August 16, 2007 16:00

Violent Femmes in lawsuit

Bassist sues singer over credits

Violent Femmes are embroiled in a lawsuit.

Bassist Brian Ritchie sued lead vocalist Gordon Gano on Wednesday (August 15) over song credits and royalties.

The lawsuit, filed by US District Court in Manhattan, accuses Gano of trashing the band's reputation by allowing its signature hit, 'Blister In The Sun', to be used in an ad for fast food company Wendy’s.

Gano called the lawsuit a “surprise” and added: "We just played a really, really good tour…Since the early '80s, everything's really good. We're playing better than ever."

The lawsuit said: "This action is the unfortunate culmination of an ongoing intra-band dispute between Ritchie and Gano over Gano's misappropriation and misadministration of Ritchie's interests in the jointly-owned songs and assets of the band.”

The suit seeks a ruling declaring Ritchie half owner of the band's songs and an accounting of past and future royalties and unspecified damages.

Gano declined to respond to the claims in detail, except to say he wrote the band's songs with one or two exceptions, reports Yahoo News.

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