The origins of the band name:
7 November 1990 • UNKNOWN MAGAZINE
Q: What inspired the band name?
Sam: The name is something very special to me, and I dislike the need to “define” it. Words are limited and, very often, utterly useless. The name has a deeply personal nature, and yet I enjoy that it can be interpreted by the listener. I try not to intrude too deeply upon others’ interpretations.
Grindzone • Italy • January 8 1999 • Ferruccio Filippi
Q: What is the meaning of the band’s name?
Sam: I keep my interpretation of the name private, because I feel that each person creates their own image, and I don’t want to dispel that.
Gothic Magazine • Germany • January 8 1999 • Thomas Roche
Sam: It’s not that the name has an overwhelming significance to me as a poetic phrase. Rather, I like leaving the meaning open to the individual. There are many interesting interpretations of ‘black tape for a blue girl’ and I find them all interesting and valid. Why should I stifle your creativity by giving the meaning that comes into my head . . . you know?
Voltage Magazine • USA • February 10 1999
Sam: In so far as ‘what’ that name means. I prefer to leave that unanswered. I think that each person comes up with their own interpretation, which is just as valid as the one I first came up with.
Sideline • Belgium • 6-29-99
I prefer not to say where the name came from; really I think that each person’s interpretation is as valid as the next, so I don’t think I need to define it for you…
12-1-2021
A writer from Canada contacted me about a book their doing: Artists from the 80s explaining their band’s name. This was my reply:
Sam: I appreciate your message, but I prefer not to define my band’s name. I don’t want to limit the meaning of “Black Tape For A Blue Girl” to what it meant to me in a one-second moment back in 1986; that’s not really fair to the listener’s creativity. I’ve been avoiding the question for thirty-five years.