How did Foals come up with their band name?

10 May 2020, 14:00 | Updated: 10 May 2020, 14:01

We take a look at the reasons behind the Oxford band's equine name.

Foals' debut album Antidotes was released on 24 March 2008.

The Oxford four-piece - who are comprised of frontman Yannis Philippakis, Jack Bevan, Jimmy Smith and Edwin Congreave have changed their sound and style over the years, but one thing that's stayed the same is their youthful name.

But why are Foals named after an infant horse?

Find out here...

Foals in 2010 at the time of Total Life Forever: Jack Bevan, Edwin Congreave, Yannis Philippakis, Walter Gervers and Jimmy Smith. Picture: Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images

Why are Foals called Foals?

Foals is believed to be a play on words, which is taken from the etymology of frontman Yannis' surname.

Yannis on stage with Foals in July 2019. Picture: SOPA Images/SIPA USA/PA Images

Philippakis is a Greek name, which is derived from philo, which means to 'love' or 'like' and 'hippos, which means horse.

The ending of the singer's name is 'akis,' which is a diminutive or pet name. Combine the two and you and you can see how they got to a 'small horse' or foal.

Yannis' surname, which he gets from his father, isn't the only thing that's had an influence on the band.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2010, the Cassius singer revealed how his dad leaving the family in Oxford and returning to Greece when he was six influenced him.

"He was a very powerful figure even in his absence," he told the outlet.

"My ambition and an appetite to do something better has come from that, but I also grew up with this big, silent terror of whatever this 'difficult' life was."

However, Yannis plugged those feelings into his music, using his writing as a kind of therapy. "It feels voodoo, like an exorcism," he said.