Bay City Rollers sue record label over royalties

The seventies pop idols the Bay City Rollers are suing their former record label over claims that it failed to pay them millions owed in royalties.

The lawsuit against Arista Records seeks unspecified damages on behalf of six members of the Scottish band.

The Bay City Rollers were huge teenybop stars in the 1970s and were the UK's biggest selling global act of the era.

They were famous for their distinctive tartan outfits and upbeat pop tunes like Bye Bye Baby and Shang-a-Lang.

But the group claim Arista owes royalties on millions of US dollars generated from selling their albums, multimedia licences, merchandise, rights to commercials, films and other recordings over the past 25 years.

In the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in Manhattan, the Rollers claim a contract states Arista must account for and pay royalties to them twice a year, with obligations dating back to the 1970s.

The lawsuit says a payment of £133,000 (254,392 US dollars) in September 1997 was the only one made to the band, well short of the millions the musicians believe they are owed under the agreement.

The Rollers' lawyers say Arista has repeatedly come up with excuses to avoid payment or account for actual sales.

The lawsuit adds that Arista has claimed it does not know who to pay.

Joshua Krumholz, of Holland & Knight, lead counsel for the band, said: "The Rollers have had remarkable success and staying power over the last 30 years. To this day, Arista Records is still successfully exploiting their recordings in the US and around the world.

"Despite that success and Arista's many assurances over the years that it would pay the band, Arista has simply refused to do what its own contract requires it to do.

"Through this lawsuit, we intend to secure the royalties owed to the Rollers for the huge commercial success of their music.

"They have waited long enough."

Bassist Alan Longmuir and his younger brother, Derek, a drummer, founded the group in Edinburgh in 1967.

They rose to fame under the management of Tam Paton, himself a former big band leader, and allegedly chose their name by throwing a dart at a map of the United States.

The Bay City Rollers released eight original albums and numerous greatest hits and compilations, including five straight gold records and six singles which made the US Top 40.