The early incarnations of Syd Barrett’s bands went thought several different names. Originally named Sigma 6 he then used the Meggadeaths, the Abdabs and the Screaming Abdabs, Leonard’s Lodgers, and the Spectrum Five, before settling on the Tea Set. Here is the band Tea Set with Barrett, Roger Waters, Bob Klose and Chris Dennis performing at a private party in 1964.
Barrett decided to change the name to The Pink Floyd Sound in late 1965. Barrett created the name on the spur of the moment when he discovered that another band, also called the Tea Set, were to perform at one of their gigs. It has been widely written that the band name Pink Floyd was derived by Syd Barrett when juxtaposed the first names of these two blues musicians whose records Barrett had in his collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd “Dipper Boy” Council.
That story is somewhat correct. Syd might have had Anderson and Council’s records in his collection but he actually named the band The Pink Floyd Sound after having noticed the two names in the liner notes of this 1962 album by Blind Boy Fuller (Philips BBL-7512).
Here is the historic section of the linear notes written by the blues historian Paul Oliver that named Pink Floyd.
And with that paragraph Pink Floyd was born.
Did you know Paul McCartney indirectly named the Ramones??? Click link below to read about how that happened.