Namesakes #187: Bread

Man cannot live on Bread alone, and that's a very good thing as there were far fewer bands named after our daily sandwich maker than you might expect... or, perhaps this is just what you'd expect.

I used to get upset when I could only find a couple of options for this feature... nowadays, I appreciate the breather. And I'm sure you do too.

Not much choice in the bread aisle then... there must be a shortage. I blame the Orange Crybaby.

BREAD #1

We start with some Swedish bread from 1967, using their loaf to mimic the Motown sound. The video features an extremely unimpressed Swedish pensioner in the audience for their impromptu street performance.

Bread - Motortown Beat

BREAD #2

The thing I like most about doing this feature is that I learn something new every time. And today was the day I discovered that David Gates and Bread hailed from Tulsa, Memphis and LA... not Birkenhead, Birmingham and the Home Counties. I don't know why I always thought Bread were a British band - perhaps I was confusing them with Nigel Blackwell's least favourite 80s sitcom.

Apparently, the band chose the name Bread because a bread truck drove past the window just as they were scratching their heads wondering what to call themselves. They say they could just have easily have been called Bus or Telephone Pole.

Bread - Guitar Man

BREAD #3

And finally, live from California, via Bandcamp. And... no. Just no.

Bread - Prayin'

 

There were some other Breads listed on discogs, including a rapper with a song called How Could I Die, which I was looking forward to featuring alongside a "brown bread" gag, but when I typed the title into the tube of you, I got redirected to The Samaritans again. And there was another hip hop Bread who would have won this week's best song title - "I Watched The Spy Kids Trilogy And Now I No Longer Fear Death" - but I couldn't find their tune anywhere. There were also way too many bands called Bread & Butter. And one called Breadbelly. But that's - mercifully - your lot this for week.