HAVE you ever wondered where some rock artists get their names? Why Led Zeppelin? Why Franz Ferdinand? If you have, then The Dictionary of Rock and Pop Names is the book for you.

The book, published tomorrow (Saturday, May 16), is the work of author, journalist and broadcaster Mark Beech, who lives in Donnington, near Ledbury.

Over more than two decades in the media, Mark has met hundreds of pop stars and it was an interview with Sting that gave him the starting point of the book.

He said: "A friend thought he must have called himself that to be profound or pretentious. I asked him and he told me it was because of this striped yellow and black jumper he wore which made him look like a bee.”

A version of the book was published in 1998, but Mark decided it was long past time for an update.

“You have just to switch on the TV or open a newspaper and there are new stars, often with bizarre names," he added.

Mark is the pop and rock critic for global news agency Bloomberg News. He listens to more than 1,000 CDs a year for his column, which is syndicated to more than 480 newspapers and magazines.

The book costs £25 and is published by Pen and Sword/Remember When.