Jethro Tull

Progressive rock group stemming from Blackpool and Luton, dominated by transverse flute virtuoso Ian Anderson.

In its early days - when the performances were so bad that no promoter would get it into his head to book the group a second time - the band made a habit of thinking up a new band name every week.

On their way to the next gig they used to go over the list of bands that would be playing that night; the only band name that did not ring a bell usually was their group name for that evening.

Frontman Anderson probably is the planter of the name that eventually struck root, Jethro Tull.

The name belongs to English agricultural scientist Jethro Michael Tull (1674-1741), the man who invented the automatic seeding machine among others.

Active: 1967-present, GBR

Site: http://www.j-tull.com/

See also: Aqualung