When I first saw this story, I had to check my calendar – because for a moment, I thought April Fools Day had arrived early. A “post-punk and noise rock band from Dublin” called Girl Band have decided they don’t want to be called Girl Band anymore. Apparently, they’re now Gilla Band.

They put out the obligatory statement on Instagram, and you can smell the political correctness off it. They say the decision was taken “to try and negate any unfortunate role we’ve played in propagating a culture of non-inclusivity in music”. Their name is obviously their choice, but I question who encountered the name and then decided not to engage with music because of it.

Whatever the reason, it all reminds me of the scenario last summer when Dave Lee decided to drop his 30-year old alias Joey Negro. No one he’d ever worked with ever had an issue with the name, only a few people who’d emailed in to complain.

So, who’s next? Will Hannah Wants now change her name to finally reveal after all these years what she actually wants? Perhaps the Blessed Madonna will have to change her name again due to there being a lack of evidence she is indeed blessed? Or maybe DJ Sneak will have to ditch the alias due to him never doing any sneaking?

I just wonder what Gilla, the 1970s disco singer from Austria, makes of her name being appropriated by these gentlemen…

By The Editor

Editor-in-chief at Amateur’s House.