Fab Five

The group nickname Fab Five is a play on the Fab Four, a famous nickname for The Beatles. It has since been applied to the following:

• The members of 1980s pop band Duran Duran:

Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Andy Taylor, and Roger Taylor

• The starters on the University of Michigan men's basketball team that played in the NCAA championship game as freshmen in 1992 and again as sophomores in 1993, losing both times:

Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson

• The rap crew "The Fab 5", founded in 1995:

Rock, Ruck, Starang Wondah, Louieville Sluggah, and Top Dog

• The performance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa of the five Metro-area public varsity show choirs.

• The five midfielders for Australian Football League club Brisbane Lions in 2001, 2002 and 2003:

Michael Voss, Nigel Lappin, Simon Black, Jason Akermanis, Luke Power

• The hosts of the television show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, launched in 2003:

Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley, and Jai Rodriguez

• The rap group G-Unit

50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, Young Buck, and The Game (who is no longer with the group)

• The cheerleaders, The Fab Five, from Texas who were known for their Myspace and rebellious ways at school.
• Five conservative State Senators elected in Illinois in 1992 who were dubbed the 'fab five' for their role in challenging the leadership of the state GOP. They were Dave Syverson, Steve Rauschenberger, Patrick O'Malley, Chris Lauzen, and Peter Fitzgerald

Similar names and pastiche variations

• The Fabulous Five (who predated the Beatles by more than a decade) were the starting players on the University of Kentucky men's basketball team that won the 1948 NCAA championship, as well as the gold medal in 1948 Olympic basketball:

Alex Groza, Ralph Beard, Kenny Rollins, Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones, Cliff Barker

• The Hibs Famous Five was a group of forwards who played football for Edinburgh's Hibernian from 1949 to 1955:

Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull, Willie Ormond

• The Thad Five is the highly touted 2006-07 men's basketball recruiting class for the Ohio State Buckeyes. It is named after OSU head coach Thad Matta:

Greg Oden, Daequan Cook, Mike Conley, Jr., David Lighty and Othello Hunter

• The Don Five is the other highly touted 2006-07 men's basketball team Florida Gators, who defeated Ohio State in the NCAA final to win their second consecutive championship with the same starting five. It is named after UF head coach Billy Donovan:

Center Al Horford 6-10/2.08 m junior, power forward Joakim Noah 6-11/2.11 m junior, small forward Corey Brewer 6-9/2.06 m junior, shooting guard Lee Humphrey 6-2/1.88 m senior, and point guard Taurean Green 6-0/1.83 m junior