Hey everybody, it's only the bloody Busted trial - hurrah! OK, here comes the background gubbins. Back in the olden days in an era referred to by experts as 'pre-McFly' there was this band called Busted. Oh you knew that bit? OK. Well, what less people know - apart from dedicated CMU Daily readers, obviously, because we've told you all this before - is that before James Bourne, Matt 'then called Jay' Willis and Charlie Simpson rose to fame as the next gen boyband in 2002, Busted were originally a four piece consisting of Bourne and Willis and one Ki McPhail and an Owen Doyle.
They formed a band called The Termites in 2001, signing a management deal in Spring 2002 and shortly afterwards changing their name to Busted. Work on the debut album began but, as is often the way in the sinister world we live in, just before the band signed to Universal Records and hit the big time McPhail and Doyle left the band - or, according to them, were forced out by their management. Presumably because the one missing ingredient in the whole Busted package was a good set of eyebrows - McPhail and Doyle's departure left space for Simpson to join the band, and so chart stardom began.
This has all gone legal because McPhail and Doyle say that before being pushed out they co-wrote some of the hit songs that appeared on Busted's eponymous debut album and as a result they want a cut of the royalties those songs have generated. Both axed Busted boys signed an agreement on their departure giving up all claim to the band's intellectual property, but both McPhail and Doyle now claim that agreement should be set aside, for various reasons, including the fact that they allegedly weren't told of Universal's interest in the band and their music before entering into the agreement, and that their management owed them a duty as their managers to not let them sign such a foolish contract (as it was, their managers not only let them, but wrote it too). Threats were also allegedly made - to the effect that if the two boys didn't sign the contract they and their families would face a crippling lawsuit, and that they'd "never work in this town again".
McPhail and Doyle began their legal action in 2005, and the whole thing finally reached the High Court in London yesterday. The original litigation named five defendants, the band's former manager Richard Rashman and his company Prestige, record producer John MacLauchlan, and Bourne and Willis. Rashman, Prestige and MacLauchlan have all reached out of court settlements though, meaning the court case will only involve the original band members themselves - Bourne and Willis, presumably, have more to lose from any royalties claim made by their former band mates.
McPhail and Doyle's lawyer Tim Penny opened the proceedings yesterday, and the two former Busted boys are expected to take to the witness stand today to give their side of the dispute. It's not clear whether Bourne and Willis will also make statements during the trial - if I remember rightly McPhail and Doyle previously claimed Willis had lied in his official written defence statement to the court which, they argued, amounted to perjury.
A spokesman for the plaintiffs said yesterday: "We cannot comment on the specifics of the settlements due to confidentiality restrictions and the ongoing nature of the High Court hearing. We can simply confirm that three of the five defendants in the High Court action have each reached out of court settlements with Ki and Owen. We are not permitted to discuss or disclose details of the settlements as Ki and Owen are bound by what are commonly known as 'gagging clauses'. We are hopeful that justice will be done in the High Court and that Ki and Owen will get their names put back on the songs that made Busted famous and that they will get the recognition that they deserve for their part in the creation of the Busted phenomenon".
The court case could last up to fifteen days. Which is very exciting. See you here for a Busted Trial day two report tomorrow.