The Rubettes singer wins a legal battle with her bandmates over their names | music | entertainment

The Rubettes rose to prominence in 1974 after releasing their first single, which sold 10 million copies.

They continued to perform for decades after that, but last month clashed in London’s High Court with standoff player Alan Williams and three of his teammates were accused of standing behind his back for a breakaway act.

That, he said, caused Williams to have trouble getting the gigs for himself because the promoters were confused about which robins they were booking.

Now a judge has handed over the rights to the name to Mr. Williams, and has found guitarists Mick Clark and Steve Etherington and drummer John Richardson, to have “caused confusion and harm” by using the name.

Williams, 74, Clark, 75, and Richardson, 75, were founding members of the group.

During the trial, Williams’ attorney, Michael Smith, claimed that Mr Clark was “sacked” in October 2018 “after a dispute over fees”.

Soon after, Mr. Clark applied to register the UK trademark for “The Rubettes” and created his own band with Richardson and Etherington.

He also published the band’s distinctive red and black logo, which Mr. Williams and his company, Alan Williams Entertainments Limited, claimed he had no right to use.

Mr Clark told the court that he and Richardson began discussing the option to separate only when Williams revealed, on a television programme, that he was planning to move to Australia.

Judge Pat Tracy found against the three and said that the “good faith” in the name was in Mr. Williams and his company, after they traded using the name for years.



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