Real Band Origins Quiz (Part 1)

About This Quiz

What’s the deal?

We give you a random slice of real life (a movie, a street sign, your grandma’s favorite book—whatever).

Four band names pop up. Tap the one that actually borrowed it.

Wrong answers look legit, but they won’t bite.

Sources shuffle every round, so everyone gets a lane they know.

See what weird facts actually stick.

START QUIZ

1/19

Named after the first book of the Bible?

[A] Genesis | Biblical beginnings became progressive rock foundations. The word promises creation stories, which suited their evolving soundscapes perfectly from day one.

2/19

A band member saw this standing on a sewing machine?

[B] AC/DC | Sister Margaret's sewing machine label sparked rock history. Alternating current meets direct current: simple electrical terminology became thunderous Australian rock identity.

3/19

Named after the state of perfect inner stillness and peace?

[C] Nirvana | Buddhist enlightenment concept meets grunge angst. Kurt Cobain found irony naming chaos after ultimate peace, creating beautiful contradictions through distortion.

4/19

The first names of two blues musicians, P. Anderson and F. Council?

[A] Pink Floyd | Syd Barrett combined Pink Anderson and Floyd Council's names. Two Piedmont blues legends unknowingly birthed psychedelic rock's most cosmic explorers.

5/19

A play on Buddy Holly's 'Crickets'?

[B] The Beatles | Crickets inspired beetles, but spelling got punny. John Lennon loved wordplay: insects became "beat" music, launching Liverpool lads into history.

6/19

Named after a Grammy-winning jazz song by Nino & April which was the guitarist's grandmother's favourite song?

[C] Deep Purple | Ritchie Blackmore's grandmother adored this jazz standard. Sweet memory became heavy metal thunder, proving grandmas inspire headbanging classics too.

7/19

A combination of the last names of the drummer Mick and the bassist John?

[A] Fleetwood Mac | Mick Fleetwood plus John McVie equals naming democracy. The rhythm section got billing while singers kept changing through decades.

8/19

Named after a man-sized medieval torture device?

[D] Iron Maiden | Medieval museums display these spike-lined coffins. Steve Harris thought torture devices made perfect heavy metal imagery for galloping bass lines.

9/19

Named after Bob Dylan's 'The Ballad of Frankie Lee and band name'?

[B] Judas Priest | Dylan's obscure ballad character became metal mythology. Biblical betrayer meets religious figure: perfect paradox for leather-clad Birmingham headbangers.

10/19

An acronym for the first names of each of the band members?

[C] ABBA | Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid spelled Swedish pop perfection. Four names created palindromic magic, readable backwards like their timeless melodies.

11/19

Named after the band members' gym coach, Mr. Skinner, who punished the boys because of their long hair?

[D] Lynyrd Skynyrd | Leonard Skinner hated hippie hair, gave detentions. Students immortalized their tormentor through deliberate misspelling and Southern rock rebellion.

12/19

Surname pseudonym of Paul McCartney?

[B] Ramones | Paul toured as Paul Ramon once. Four Forest Hills punks adopted the alias, making fake names faster than three-chord songs.

13/19

Inspired by the manager's kinky London boutique called SEX?

[A] Sex Pistols | Malcolm McLaren's SEX shop needed controversy. Add weaponry to taboo commerce: instant punk provocation guaranteed to horrify British establishment.

14/19

The river that parts the world from the underworld in Greek mythology?

[C] Styx | Greeks sailed this mythical river toward afterlife. Chicago rockers thought underworld geography suited their theatrical ambitions and synthesizer journeys.

15/19

Named after an American spy plane like the one flown by Gary Powers?

[D] U2 | Cold War reconnaissance aircraft became Dublin's biggest export. High altitude surveillance transformed into stadium anthems reaching atmospheric heights globally.

16/19

Taken from a 1963 Italian horror movie starring Boris Karloff?

[A] Black Sabbath | Boris Karloff's Italian horror film inspired Birmingham doom. Movie marquees met factory town blues, birthing heavy metal's darkest originators.

17/19

Named after a 1963 paperback that reported on sexual paraphilia in the USA?

[C] The Velvet Underground | Michael Leigh's scandalous book explored hidden desires. Lou Reed found the title perfect for New York's artistic underbelly explorations.

18/19

The financial situation of this British band when it was founded?

[B] Dire Straits | Mark Knopfler's band started penniless. Financial desperation became their name, though guitar virtuosity quickly changed their economic forecast considerably.

19/19