Taboo Colour

I usually read one of the IT trade papers called Computing. On the back page there is a light-hearted column called Backbytes (geddit?!?) which I only found out today is available online as a blog.

A couple of weeks ago there was this piece where a reader asked what signs in his workplace referring to 'this week's taboo colour' were all about.

This week there was a follow-up where someone had said it was a term used in engineering to indicate which set of tools, equipment, jigs, etc. were being calibrated and should not be used.

I thought that was a great explanation, extremely plausible, and also a great name for a band.

After that I did a search for "taboo colour" and "taboo color" and could not find a single reference to the phrase as an engineering term, which was a little surprising. I also found that, maybe, I should have set the safe search option on because I got loads of references to a porn film of that name...

I thought that the name Taboo Colour ought to belong to a slightly confrontational world fusion band. Their music might be like Natacha Atlas or Khaled's more westernised material. Or someone following in Cornershop's footsteps perhaps.