How They Became... Biffy Clyro

Name That Band!

Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro

Welcome to the new weekly SPIN.com feature "Name That Band!" in which we get the inside stories behind the mysterious monikers of some of our favorite artists. (See past episodes of Name That Band! here.)

This week we tried something different. We spoke with Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro, who are known to tell false stories about the origins of their name. The tale they made up for us may not be true, but we found it witty and charming nonetheless. Enjoy.

The band's new album, Only Revolutions, hits U.S. shores on March 9. 

Why Biffy Clyro: "There’s a famous British musician called Cliff Richard," explains singer-guitarist Simon Neil, "and when me and [drummer] Ben [Johnston] were 13 and bored in our little Scottish town of Ayr, we'd think up imaginary Cliff Richard merch products. We thought of things like Cliff Richard coat hangers and Cliff Richard Jesus dolls -- he's a big Christian singer. In the U.K. there's a cheap kind of pen called a Biro pen and we thought about making Cliff Richard Biro pens. We'd call them Cliffy Biros. Somehow that turned into Biffy Clyro. Bizarrely, we weren't high at the time. There's just not a lot to do in Ayr. The weather is terrible."

Previously Rejected Names: "We were called Screwfish for a while. We just used to fling random words together -- Empire State Bastard; Jahames Brown."

Best Band Names Ever: "There's an Irish band called And So I Watch You From Afar. I always liked that name. The band Oceansize has a great name -- it fits their music so much. They sound huge. And I once saw a band whose name was a play on Godspeed You! Black Emperor called Bill Cosby! You Black Entertainer. I thought that was amazing. "

Worst Band Name Ever: "The other night in Switzerland I saw a sticker for a band called Coleslaw. That's an even worse name than Biffy Clyro. Arctic Monkeys is pretty atrocious, but I'm a fan of the band."

13 Comments

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Posted By I find myself here!?!

03.05.10 9:48 AM

Hillarious as H*ll!!

Whatever the name is or how they came up with it..
You can hear it in their songs.. You can hear it on stage.. and even in their interviews..
Having Fun is the big red line you`ll see when you care to look closer.

Enjoy Guys!!
Big cheer 4 U

Posted By Duff

03.03.10 5:07 AM

it keeps the minds boggling and the tongues wagging so for me its hysterical and very playful

Posted By Coleslaw Fan

03.02.10 10:03 AM

Coleslaw Music rules!

Posted By JojoColeslaw

03.02.10 6:28 AM

hehe - and here is Jojo from "Coleslaw" - the band with the worst name ...hehe.

http://www.myspace.com/coleslawrock ;)

Posted By cafeemetalfan

03.01.10 7:53 PM

Simon, you have the best voice and band i have ever had the pleasure to listen to, I only started to listen to you when i think 'Mountains' appeared on scuzz. As for where your name came from yes i am intrequed but i love a bit of mystery.

I really hope to meet you all on day in the Norfolk area.
Much luck and happiness for the future.
From one of your many number one fans
xxxxxx

Posted By Simon

03.01.10 3:52 PM

Wow. I dinnae realise people were so crazy about where our name came from.
Sorry guys its not true. As this guy said:

They've also said that this story is sh** too. They just make up stuff all the time to explain the name.

We didn't stick with Jahames Brown because we thought people would get confused. There's a lot of simpletons around. We promised ourselves we would only reveal the truth after our last ever single.

So thanks for all the interest guys and see some of you on tour, Isle of Wight, T or V ;)

Simon x

Posted By Anonymous

03.01.10 3:46 PM

If you're so cool 'cause you already know the story and you're so bored by it, there's a little button with an X on the top of the window that you might find helpful. You're welcome.

Posted By Anonymous

03.01.10 3:30 PM

thats actually the true story behind the name. n000bs

Posted By Anonymous

03.01.10 3:17 PM

They've also said that this story is sh** too. They just make up stuff all the time to explain the name.

Posted By cafeemetalfan

03.01.10 2:49 PM

Biffy Clyro, Cliffys Biros, hahaha, really funny.

Best band in the world, i am a mega fan, I am waiting to have the enormous pleasure of finally watching the live.

Simon is just so georgeous, beautiful

xxxx

Posted By Anonymous

03.01.10 2:27 PM

This story has been around forever nothing new

Posted By Anonymous

03.01.10 1:23 PM

Best band in the UK right now!!

Posted By Anonymous

03.01.10 12:08 PM

It's too bad they didn't go with Jahames Brown. Love that song though. And Simon is super hot.

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