Same Band, Nu Name!

Our sole purpose was to honor the majesty of John Lennon’s music, not exploit his name. But assuming we could use John’s name was a bit naive on our part.

When the John Lennon Song Project was brought to the attention of the Lennon Estate, they politely explained that no matter how honorable our intentions were, there was a legal precedent that lay exclusively with them. They further explained they have several “song projects” under their auspices, so they respectfully requested we not use that phrase as well. They did however graciously allow us to use “Celebrating the Songs of John Lennon” as a tag line to explain our project’s purpose.

Meanwhile, our dilemma remained - how to choose a name that didn’t smack of the tackiness most tribute names elicit, yet still declares our “tributing” to this amazing man’s music? In addition, by all indications, our Imagined CD and live performances are the furthest thing from “tacky” there can be.

After much gnashing of teeth and pulling at hair, (which we can ill afford these days) we went with The Nu-Utopians which referenced Nutopia, the fictitious country that John and Yoko founded in 1973 as a symbolic refuge for themselves and like-minded people seeking world peace. It also brought much needed attention to John’s deportation battle with Nixon’s State Department; a battle he eventually won.

The Nu-Utopians served us well for most of 2011 until the Lennon estate, through our involvement with WhyHunger was again notified about the band’s name change and mission. This time Yoko Ono herself strongly recommended we call ourselves The Nutopians, suggesting it a better all around fit for us.  Needless to say, the band was overjoyed to accommodate Yoko’s suggestion.

In reality, few if any name choices were going to automatically align us with John’s music without having to explain it first. And after all is said and done, it certainly makes for an interesting story line.

Bottom line, we really love The Nutopians and think it’s definitely hipper, as it also references both John and Yoko’s socio/political activism and their matchless imaginations. Did we mention that it rolls right off the tongue when saying it?
Go ahead, try it! The Nu - To - Pi - Ans. See, we told you so. Now go forth and tell the world!