The two original members of boy band Busted who were suing for royalties they claimed they were due for their role in writing some of the band's biggest hits have failed in their court bid. The judge hearing the case in the High Court completely dismissed their claims against James Bourne and Matt Willis on Friday.
As previously reported, Ki McPhail and Owen Doyle claimed they were forced to sign "dubious agreements" when they were "unfairly" kicked out of the boy band just before they were signed to Universal Records and went on to chart-topping stardom. McPhail and Doyle claimed to have co-written hits like 'Year 3000' and 'What I Go To School For' and that they only gave up their rights in the songs after being mis-advised and threatened by their management. The duo eventually sued both said management and their former bandmates in a bid to secure a multi-million pound royalty pay out.
Busted's management reached an out of court settlement with McPhail and Doyle, meaning it was just former bandmates Bourne and Willis who were defending themselves in court. And they did so successfully, because Mr Justice Morgan last week completely dismissed the plaintiff's case, criticised their evidence, and accused both McPhail and Doyle of being unreliable witnesses. Of the former, the judge said: "If he did believe the evidence he gave to the court, it can only be because he has indulged in very extensive self-serving reconstruction in the period between the relevant events and the time of the trial and has now convinced himself that his reconstructed version of events really happened". So weak was the claimant's case, the judge said, it wasn't necessary to even consider their claims to have contributed notes or lyrics to the songs at the heart of the case.
Needless to say, Bourne and Willis welcomed the ruling, telling reporters: "This was an opportunistic attempt by Doyle and McPhail to cash in on our success. Their claims were a complete fabrication and we are delighted that the judge has seen through this and totally dismissed them. Our position has been completely vindicated and our achievements with Busted remain untarnished".