While listening to The Danny Baker Podcast, they had a caller who mentioned his father was asked to buy a cd for his mother by Craig David. He forgot the name but knew that the singer had two first names. He ended up with an Eddie Grant CD.
I thought this is an ideal post.
I came up with the following off the top of my head:
Elton John
George Michael
Ray Charles
Debbie Harry
Movies have a rich history too, you have John Wayne, Cary Grant, James Stewart etc.
So, who would you add?
Cliff Richard
Hank Marvin
Adam Faith
George Harrison
Brian Wilson
B(rian) A Robertson
Only slightly off-topic, the President of Random House used to be a man called Alberto Vitale, famed as the only man in publishing ever to be named after two shampoos.
Pierre Bensusan – extra points there, I think.
A quick flip through the iTunes library has yielded a fair number:
Aaron Neville
Arthur Alexander
Bob Dylan
Bobby Charles
Charles Bradley
Charlie Rich
Chuck Berry
Chuck Willis
Dave Bartholomew
Dick Dale
Eddie Floyd
Gary Clark, Jr.
Gene Clark
Gilberto Gil
Jack Scott
Jerry Lee Lewis (arguably three!)
Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Scott
John Barry
Johnny Otis
Jorge Ben
Lou Reed
Arthur Lee
Marty Stuart
Oliver Nelson
Ralph Stanley
Ramsey Lewis
Ricky Nelson
Bob Stanley
Steve Earle (okay if this is disallowed because of the extra ‘e’)
Tony Allen
Lee Perry (the ‘Scratch’ just gets in the way)
Jeff Barry
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Willie Nelson
and on the distaff side, Barbara Lynn
A duo from the folk world :
Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin
while in another duo with Ciaran Algar, we find Greg Russell
Paul Simon. Pop’s greatest songwriter. Possibly.
Probably, his greatest song: America
http://youtu.be/gAoArleLZEk
And let us never forget Favourite Waste Of Time one hit wonder Owen Paul, real name Paul Owen, whose nominal reversal was required because there was some other popster answering to his original name.
John Barry and Craig David belong to the micro-subset of musicians whose names, when reversed, become those of sportsmen: Barry John, welsh rugby legend, and David Craig, former Northern Ireland and Newcastle United defender….
Good one, and as usual my answer is Lowell George.
Alex James
Mike Joyce
Gruff Rhys
Gillian Gilbert
Chris Martin
The answer as usual is David Bowie.
Well, Mr and Mrs Knife had a son called Bowie didn’t they?
V good
Augustus John.
Grayson Perry.
Paul Nash.
Stanley Spencer.
William Blake.
John Grant
Pink Floyd
Scott Walker
John Walker
Gary Walker
Scott McKenzie – I dated a girl called McKenzie. An Aussie. Then there was an American girl, Page. So Jimmy Page counts.
Julie Felix
Buffy (St) Marie
Daniel Craig
Clive James…
What about Rod Stewart? And Al Stewart too.
Not musical, but Jamie Oliver = James Oliver, and then flip ’em and you’ve got Telly psychologist Oliver James. Voila.
Seeing as I’m listening to R.E.M. at the moment, how about Peter Buck?
And then there’s Bruce and Pete Thomas from the Attractions, and the androgynous Janis Ian.
John Martyn
Fiona Bruce
Jack Russell
Donald Campbell
The sex change narrative:
Olivia Newton John
Henry James
Joseph Conrad
Jane Austen