Bad English

The members decided on a name for the band while playing pool. John Waite missed a shot and Jonathan Cain made a comment on how bad his "english" was (referring to the spin a player puts on the cue ball) and the band decided to use the phrase. This official story differs from the urban legend suggesting that "Bad English" was chosen to mock the name of some of the members' previous band, The Babys, a name which is obviously misspelled.
Jonathan Cain and guitarist Neal Schon

Read more on Last.fm