mountain: by the name eludes me
The Freshies: Bouncing Babies by The Teardrop Explodes.
Carl Perkins – I Want to Jive after 5ive.
Teachers – Daft Punk
Daft Punk Is Playing At My House – LCD Soundsystem
Jackie Wilson Said – Van Morrison
Alex Chilton – Big Star
Buddy Holly – Weezer
Kanye West – Young Thug (in fact, that whole album is just tracks titled after other artists)
Mr Jones – Counting Crows (Bob Dylan)
Virtually everything Eminem ever recorded
1977 – The Clash
Life On Mars – David Bowie (John Lennon)
You Only Get What You Give – New Radicals (Marilyn Manson, etc)
Fat Lip – Sum 41 (Maiden and Priest)
Thunder Road – Springsteen (Orbison)
The Greatest – Lana Del Rey (Kanye)
Grace Kelly – Mike (Freddie Mercury)
Doja – Central Cee
Probably about a million others, but those are the ones that jump to mind.
“Drowning in the Blue Nile
He sent me ‘Downtown Lights’
I hadn’t heard it in a while”
– Taylor Swift: “Guilty as Sin”
Unexpected Swiftie Alert! 😉
I’ve actually heard almost no Taylor Swift!
I am, however, a Blue Nile fan, and I’d read that Ms Swift had mentioned them in one of her songs…
Also Taylor Swift on the song The Tortured Poets Society:
“You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith, This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel, We’re modern idiots”.
…And on Clara Bow off the same TTPD album:
“You look like Stevie Nicks
In ’75, the hair and lips…”
A lovely tribute to Clara Bow.
Cleaners From Venus – Clara Bow
Mention of Clara Bow always makes me think of Prince’s Condition of the Heart.
Remake remodel. Twice named.
‘Til The Men, they Couldn’t Hang
Stepped to the mic and sang
And their voices rang
With that Aryan twang
Aztec Camera/Roddy Frame mentions the Modern Jazz Quartet in his song Stray.
Orange Juice mention the Four Tops in I Can’t Help Myself.
Jonathan Richman has a few songs named after bands but mentions the Bee Gees in the classic Give Paris One More Chance.
@bamber There’s also an Orange Juice song in which Edwyn Collins sings about wearing his fringe like Roger McGuinn.
(It’s in Rip It Up. I just had to look it up to avoid me humming the line all afternoon trying to remember.)
(EDIT: Whoops … Roger is not a “band name”. Can I have the Byrds in Shack’s Byrds Turn To Stone instead?)
It also mentions the song Boredom by the Buzzcocks, and copies the two-note guitar solo (finally, a guitar solo I can play!)
I always have bother playing that solo. TWO notes … pure extravagance
Played on 6Music this morning, fact fans.
The Roger McGuinn song is called Consolation Prize. It’s on an entirely different album to Rip It Up..
@sewer-robot I stand corrected. That’ll teach me to reply to posts when I am at my desk and meant to be working hard. It was the fault of a quick grab at Google and not paying enough attention to the search results.
As well as standing corrected, I also feel a bit ashamed because I always count You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever as one of my all-time favourite albums. I don’t think that I am ever going to be able to say that again and clearly “Orange Juice” is now not going to be my specialist subject on Mastermind.
See also Bobbie Gentry in Out for the Count.
Donny and Marie Osmond: Deep Purple
The Vibrators – Stiff Little Fingers
The Pure Mania album was in front of Jake Burns when trying to book a gig, and the band decided they needed a new name
@rigid-digit I guess it’s the vibrations that cause the stiff little fingers!
James Hetfield in Chumbawamba’s Torturing James Hetfield.
They Might Be Giants mention themselves in the song They Might Be Giants
Mott The Hoople – All The Young Dudes
“Television man is crazy saying we’re juvenile delinquent wrecks
Oh, Man, I need TV when I’ve got T.Rex”
“And my brother’s back at home with his Beatles and his Stones
We never got it off on that revolution stuff”
this sent Zodiac Mindwarp’s Prime Mover back into my mind for the first time in a long while
Well I love TV and I love T- Rex
I can see through your skirt
I’ve got X-Ray spex
The Skids’ version replaces Bolan’s band with Subway Sect
The following bands are named in All The Young Dudes :-
Beatles
Rolling Stones
Suicide
Sparks
Television
Man
T. Rex
Sweet
Queen
Love
Yes
See also: The House of Love – The Beatles and the Stones
Not content with mentioning an ITV Game Show hosted by Matthew Kelly in You Better You Bet, Roger drinks himself blind to the sound old T-Rex, and then self references Who’s Next.
Was Glyn Johns mix of the album that bad?
How have we got this far in the thread without anyone mentioning Steely Dan?
“turn up the Eagles, the neighbours are listening”.
And the half hearted response “they stab it with their Steely knives”…
There’s a recent-ish song by Bob Dylan that mentions Alicia Keys.
Isn’t this meant to be unwittingly referenced as in the OP examples, hence my post? Maybe it doesn’t matter, maybe it’s both intentional and unintentional. 🤔
Unwittingly: “Three STEPS to Heaven” by Eddie Cochran
Syd Barrett ‘s Effervescent Elephant has
and the message was spread
to zebra, mongoose, and the dirty hippopotamus
who wallowed in the MUD and chewed
his spicy hippo-plankton food
Fairport’s Hungarian Rhapsody has “We ain’t your Rolling Stones, we ain’t your T Rex”
My tall chum has form here.
The Bible – (Talk To Me Like) Jackie Kennedy mentions the Georgia Peach.
The Bible – Graceland mentions Taj Mahal (not that one).
The Bible – Honey Be Good mentions The Temptations.
The Bible – Crystal Palace mentions The Beatles.
Swan Silvertone mentions both The Swan Silvertones and The Mighty Clouds of Joy.
The Ghost of Johnny Ray… you get the idea.
And The Bible – Mahalia is about Mahalia Jackson.
Boy with the Arab Strap and Joy Division Oven Gloves are the first to spring to mind.
Undertones – My Perfect Cousin ( “His ma bought him a synthesizer/Got the Human League in to advise her”.
Tracey Thorn, Hands Up To The Ceiling:
Here is the street and here is the door
Same as it was before
And up the stairs and on the wall
Is, Kiss and Terry Hall
And Siouxsie Sioux and Edwin too
And Bobby Dee in ’63
And everything I knew was good
And like it was just understood
“Wailers be there
The Dammed, The Jam, The Clash
Maytals will be there
Doctor Feelgood too”
“Punky Reggae Party” – Bob Marley and Lee Perry
Another party on Kate’s Blow Away:
“Moony, Minnie, Vicious, Buddy Holly, Sandy Denny”
Dillinger and Leroy Smart
Delroy Wilson, your cool operator
Ken Boothe for UK pop reggae
Teenage Fanclub – When I Still Have Thee
“Well The Rolling Stones wrote a song for me … it’s a minor song in a major key”
No clue which song Norman Blake might be singing about.
“Come on and show me say the bells of Old Bowie
When I am fitter say the bells of Gary Glitter
No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I”
“Clash City Rockers” by the plenty-of-hits Clash
»Vera, Chuck and Dave….«
Does The Commodores’ Night Shift count?
They only use first names, but we know who they are singing about.
Even the Beatles produced a bevy of bands and artists, from their name alone, thinking the Beat and Les Savvy Sav for starters.
Last time we had this fascinating discussion, I contributed my favourite Van Morrison joke, invented by me, involving the song Cleaning Windows and the band Curiosity Killed the Cat.
Thunder Road – appreciate this was mentioned earlier, but not regarding the reference to the late 80s rock band.
Ring The Alarm – Tenor Saw
“Could you call on Lady Day?
Could you call on John Coltrane?
Now ’cause they’ll, they’ll wash your troubles
Your troubles, your troubles, your troubles away”
“Lady Day and John Coltrane” – Gil Scott-Heron
The Wonder Stuffs ” Astley in a Noose” and Nick Lowes “All Men Are Liars” both mention that Rick Rolling fella.
Inevitably, the answer is Half Man Half Biscuit.
“Give me Love, give me Can, give me Meat Loaf
Give me Rush, give me Marquee Moon
Michael Ball, or The Fall
I could listen to them all
In the twilight or the afternoon”
“Hall & Oates, random Goth, Miles Davis
Patti Smith, Simply Red, Sly Stone
Be they false or for real, I don’t care and nor does Neil
Just so long as we can hear their song”
Then, to the tune of Agadoo
“Hüsker Dü-Dü-Dü
Captain Beefheart, ELO
Chris de Burgh
Sun Ra
Del Amitri
John Coltrane”
Irk the Purists (it’s a right good laugh)
There’s also the football chant inspired duo of ” you’re going on after Crispy Ambulance ” and” can you hear Talvin Singh?”
And of course” the singer out of Slipknot went to Rome to see the Pope.”
Eno Collaboration
Styx Gig (Seen by My Mates Coming Out of a)
Joy Division Oven Gloves
There’s so many, and that’s just ones where the artist name is in the title.
In relation to HMHB songs where the artist name is in the title, you could also have mentioned:
Rod Hull is Alive – Why?
Hair Like Brian May Blues
The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman
Albert Hammond Bootleg
I Love You Because (You Look Like Jim Reeves)
Alv’s 1984 hit not only tips hat to the IRIMH hitmaker but to the owner of his catalogue too. Bonus
The Television Personalities – I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives
“I wanna know what love is” sang Foreigner. A 60s band from California featuring Arthur Lee. You’re welcome.
Prefab Sprout – Faron Young.
A couple from Denim’s Back In Denim – Middle of the Road and The Osmonds.
Blondie – I’m Always Touched By Your Presence Dear
“Stay awake at night and watch your REM“
Oooh. Thank you @rigid-digit
I’ve wondered for a very very long time about that line
Bob invokes an unlikely trinity in ‘I Contain Multitudes’
“I’m just like Anne Frank, like Indiana Jones
And them British bad boys, The Rolling Stones”
… then there are the bands that call themselves after lyrics or titles, retroactively qualifying for this list.
The Lightning Seeds are famously named after a lyric from Prince’s Raspberry Beret and I would assume the band Everyone Says Hi are named after the David Bowie song..
This kind of counts.
The lyrics to Don’t Fall by Middleton’s finest , The Chameleons, written by Mark (now Vox) Burgess include his name.
“Mark! Mark! Above everything else.”
I seem to remember that Bon Jovi mentions Frank Sinatra (as “Frankie” IIRC) in their annoying mega-hit which may or may not be known as “It’s my life” – I can’t stand that song so I refuse to try to recall the exact line…
“When they saw you kneeling
Crying words that you mean
Opening their eyeballs, eyeballs
Pretending that you’re Al Green, Al Green”
“Goody Two Shoes” – Adam Ant
What a great song! The opening lick is usually the first thing I play when I pick up certain guitars. The world needs more of that kind of thing.
“Easily losing their evening clothes
They dance by the light of the moon
To the Penquins
The Moonglows
The Orioles
And The Five Satins
The deep, forbidden music
They’d been longing for
René and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war”
“René and Georgette Magritte with their dog after the war” – Paul Simon
How about Hats Off to (Roy) Harper off of Led Zeppelin III?
There is the pretty execrable Guitar Heroes, by RT, however well he shows off in it.
In a similar vein.
But not I think execrable
I hoped someone might put that up. There is, IIRC, a foreshortened studio version which isn’t as good, probably because it wasn’t 11 minutes long. There are even longer versions on the net.
“Ah, the suffering did show in your eyes as we spoke
And the gospel music
The voice of Mahalia Jackson came through the ether
Oh, my common one”
“Summertime in England” – Sir Van the Man
In Levi Stubbs’ Tears, Billy Bragg namechecks Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Holland, Holland, Lamont Dozier, the Four Tops and, of course, Levi Stubbs himself.
Leonard Cohen namechecks the Sisters of Mercy, thereby proving the existence of time travel.
And Hank Williams.
Has he answered yet?
“Harry Truman was our president
A coke and burger cost you thirty cents
I was still in love with Mavis Brown
On the night Hank Williams came to town”
“The night Hank Williams came to town” – Johnny Cash & Waylon Jennings
Loudon Wainwright;
On my way Thursday from the Y I heard it in the car
Bob Edwards broke the news tonight, yes he of NPR
Driving through Montgomery I hung my head and cried
Then visited Hank Williams grave the day Fred Rodgers died
Zelda Sayre, F. Scott Fitzgerald lived somewhere in this old town
Nat King Cole was born here Rosa Parks stayed sitting down.
From his best album, Here Come the Choppers.
Likewise, Crimso brought out Starless and Bible Black long before the band of that name appeared. I’m quite fond of both album and band. Whether some Welsh fellah had anything to do with it, who knows?
Madness released (the) Prince in August 1979, a whole two months before the artists formerly known as TAFKAP released his self-titled second album.
“Birdland on Fifty-Three
The street sounds like a symphony
We got John Coltrane and ‘A Love Supreme’
Miles says she’s got to be an angel
Lady Day got diamond eyes”
“Angel of Harlem” – U2
The Long Ryders;
was standing alone in Mabuhay Gardens
(Looking for Lewis and Clark)
I was thinking about the late Tim Hardin
Well when Tim gets to heaven, hope he told Gram
About the Long Ryders and just who I am
Yeah, no one gave Tim reason to believe
So he just packed his bags to leave
Richard Thompson – “I Ride in Your Slipstream.
“And she said there was no music
Before I came along
They changed my brain
And I made the Beatles appear
I made the Beatles appear
Out of nowhere”
“Beatles” – Kathryn Williams
“Furlined seats and lettered windscreen
Elbow on the windowsill
Eight track blazing Brucie Springsteen
Bomber jacket, dressed to kill”
“Grey Cortina” – Tom Robinson Band
Brucie? BRUCIE?
Surely nobody has ever called Bruce Springsteen “Brucie”?
It sounds like he’s going to present the Generation Game or something…
Also: Elbow on the windowsill. That sounds a bit reckless – he’s a big fella, that Guy Garvey.
I think Prefab Sprout refer to him as Brucie on Cars and Girls.
Lennon: Imagine
Above us only SKY.
Almost 100 comments and nobody has mentioned yet that Smoke on the Water mentions Frank Zappa and the Mothers. Honestly, this place can be a bit too NME sometimes.
Also, Cheap Trick’s Surrender mentions Kiss.
“No modern jazz to begin with
Bird and Diz were tricky men for a drummer to sit in with
Max Roach still wears the watch he wore when bop was new
Elvin Jones has two and Buddy Rich wears three
One on the right wrist, one on the left
And the third one around his knee …
… Wear this watch and you’ll keep in step
With Ornette Coleman and Archie Shepp”
“The Wristwatch for a Drummer” – Clive James and Pete Atkin
An essay rather than a song, but Virginia Woolf mentioned Shakespeare’s sister in A Room of One’s Own.
Clever, that, as she hadn’t even heard Bananarama yet.