My prodigious Pandora usage has lead to yet another name discovery: Neon Hitch.
The British singer, born in 1985, grew up on a bus. In fact, Neon and her nomadic family were featured in a BBC documentary [vid] about travellers.
Where did her name come from?
My parents are very into psychedelia. My dad is a lighting technician, so I think that’s a big part of it. He was driving through Piccadilly Circus – it’s like a sh*t version of Times Square – and he saw [the] lights and he decided that was it, Neon should be my name. I spent my whole childhood hating my parents for giving me such a weird name but at last, it works.
Here’s more on how she felt about the name:
I went through that phase where you’re a young kid and you want to fit in. I would see these kids who had normal names, had a house they could invite their friends over, and I was like, “Mom, I hate you. Why did you call me Neon? I have the stupidest name ever!” At one time I wanted to change my name to Melanie, like from the Spice Girls. I was like, “I just want to be a normal person.” But that was a tiny little phase, and then I was like, “You know what? You have to like who you are, whoever you are, and you have to own it.”
What do you think about the name Neon?
P.S. In the BBC documentary, Neon mentions that she has younger sisters named Pema and Hazel.
Sources:
- Studeman, Kristin. “Discovery: Neon Hitch.” Interview 28 Feb. 2012.
- Bark, Theo. “Neon Hitch Trades Circus Life for Music Industry.” Spinner 1 Mar. 2011.
Image: Adapted from Neon Hitch Highline Ballroom by Mark Rifkin under CC BY 2.0.
Ayyy neon is my name too!