Gossip and trivia from pop music.

RADIOHEAD 

Bucking the tradition of rock groups trashing hotel rooms, Radiohead actually does the opposite. Not only do they clean up their own rooms, but they once snuck back into a hotel after checking out to clean up a room that their opening band had trashed.

THE WHITE STRIPES

Before he was a rock star, Jack White repaired furniture. At 21 years old, he even started his own business, called Third Man Upholstery. (His slogan: “Your furniture’s not dead.”) Although White enjoyed the work, he wasn’t into the business aspect of it, which began to suffer when his clients stopped taking him seriously. Why? According to White, he’d write poetry inside their furniture and write his invoices in crayon.

HAWKWIND

The 1970s progressive-rock band was playing an outdoor concert during a rainstorm. As part of their theatrical act, singer Nik Turner dressed up in a frog costume and ran onto the stage. On this particular day, however, the stage was muddy and Turner slid all the way across, over the edge, and into a muddy puddle on the ground (just like a real frog).

JOHN & YOKO

In 1969 Lennon and Ono released the avant-garde Wedding Album. Side 1 featured 22 minutes of the couple yelling each others’ names. Side 2 featured recordings of the couple on their honeymoon. According to the book Rock Bottom, “The album caused great hilarity when it was reviewed by a London journalist who was sent an advance copy, in the form of two single-sided discs. Sadly, he didn’t realize that some record companies distribute test pressings in this form, and commented that he preferred the two sides which contained an electronic hum.”

THE COMMODORES

How did they get their name? In 1968 keyboardist William King put on a blindfold, opened up a dictionary, and placed his finger on a random word. “We lucked out,” King recalled. “We almost became the Commodes!”