The former schoolchildren who sang the infamous chorus on PINK FLOYD’s ‘ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL’ have begun legal action for unpaid royalties.
Peter Rowan, a royalties expert, has said that he is appealing on behalf of one former pupil and was working with others.
The 23 north London schoolchildren recorded their vocals in secret and have since been unable to claim royalties as a result.
According to BBC News, Rowan said: “They (the former schoolchildren) are owed their money and we lodged the first claim last week. I’ve been working on it for almost two years.”
The single, with its ‘We don’t need no education’ chorus, hit the number one spots in both the UK and the US and featured on the band’s album ‘The Wall’ which went on to sell more than 12 million copies.
[a][/a] later starred in a semi-animated film based on the album as a pop star who descends into madness.
The then pupils of Islington Green School were not given permission from their headmistress when their music teacher took them to the nearby recording studio to lay down the vocals.
Featuring the lyrics: “We don’t need no education, we don’t need no thought control, no dark sarcasm in the classroom — teachers leave them kids alone,” ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ was described at the time by the Inner London Education Authority as “scandalous”.
Upon hearing the song, the headteacher banned the pupils from appearing on TV or video, meaning that the pupils had no proof of their involvement in the song.
The pupils were paid nothing for their contributions, though the school was paid £1,000 and later given a platinum record of the song. The former headmistress has now agreed to support her former pupils’ claim.