List of bands named after places
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This is a list of notable bands named after real or fictional places. Bands whose names vary slightly (for example, in spelling, pluralization, or the addition of relatively insignificant terms such as determiners, prepositions, numerals, and synonyms of band) from those of their namesakes are included. Bands named after non-places which are in turn named after places are also included. (The "named after" relation is assumed to be transitive.) Bands with names of places as part of their names (only), such as Hanoi Rocks and The Presidents of the United States of America, are excluded. Bands named after types of places, such as Mountain and Skid Row, are also excluded.
A band may name itself after a place for any combination of the following reasons: * to indicate geographic origin (conveying pride or authenticity); * to invoke ideas (such as religious, political, or environmental characteristics) associated with that place; * simply because the name is "catchy" and sounds good.
Bands named after real places
* Aberdeen, after the city of Aberdeen * Aberfeldy, after the Scottish town * Alabama, after the U.S. state of Alabama * , after the U.S. state of Alaska * Alcatrazz, after the island and prison in San Francisco Bay. * All Saints, after All Saints Road, W11, London * Alter Bridge, after a bridge on Alter Road in Detroit, Michigan * America, after the continent of America * Antietam, after the American Civil War Battle of Antietam, which was named after Antietam Creek, where it took place * Arcturus named after the star Arcturus * Arizona, after the U.S. state of Arizona (Norwegian hard rock band, 1985-88, aka: Bad). * Asia, after the continent of Asia * Atlanta, after the U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia * Backstreet Boys, after Back Street Market, a shopping area in Orlando, Florida * Barcelona, after the city of Barcelona * Bay City Rollers, after Bay City, Michigan * Bayside, after Bayside, Queens in New York City * The Belmonts, after Belmont Street in The Bronx * Beirut, after the city of Beirut * Berlin, after the city of Berlin * and , both after the city of Bethlehem * Black Oak Arkansas, after the U.S. town of Black Oak, Arkansas * Blairsville, after the town of Blairsville, Pennsylvania * The Blue Nile, after the Blue Nile river.
* The Bosstones, after Boston, Massachusetts. See also The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. * Boston, after the city of Boston * Brazzaville and Brazzaville, after the city of Brazzaville * Briskeby, after a neighbourhood in the borough Frogner in Oslo, Norway * Bush, after Shepherd's Bush, a district of London * Byzantine, after the former Byzantine Empire * Cabaret Voltaire, after the Cabaret Voltaire, a night club in Zürich * Café Tacuba, after a hundred-year-old Mexico City restaurant * Cairo, after the city of Cairo * Calexico, after the city of Calexico, California * Chelsea, named after Chelsea, part of London. (There were several bands with this name.) * Chicago, after the city of Chicago (originally Chicago Transit Authority) * Chilliwack, after the town of Chilliwack in British Columbia * Cinder Road after the road in Timonium, Maryland * Cruachan, after the ancient capital of the kingdom of Connacht in Ireland. * Cuba, after the nation of Cuba (band later became Air Cuba) * Cypress Hill, after a location in South Gate, California * Danzig is the German name for the Polish city of , though the band got its name by way of Glenn Danzig. * Defiance, Ohio, named after the city of Defiance, Ohio. * Delaware, after the U.S. state of Delaware * Dessau, after the German town. * Dimmu Borgir, after an area of lava formations near Mývatn, Iceland * Dover, named after the town and port of Dover in England, United Kingdom
* Dream Theater, after a now-demolished cinema in Monterey, California * Dru Hill, after Druid Hill Park, a section of Baltimore, Maryland * The Dubrovniks, after Dubrovnik, a city Croatia * Earlimart after Earlimart, California * Earth, after the planet Earth (also an early name of Black Sabbath) * East 17, after the postcode for the London community of Walthamstow * Easterhouse after Easterhouse, a suburb of Glasgow * Eastern Lane named after a street in Berwick Upon Tweed. * Egypt, after the name of the country Egypt * Enderby after Enderby Land, Antarctica * Enon after Enon, Ohio * E Street Band, after E Street in Belmar, New Jersey * Europe, after the continent of Europe * Everything but the Girl, after an old-fashioned furniture shop in Hull, England * Ezo, after the island of (formerly known as Eizo) * Fountains of Wayne, after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey * Geneva, after the city of Geneva, Switzerland * Gondwanaland, after the prehistoric continent of Gondwanaland * Gorky Park, after Gorky Park, an amusement park in Moscow
* Gravenhurst, after the city of Gravenhurst, Ontario * Great Lakes, after the Great Lakes. (There was also a 1960s psychedelic band called The Great Lakes.) * Groom Lake, after a large dry salt flat known as Groom Lake in Nevada, where Area 51 is located. * The Greenberry Woods, after a housing development near the University of Maryland. * Green River, after the Green River in the U.S. state of Washington (via the nickname of serial killer Gary Ridgway) * Halifax, named after Halifax, a city in Canada * The Harrisons, named after Harrison Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield UK * Hatfield and the North, named after Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, and more specifically after road signs pointing to "Hatfield and the North" * Hedley, after the town of Hedley, British Columbia, * Highway 101, after US Route 101 on the west coast of the United States * Hiroshima, after the city of Hiroshima * Hollenthon, after the town of Hollenthon, Austria * The Holloways after the inner-city district of Holloway in the London Borough of Islington * Horsell Common named after a place near a village in Surrey, England, and setting in H. G. Wells's 'War of the Worlds' * H-Town, after a common nickname for Houston, Texas * Idaho, after the U.S. state of Idaho * The Iveys after a street in Swansea, Wales (band later became Badfinger) * Japan, after the nation of Japan * Two bands named Jerusalem, after the city of Jerusalem * Kamchatka, after the volcanically active Russian Kamchatka Peninsula * Kansas, after the U.S. state of Kansas * Kashmir, after the Led Zeppelin song "Kashmir," which is in turn named after Kashmir, a region of South Asia * Kensington Market, after the Kensington Market neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario * Kingston Trio, after Kingston, Jamaica; the group considered itself at first to be primarily a calypso group. * The Knickerbockers, after Knickerbocker Road in Bergenfield, New Jersey * Kohima, band in Wisconsin, USA named after the town of Kohima in India * Laibach, after the German-language name of Ljubljana, Slovenia
* Leningrad, after the Russian city of Saint Petersburg (formerly known as Leningrad) * Lindisfarne, after Lindisfarne, an island off the Northumberland coast accessible by vehicles at low tide. * Linkin Park, after a park (now known as Christine Reed Park) in Santa Monica, California (spelling was changed from Lincoln to Linkin because the domain name lincolnpark.com was unavailable) * Little River Band, after Little River, Victoria, Australia * London, after the city of London * Lorene Drive, after a street in Victorville, CA * Luxembourg, after the country Luxembourg
* The Manhattan Transfer, after John Dos Passos's novel Manhattan Transfer, which is in turn named after the Manhattan Transfer train station in New York City * The Manhattans, after Manhattan, a borough of New York City * Manitoba, after the Canadian province of Manitoba (now recording as Caribou for legal reasons) * Manassas, after Manassas, Virginia * Mandalay, after the city Mandalay in Burma * Marcy Playground, after the playground of Marcy Open School in the U.S. city of Minneapolis * Mars, after the planet Mars * Matmatah, french rock band named after a berber village in southern Tunisia Matmata. * Maxïmo Park, after Maximo Gomez Park, a meeting place for Cuban revolutionaries * Memphis, after the town of Memphis, Tennessee. * Minsk, after Minsk, the capital of Belarus * Mir, after the Russian space station of the same name * Missouri, after the U.S. state of Missouri * MC5, after Detroit, Michigan, the "Motor City" * Mojave 3, after the Mojave Desert * Monaco, after the Principality of Monaco * Mount Rushmore, after the U.S. monument Mount Rushmore * Mount Shasta, after Mount Shasta, California * Münchener Freiheit, after a place in Munich in Germany * Myslovitz, after the Polish town of * Nantucket, after the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts * Nazareth, after the city of Nazareth * New England, quartet formed around Boston New England (produced by Paul Stanley of Kiss) * New York Dolls, after New York Dolls Hospital, a toy repair shop * Nickel Creek, after a small town of the same name in Texas * Nile, after the river Nile * Oasis, after the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, England; or, according to some sources, a nightclub in Manchester * Of Montreal, after the city of Montreal * 112, after the Atlanta club, Club 112 * Oregon, after the U.S. state of Oregon * Orleans, after the city of New Orleans * O-Town, after a common nickname for Orlando, Florida
* Over the Rhine, after the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in the band's hometown of * The Paddingtons after the area of Paddington in the City of Westminster, London * Palm Springs, after the desert city in Riverside County, California * Paloalto, after the preschool attended by singer James Grundler (not after Palo Alto, California, as commonly assumed)
* Pankow, after Pankow, a borough of Berlin * Pantera - originally Pantego, a Texas town * Paris, Texas, after the U.S. town of Paris, Texas * Parkway Drive, after a street in Byron Bay, Australia * Philpot after Philpot, KY, U.S.A. * Porterville, after Porterville, California. * Portishead, after the English town of Portishead, Somerset * Queen City Kids, after the nickname for Regina, Saskatchewan * Rammstein, after the German city of Ramstein via the Ramstein airshow disaster at Ramstein Air Base in 1988 * Rascal Flatts, after a geological formation near Catoosa, Oklahoma * , after the Icelandic city of Reykjavík * Salem, after the former name of Jerusalem * Sawyer Brown, after Sawyer Brown Road in the Bellevue section of Nashville, Tennessee * Scrantonicity, a portmanteau of Scranton, Pennsylvania and the 1983 Police album Synchronicity. *Sham 69, named after vandalism on a pub toilet which referred to Horsham and Walton Skins 1969. * Scrantonicity II, after Scranton, Pennsylvania * Sidi Bou Said, after the town of Sidi Bou Said in northern Tunisia. *Sing-Sing, after Sing Sing Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Ossining, New York * Sleater-Kinney, after a road in Lacey, Washington * Sodom, after the destroyed biblical city Sodom. * Soho, after Soho, an area of London * Soundgarden, after the Sound Garden in Seattle, a kinetic sculpture that makes sounds in the wind * Spain, after the nation of Spain * Sparta, after the Ancient Greek city of Sparta
* Stalag 17 is named after the Nazi POW camp * Sugarhill Gang, after the Sugar Hill area of Harlem, New York City * Sugarland, after the city of Sugar Land, Texas * Texas, after the U.S. state of Texas (via the title of the Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas) * Toronto, after the city of Toronto * Towers of London, after the historic landmark in London, England * UK, after the United Kingdom * Ulan Bator, after the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar * The United States of America, after the United States of America * Valencia, after the Spanish city of Valencia * Venice, after the U.S. city of Venice, California, which in turn is named after Venice in Italy * Versailles, after the city of Versailles * Wailing Wall, after the Western Wall in Jerusalem * Walls of Jericho, after the biblical city of Jericho * Waltham, after the U.S. city of Waltham, Massachusetts * Warsaw, after the Polish capital city (band later became Joy Division) * Whitechapel, after the London city district Whitechapel * Youngstown, after a city in Ohio * Yukon, after the Canadian Territory of Yukon
Bands named after fictional or mythological places * Amon Amarth, after Amon Amarth (Sindarin for Mount Doom) in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth * Cirith Ungol, after Cirith Ungol in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth * Crystal Castles, after the Crystal Castle from the He-man and She-ra TV shows. * Eisley, after the spaceport town Mos Eisley on the planet Tatooine in the Star Wars universe. * Evergreen Terrace, after Evergreen Terrace, a fictional street from The Simpsons * Ephel Duath, after a mountain range separating Gondor and Mordor in The Lord of the Rings * Gorgoroth, after plateau in J.R.R. Tolkien's series The Lord of the Rings * Heldon, a country in Norman Spinrad's novel The Iron Dream * Idlewild, after a place in the children's book Anne of Green Gables * Kamelot, after the legendary castle of King Arthur, Camelot * Knockturn Alley, Maltese band named after the fictional Harry Potter location * LiLiPUT, after Lilliput, the land of tiny people from Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels * Nakatomi Plaza, after the fictional office building/tower in the movie Die Hard * Narnia, after C. S. Lewis's fantasy world Narnia * Opeth, after the ancient city from the novel The Sunbird by Wilbur Smith * The Shangri-Las, after the fictional utopia Shangri-La * Styx, after the mythological river Styx
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