Ian Anderson, who was signed to Island Records in early 1969, has written to the Guardian to express his lingering annoyance about sharing a name with the Jethro Tull flute player. In a letter responding to the two Guardian writers both named Stephen Moss, Anderson describes the difficulties of being one of two Ian Andersons on the same record label.
A name shared by many
Anderson recalls that the situation did not end well, and he found that adding an extra initial was the only long-term solution to the confusion. He also mentions other notable Ian Andersons, including a leader of the National Front and a Scottish footballer, both of whom have largely faded from public memory.
What still rankles, he says, is that the Jethro Tull flute player, who is two weeks his junior, appears in the Guardian's birthdays list while he does not.
More tales of name confusion
Another reader, Robin Lustig, recalls a joint byline “Duncan Campbell and Duncan Campbell” on an article about a Home Office proposal, and suggests the two Stephen Mosses are lucky to plough different furrows.
Carol O’Byrne writes about two students with the same name, both called Gillian Davies, who studied English at Swansea University. The department distinguished between them by adding their home towns in brackets, even on the final results list.
Rachel David suggests it is time the two Stephen Mosses were invited to Dine Across the Divide.
