Hardcore Radiohead fans know that the group used to be called On a Friday. They chose that name because that was the only day on which they could practice.
They stuck with On a Friday through their first recording sessions and through a series of live shows in 1991. One of these shows was reviewed by a critic from Melody Maker, one of the very powerful weekly music tabloids in England. He loved the sound of the band but declared that their name was terrible. He wrote that the name was “best suited for beer-gutted pub rockers.” And although On a Friday was initially insulted, they, to their surprise, found that they agreed.
It was then that they changed their name to Radiohead after a song entitled “Radio Head” on the Talking Heads 1986 album, True Stories.
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