Boomtown Rats Suing Bob Geldof

[DudeAsInCool]

Bob Geldof has been threatened with legal action by ex-members of his old band the Boomtown Rats over alleged unpaid royalties.

They claim he owes them money from the 1970s and 1980s, when the band had hits including I Don't Like Mondays.

Read all about it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4092722.stm

[KiwiCoromandel]

Old band members tell Geldof he's a rat........

Bob Geldof is facing a legal challenge from four former members of the Boomtown Rats, his old band, who claim he owes them unpaid royalties that could run into millions.

A long-running feud over the songwriting credits for the string of hits the punk band recorded in the 1970s and 1980s has escalated while the group's one-time lead singer is working to highlight world poverty at the G8 summit at Gleneagles, Scotland.

Four former members of the band have united to reclaim money they allege they are due from the group's heyday, when they had No. 1 hits with Rat Trap and I Don't Like Mondays.

Details of the dispute came to light on Monday in a statement issued by Gerry Cott, the guitarist who quit the band in 1981, John Moylett, the pyjama-clad pianist who performed under the name Johnny Fingers, Simon Crowe, the drummer, and Garrick Roberts, another guitarist. "We jointly confirm that with the utmost regret we are pressing ahead with our claims against Bob Geldof and others for our rightful entitlement to a proper share of recording, publishing and merchandising income," the statement said.

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Geldof is credited as the sole writer on many of the band's songs. However, other band members claim their input has not been recognised. They say it was agreed that all band members should benefit from record sales when their first album, The Boomtown Rats, was released in 1977.

Under the arrangement, the principal writer or writers should receive half the proceeds from individual songs while the remaining 50 per cent was to be shared among the rest. The only band member not involved in the legal action is Pete Briquette, the bassist who is still one of Geldof's musical collaborators.

Telegraph, London