There is no doubt that some rock bands don’t get along.
Crucial members end up leaving while the others keep plotting along using the
name that they all came up with when they did like each other. Then the former
members sue the others because they don’t think they should be using the name.
The same thing happens when an important member of the band dies.
Ratt is the latest band still struggling with this
predicament. In a suit which started in 2015, guitarist Warren DeMartini sued
drummer Bobby Blotzer over the “misleading” use of the Ratt name, even though
Blotzer claimed to have legal right to the name because he was the only
remaining original member who didn’t quit the band. The suit seemed over, with
DeMartini, Stephen Pearcy and company claiming that they had won, but after “Ratt”
performed their first show of 2017 under the name, Blotzer
fought back, taking to Facebook to slam his former bandmates and make it known
that the case was far from over.
As stated, situations where band members sue each other over
the right to carry on a band’s name are not uncommon. There have been many
situations where band members have had to give up the rights to a name and/or
change the name they use when touring.
Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s top music outlet, has done some
research and found seven bands who have endured legal battles concerning their
legacy. While some of these cases worked out well, others continue to cause
confusion for the band and its fans alike.
1.
Survivor: In early 2016, a lawsuit
was filed by guitarist Frank Sullivan against his Survivor co-founder James
Peterik, claiming that Peterik was using the band’s name without permission.
The suit claims that Peterik broke an agreement the duo had made in 1995, which
stated that the name could only be used by “Survivor Music.” However, after
leaving the band in 1996, Peterik continued to use the name “Survivor” to
promote himself and his solo work. The terms of the lawsuit would order Peterik
to stop using the name and that anything that he produced with that name needed
to be destroyed. The suit is still on-going.
2.
Black Sabbath: Guitarist Tony Iommi has been
claiming rights to the Black Sabbath name since the 1980s, seeing as he was the
only member to consistently be with the band for their entire tenure. But in 2009, Ozzy
Osbourne sued Iommi, saying that he had illegally assumed possession of the
name and asking for a 50 percent stake in its trademark.
3.
The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys have been in a
name debacle for a long time. Currently, Mike Love holds the touring and
recording rights to it, but when the band officially broke up in the late
1990s, it was less
clear. Love went to court and legally got rights to the name while Al
Jardine started touring with a similar name, “Beach Boys: Friends & Family,”
sans legal right to do so. Love sued Jardine, and then Jardine sued Love.
Though the living members of the group toured together in 2012, there is still some
bad blood between band members.
4.
Queensryche: Speaking of bad blood, after firing
their lead singer Geoff Tate, Queensryche decided to continue playing with a
new singer. However, Tate wasn’t going to have that, so he sued the band for
the right to use the name. In a crazy twist, both the band and Tate were
granted use of the name to promote themselves while further discussion within
the group led to Tate referring to himself as “The Voice of Queensryche.”
5.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: After the plane crash that
killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines and Steve Gaines, Lynyrd Skynyrd
was in shambles. It took them ten years to reunite the pre-crash members, but
that still didn’t sit well with Van Zant and Steve Gaines’ widows, who promptly
sued the band over the use of the name. While the widows technically won,
everyone got something out of it, sort of. Now to use the “Lynyrd Skynyrd” name,
two pre-crash members must currently be a part of the band.
6.
Pink Floyd: This is what happens when you make
assumptions. Frontman Roger Waters assumed that when he left Pink Floyd, the
entire band would end. This was not the case, as David Gilmour continued to
tour with the name. When Waters sued (and settled), the end result resembled a
divorcing couple’s custody battle. David Gilmour and the rest of Pink Floyd got
to keep the name and Waters got to keep ‘The Wall.’
7.
Fleetwood Mac: Not all name lawsuits are between
bandmates. In the case of Fleetwood Mac, the band’s manager claimed that he had
the rights to the band’s name and decided to take advantage by forming an
entirely new band to tour while the real band was on vacation. Needless to say,
this did not stick. The original band’s road manager filed a lawsuit and got
the band their name back.
Who gets to use a band’s name when they break up or lose
members is not an easy task. Many times, it leads to infighting and lawsuits
between current and former members who want to be able to promote themselves or
preserve the legacy of the band. Such is the case with these bands, who all
fought with each other and/or their manager to keep their name and legacy intact.
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Find music from all these classic bands in all their forms
at Long Island’s top new independent record shop, Vinyl Bay 777. Choose from
our wide selection of new and used vinyl, CDs, cassettes, DVDs and memorabilia
spanning genres of all kinds. We have thousands of titles in store and on our
website, vinylbay777.com, with new titles being added to our collection all the
time.
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