February 26, 2008 15:29

Former Busted members sue for £10m in unpaid royalties

Two members of the boy band claim they were forced out

Two original members of the boy band Busted have gone to the High Court, claiming £10 million in unpaid royalties.

Ki McPhail and Owen Doyle say they wrote songs including 'Year 3000' and 'What I Go To School For' with Matt Willis and James Bourne, when the band was called The Termites.

In October 2001, the pair claim they were kicked out of the band and coerced into signing an agreement relinquishing their credits on the group’s songs, through undue influence and misrepresentation.

The previous March the band had signed with a management company and had changed their name to Busted, reports BBC News.

McPhail and Doyle’s lawyer, Tim Penny, said: “The pressure placed on the claimants consisted of repeated advice and threats.

"[They were told that] unless they released their claims in relation to the group members’ songs and in particular the four songs, they would be sued, Ki McPhail's parents would lose their home and the claimants would never work in the industry again.”

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