Talk:Dickon Edwards

Notable
This subject satisfies WP:BAND "Is an ensemble that contains two or more independently notable musicians, or is a musician who has been a reasonably prominent member of two or more independently notable ensembles. " - (1) Orlando, (2) Spearmint. This is noted in the opening paragraph.,Romomusicfan (talk) 09:25, 23 March 2024 (UTC) Romomusicfan (talk) 09:25, 23 March 2024 (UTC)

Name
It was recently claimed that Edward's full name is "Richard Dickon Edwards", supported by a blog post that cites his PhD thesis under the name "Edwards, Richard Dickon". The PhD thesis itself gives his name as "Richard ‘Dickon’ Edwards", which makes it clear that "Dickon" is just a nickname. Paradoctor (talk) 13:47, 26 March 2024 (UTC)
 * , just for starters, here is another entry from the same Online Diary you have cited as "Authoritative" in which Dickon mentions the story of how his parents took his name from the character from The Secret Garden. If that firste entry is "authoritative" then so is this later one as they are both effectively the same source. :Romomusicfan (talk) 16:11, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I could also point you to the full story as told on a biography page on Allmusic which is generally considered a good RS. "Born in Bildeston, a small village in Suffolk, England, Edwards -- who was named after a boy in the children's book The Secret Garden, even though his parents officially registered him as Richard, fearful of the torment he would receive as a strangely monikered child" Romomusicfan (talk) 16:20, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Also here is another entry from the Online Diary where Edwards categorically denies that "Dickon" is a nickname - ""It's NOT my 'nick'!". Romomusicfan (talk) 16:42, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
 * The last ref is about an IRC nick. What Edwards denies is that "dickon_edwards" is such a nick. I'm willing accept this as support for the claim that Edwards doesn't see "Dickon" as a nickname of his. I say he is wrong about that, but I see how one could disagree on that.
 * Luckily, this is nothing we have to decide for ourselves.
 * The issue at hand is your claim that Dickon is his legitimate middle name, and consequently, his full name is "Richard Dickon Edwards". The only evidence in support is a footnote citing his thesis, which in turn gives his name as "Richard 'Dickon' Edwards", which marks "Dickon" as a nickname, not as a middle name, which is never put in quotes.
 * It also doesn't make sense. "Richard" and "Dickon" compete with one another. By your own assertion, "Richard" was intended to replace "Dickon" in wider societal contexts, not to add to it. I mean, someone could get it in their head to go from "Richard Dickon" to "Dick Dickon". So, unless solid evidence to the contrary is found, his birth certificate can be assumed to say "Richard Edwards", not "Richard Dickon Edwards".
 * If you still want to pursue this, please provide sources that give his name as "Richard Dickon Edwards". Paradoctor (talk) 22:32, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Richard was given as a first name (it is not unusual, although a declining practice nowadays, for a person's primary name to be one of their middle names) primarily as an alternative to avoid possible bullying at school. In practice, the only period in Dickon's life to date in which he has opted for Richard was at the time of that first diary entry in which he was in something of a process of self-reinvention, during which he left Orlando, ceased bleaching his hair, wore Droog-style white overalls on stage and played in a hard rock band (the short-lived first version of Fosca).  He reverted back to Dickon in 1998 and I belive mentioned it in the diary, (as he did with the reversion back to bleached hair.) Romomusicfan (talk) 07:22, 6 April 2024 (UTC)