Ex-Wailer claims £60m from estate of Marley

Aston "Family Man" Barrett - equally renowned for his prowess as a reggae bass player as he is for fathering 52 children - was in the High Court yesterday to lay claim to £60m of the late Bob Marley's estate.

Mr Barrett, who was a member of Marley's backing band The Wailers, sat at the back of the court as his barrister told how he and his fellow musicians had been left "desperately short of money" since the Jamaican singer died from cancer in 1981.

The musician, soberly dressed yesterday in suit and tie and with his dreadlocks in a pony tail, is claiming he is owed royalties from a contract signed with Island Records in 1974, together with earnings from songs he had co-written with Marley.

He is suing Universal/Island Records, which he claims has failed to honour any of the agreements he understood had been made on a partnership basis with the singer.

Mr Barrett is also suing the Marley family. Marley's widow, Rita, who sat at the back of the court, is due to give evidence during the hearing, which is expected to last up to three weeks.