The Origin of Band names.

Here's a goodun...

Oz blues rock outfit "The Bondi Cigars" are named after what the Bondi locals call the floating turds that visit Bondi Beach from a nearby sewage outlet.

gleam wrote: yarstruly wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Yes name came from anderson saying to audience, " would you like to hear some more cosmic music.? They didnt like to call themselves "F**k Off, but an escapee from somewhere shouted "Yes", I guess the name stuck   Umm....Actually...I have always heard that Peter Banks suggested Yes and no one else came up with anything better....This is from multiple sources, the latest being the "Yesspeak" DVD.... Peter suggested Yes for two reasons. First because it was positive, optimistic and second because it could be painted in large letters on posters for more visibility.

And with the Roger Dean stylised Yes on a poster (or whatever else it can be printed on)...brilliant!

Gentle Giant is a reference to the french writer François Rabelais and his book  Gargantua and Pantagruel about a family of "gentle giants". there are several songs who make an allusion to the book.

"Pantagruel's nativity is based on the second and third chapters, "Of the Nativity of the Most Redoubted Pantagruel" and "Of the Mourning Gargantua Made for His Wife Badabec." These two chapters begin with the birth of Pantagruel, who was "so amazingly large and so heavy that he could not come into the world without suffocating his mother." The former chapter explains why "the earth was dry and burning" at the time of Pantagruel's birth--and what effect this would have on the young giant's character! The latter has Gargantua saying "Shall I weep...Yes. Why then?"--quoted almost verbatim in the GG song. He remains torn between grief for the loss of his wife and joy at the birth of his son.

The advent of panurge refers to the ninth chapter, entitled "How Pantagruel Found Panurge, Whom He Loved All His Life." Pantagruel speaks: "Do you see that man coming along the road from the Charenton bridge? On my faith, he is only poor in fortune. His physiognomy tells me for certain that he comes of some rich and noble stock." GG put it more succinctly: "the man who is poor but rich." (They got the name "Charenton" wrong, though.) The song closely parallels the events of the chapter, in which Panurge answers Pantagruel's offer of friendship with pleas for drink in every language but the one he understands. Sounds like some people I know...."