My recent Keef does Lou post had me thinking about those artists that this applies to. Some due to the distinctiveness of their name, others maybe just their preeminence in the field.
Distinctive
Frank maybe contestable : Zappa v Sinatra
Joni
Elton
Miles
Loudon
Preeminence
Bob
Mick
Over to you
The obvious ones to me are Prince, Madonna, Elvis, Kylie, Bruce…
Don’t dispute any of those.
Elvis is open to variance.
Especially if he’s left the building.
Jazz musicians are completely up themselves with this
Miles
Freddie
Louis
Chet
Wynton
Dizzy
and that’s just the trumpet players
Interestingly Monk is always Monk, not Thelonious
Some piano players are known by their first names – McCoy, Chick, Herbie, Keith
Others it can be both – eg Duke or Ellington
Others it has to be both names – Bud Powell, Bill Evans
Interesting…
Miles is Miles, and Coltrane is Coltrane.
Fripp is Fripp – and Eno is Eno…
Coltrane can be Trane as well!
But never “John.” Or “Johnny-Boy”. Just as Miles is never “Davis”, or “Davey-Boy.”
Don’t forget Duke, Ella, Sarah, Oscar, Ornette, Django and Jaco in that jazz list.
Otis, Aretha, Marvin, Curtis and Stevie in the soul/r&b field.
Returning to the OP, I would suggest that Zappa is actually known by his surname, not as Frank – does that make him a jazz musician?
(There’s one specific variation – putting the word “Uncle” in front of Frank – but that might be disqualified under the terms of the OP).
Ellington? Well, that could be Mercer Ellington, the famous trumpet player who was in an orchestra led by his dad, whose name was … ooooh, I can’t remember….
Marc, involved with Convention.
Fairport.
…you’ve got a smiling face
Intriguingly, I came across a 1970 ‘Sounds’ interview with Dicky Thompo yesterday in which the writer – and seemingly Dicky – referred to the band throughout as ‘Fairports’. The Incredible String Band are usually referred to as ‘the Incredibles’ in period reportage – not ‘the ISB’. Sometimes these abbreviations take a while to become orthodox. I’ve come across early music paper references to the Old Grey Whistle Test as ‘the Grey Whistle’ rather than ‘the Old Grey’ or ‘Whistle Test’ or ‘OGWT’…
Mark Ellen always refers to The Incredible String Band as “The String Band”!
At the time, we always called the ISB “the Incredibles”, and, in spite of Johnny Concheroo’s disbelief, we called Dr. Strangely Strange “the Strangelies”.
Adele
Madonna
Janis
Kylie
Beyonce
Siouxsie
Cilla
Lulu
E
I think you misspelled Taylor. 😉
I think most people say R Dean
Some are identifiable just by part of their first name:
Bey
‘Ye.
Ye is so much easier to say than Fat Nazi Fuckpig. And yet it means the same thing 👍
He’ll always be Sweaty Ken to me.
“Sweaty Ken”? Are we really going to let this pass without so much as a Roger Moore-style raised eyebrow? SWEATY KEN?????
Please PLEASE do not remind Hubert of this phrase
No way I’m going to prompt SWEATY KEN @hubert-rawlinson !
Thanks for the reminder, can you remind me what it’s about?
Mercifully, no.
DONOVAN
No, he’s more often referred to simply as Jason
@Moose-the-Mooche
Or “Jase” in the case of the thousands of the now 30-something former mewling brats who were saddled with J’s name during his first flush of fame
HI EVERONE WHO KNO ME ITS ME JASE I INT BEEN AROUND MUCH COS ITS BEEN A BAD TIME 4 ME TBH BUT I DROP IN HERE FROM TIME 2 TIME WHAT HAPEND TO DOGFACEBOB LOL?? HE WOS A FUNY GUY WICH IS MORE THAN U CAN SAY 4 MAND THE BITCH NICKED MY DIER STRAIT CDS WICH I UNDERSTAND ARE WORTH A KINGS GRANDSON THESE DAYS BUT I DIGRESS I HAV A NEW JOB IN A AI STARTUP WICH IS ALL 2 DO WITH COMPUTER PORN AN THAT BUT MY ROLE IS MORE IN THE MAINTINANCE LINE CLEANING THE BOGS BUT THEY WANT ME 2 WORK FROM HOME I DONT RELLY UNDERSTAND I MUST B GETTING OLD LFMOA!!
That new one from Stephen King looks promising
I was wondering what had become of Jason and Amanda. It warms my heart to know he still thinks of us. And I’m very pleased to hear about his new job. (is Mandy still in sales?). I’m a little sad to discover, reading between the lines, that he and Mandy are no longer together.
THANKS GAZ MAND AN ME SPLIT UP YONKS AGO WHEN SHE WAS TRYIN 2 B A LESBAIN THAT WENT WELL HA HA LOL SHES A FAT NAILTICIAN UP IN CRADELY HEATH I GOT ME ACTION FIGURES FETURED IN GAMEBOY MAGAZINE ISENT MAND A SINED COPY LUV JASE BUT NEVER HERD NUTHIN
Ringo
Gilbert
Yoko
Elton
Ozzy
Gilbert on his own, without George?
Gilbert only by dint of the fact that the ONLY other musical Gilbert anyone has ever heard of is the Victorian one that he nicked half his name off in the first place.
Dozy
Beaky
Mick
Tich
@Moose-the-Mooche
Tich sadly left us for the great TOTP green room in the sky only last week
What terrible terrible news 89 is no age that’s another part of my childhood gone ectect
Poor Mick. He must have been wracked with self-doubt and neurosis as to why he didn’t warrant a nickname. Just like Fleegle, Snorky, Drooper and Graham.
Dave Dee got his full name though but. What a tyrant.
Bez
Stacia
Orinoco,Tobermory or Wellington
Ozzy
Axl
Biddu
Geoffrey, George, Zippy, Bungle, Rod, Jane and Freddy
Bungle and Zippy possibly, but even then, no hits !
And George went to boarding school didn’t he, eh? Eh???
Charlie – gotta be watts
Keith – there’s a tussle there
Ditto Roger
Gladys
Donnie
Minnie
Sly
Jimi
There are too many Charlies to be specific.
See also jazz musicians named Art (and one folk/pop artiste too).
A few Neils, but only one Vivian. And just the one Syd.
Only one Fela.
There’s only one Vyvyan… and he’s a a complete bastard
Keith tussle solved by taking his teef out
Just the one Syd?
We mustn’t forget Mr Lawrence (and his famous Orchestra).
I’m still trying to forget Semprini.
My mum’s uncle, Roy Marsden, was the singer with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra for a while
Eric
Ernie
Van
….he’ll never sell any ice creams etc
Spelling is a giveaway – eg, there’s only one Daevid…
There’s only one Leee.
And only one E.
There’s a lady singer called Spellling..
On reflection Bob is contestable these days Dylan / Marley
Duane
Gregg
Jaco
Angus
Bon
…. Jovi? Iver? Gela?
Hmm
Nah Bon is fucking Bon
Well, maybe in Australia. If you hadn’t put it after Angus I wouldn’t have had a clue.
Bob is contestable and so is Dylan as there is a lady singer who now trades by that single name. She’s got balls, non?
A singer called Dylan? Crazy idea!
…as crazy as A Girl Called Eddy?
I always call him Duane Allman so I don’t get him mixed up with Duane Eddy.
Or Duane Dibbley
Vangelis
Demis
Nana
Nico
Bjork
Cliff
Bennett And His Rebel Rousers.
Michelmore. The broadcaster, the legend.
The combover. He and Robert Robinson (later guitarist with The Band) were masters of the forgotten craft.
of Dover
Ben – there’s another one
Arthur
Terence
Dave
Dave ? Dave?
Brubeck
Mathews
Stewart
Edmunds
Nah, it’s just Dave
…and the reclusive K Bush aka Her Indoors..
Dave Snothere
»Dave« – it’s either Gilmour or Bowie (»Captain Tom«) in our house.
Given that Captain Tom was famous for fighting Germans, that’s rather odd.
(yes I do understand that it’s a Zappa joke)
Ray
Ellington
Conniff
Von
Salaugh
Lemmy…
…no, you can’t
..a fiver till payday.
Wot no Bongo!
Ralf, Florian, Karl, Wolfgang
Adolf
Don’t call me that in public you little brat
You’re literally worse than Hitler.
Sigmund
Adolf
Galileo
Jesus
Cleopatra
Me
The fantasy life thread’s that way ->
Sid
Rumpo
Griddle my nodes!
‘e’s Ramblin’ again.
Snot
Wilco
Roger.
Over.
Shergar
Sooty
Sweep
Ramsbottom.
Isn’t that what Corbett fils got done for?
K is pretty special.
This is funny because “Special K” is a cereal! It’s also a fucking liar. I cannot imagine anything less special than a bowl of this nutrition-free packing material.
Marvin
Bootsy
Toots
Chrissie
Muddy
Oh yeah: Toots Thielemans – Belgian harmonica-playing legend!
Bootsy was pisspoor without Snudge.
….and with him, come to that
John
Lee Hooker
Fogerty
Sebastian
Dr.
And an American toilet.
I don’t know why they don’t give personal names to other domestic areas eg “I’ve hung your coat up in the Nigel”
All wrong. I meant one of the 3 Johns.
One of them – John something, his name was – died recently.
What terrible, terrible news 98 is no age that’s another part of my childhood gone ectect
Freddie
…and yes, Garrity and Hubbard, but still…
Noosha
or indeed
Anoushka
Ravi, too
Bo (as in Diddley)
Some are time-specific. In the 1971-75 period, John McLaughlin was known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, and was referred to by many band members (at least in MO Mk 2) – then and since – as just ‘Mahavishnu’, and by some journalists. Coming from the same guru-sphere, ‘Narada Michael Walden’ is still generally referred to as ‘Narada’ – one name. The one guru-name thing never caught on with Devadip Carlos Santana, though.
Also, and intriguing sub-genre of the ‘one name’ thing in pop is artists who had one name within a group name sequence (like Dave Dee, Dozy etc.) but whose name DIDN’T work outside of that sequence. In Ireland, Maxi, Dick & Twink were a popular girl group in the 60s. Maxi and Twink went on to have long solo careers in broadcasting and music, but ‘Dick’ hardly made sense outside of the trio of nicknames. I’ve no idea what happened to her – though there was a reunion on Twink’s Irish TV light entertainment show in 1982.
And then she joined the Pink Fairies….
… and after dropping the le after she sang Terry.
@gary
I truly don’t understand what’s going on.
Maxi Dick, and Twink? Su-ure you don’t …
One issue is whether people count if they are so niche most people have never heard of them. For example, Norma or Lal. Or are instantly recognisable to people in the UK, but probably not beyond, e.g.Darcey.
Oh, getting back to the main event,
Agnetha
Anni Frid
PJ
Lucinda
Emmylou
Dolly
Gillian
Margot
Willie
Waylon
Kris
In fairness, UK folk is considerably more niche than US country. Albeit even the latter doesn’t travel that far out of the Anglosphere. And most people won’t have heard of Margot or Gillian, in the same way as most people won’t have heard pf Loudon in the OPs list.
Drever or Kristofferson? Both very fine.
Kross!
Merle
Oberon
Worr
D. Worrdmansey
PJ?
Oh yes – I know the guy you mean.
Mr Proby.
Who always split his trousers on stage.
Or something.
PJ – getting ready to rumble with Duncan
Bez
Attila
Zsa Zsa
Snoop
and perhaps ….Ingmar
Other than spiders, Mr Karloff had Boris to himself, until the Blonde Bombshell eclipsed him.
Becker
Cronos
Mantas
Abaddon
Dumpy
Thor
Thunderstick
Reg?
As in the mighty Mr Smithies.
Brooce
Nas
Drake
Hakim
Tupac
These are all Ikea flatpacks.
lol
Thanks, son!
Shucks Pa
Chutzpah!
Bless you!
Creme
lol
I was in Ikea late last year and found a Kolon, a plastic mat for protecting carpet from office chair wheels. What a load of krap.
My office chair is sitting proudly atop a KOLON at this very moment!
…what are you, a circus act?
Now one for all the dads
Flick
Babs
Dee Dee
Beautiful Babs … no idea what her name is
Funny to think one of The Ramones was in Pan’s People.
…shudder to think what Flick Colby would have made of Cretin Hop or I Wanna Be Sedated
Lana
Enya
Shania
Britney
Whitney
Everything’s AOR …
Marilyn.
Manson, Monroe … and Boy George’s flamboyant bachelor holiday pal.
Two literary gents!
Rudyard
Aldous
Not so sure about Loudon. A lad who used to work for me once asked if I had heard of a band called Loudon Wainwright A Hundred and Eleven.
Shep.
Ludwig
Wolfie
Jo-Seb
Gus
Claude
Franz
Emil
Igor
Isambard
Carl-Gustav
Sigmund
Hildegard
Englebert
Millicent
Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Best
Rod
Argent
‘Ull and Emu.
Let’s get bang up to date with some 70s/80s names :
The lower you go, the harder it gets…
Toyah
Limahl
Nik
Rat
Jaz
Jello
Wattie
JonJon
rRussell
OK you can stop the DMs pleading for the answers to the last two!
JonJon took over from Jimi Somerville in Bronski Beat.
rRussell Bell was of course guitarist in Dramatis – a band that backed Gary Numan in the early days. Responsible for a great song title – Stormtrooper in Drag.
Sade.
A friend of ours who we hadn’t seen for a while was chatting to us the other month round a pub table, can’t remember what it was about.
She started a sentence “I was chatting to Sade about that the other day…”. She saw me and Jim just look at at each other without saying a word and in a split second went “no, that’s my sister Sade”.
Jarvis probably qualifies as a ‘modern’ addition to the list these days.
Dermo.
The TFHM…
Whilst we dredge, what about Mani, Reni, Budgie, Woopsi and Cludgi.
Not forgetting Mensi
I remember the NME reporting “David Bowie wishes henceforth to be known simply as Bowie (as in Dylan)”.
He did two albums as Bowie and then, confusingly, an album called David Live.
..so he could still cash his giro..
“Mr Jones, I’m calling from Brixton Job Centre, it’s about your claim for Unemployment Benefit…”
One of the members of Venom tells a story in the recent Denim and Leather book how he went to sign on one day in Newcastle and his case officer showed him a copy of one of their records and said “Is this you?”
Bono
Beyonce
Miley
Cher
Drake
Taylor
Pavarotti
Shakira
Prince
P!nk
Eminem
Tupac
Sting
Seal
Usher
Slash
Lorde
Ice T
Liberace
Bjork
Dido
Flea
Moby
Nico
…there was definitely only one Smiley Miley
This is most artists for Hip Hop: Biggie, Ghostface, Chef, Meth, Raekwon, Kanye, Drake, Kendrick, Future, Ludacris, DMX, Lauryn, Busta, Q-Tip, Mos, Nas, Snoop, and about a thousand more.
The notable exception is artists whose names begin with Lil, A$AP, Jay/J, and Young.
Barrington
Womble.
Pheloung Womble
Hans
Lotte
Jane
Willy
Suki
Leo
Sacha
Britt
Adolf
Enrico
186 comments and not one mention of Smokey!
the Bear?
or The Bandit
I’ll Meet you at Midnight.
Townes
Gram
Iggy
Azalea
Lol
Creme
…. it’s a shit business
lol
Couple of bluesers. Minimalistic BB and pushing the definition John Lee.
Joons, Vulpes, Col, Moosey,