TWO original members of the boy band Busted lost a £10million court
battle yesterday – and face a £500,000 legal bill.
Ki McPhail, 24, and Owen Doyle, 27, were branded “unreliable”
by the judge and had their assets frozen.
The pair claimed they helped write four hits – Sleeping With The
Light On, What I Go To School For, Psycho Girl and Year 3000.
But they left the band later in 2001 when new manager Richard Rashman came
in.
The pair were put under “undue pressure” to release rights
to the songs when the band signed a professional deal and they were then
sacked, it was claimed at the High Court in London.
Court success ... Matt Willis and James Bourne
Counsel Tim Penny added: “The pressure consisted of threats that
unless they released their claims to the four songs, they’d be
sued and never work in the industry again.”
The pair were seeking a £10million share of the band’s
fortune.
But Mr Justice Morgan rejected their allegations after a bitter 19-day court
battle, which cost £1.7million.
The judge ruled there were “no threats” made to McPhail or
Doyle, saying they willingly entered into the settlement.
He also rejected a bid by the pair to get a look at the band’s
accounts.
Instead McPhail and Doyle had their assets frozen before further hearings to
decide who will pay the costs.
Mr Justice Morgan said McPhail “was not a reliable witness who quite
plainly exaggerated and distorted the real event”.
And he added that Doyle “was not a reliable witness either,
manifesting a high degree of confusion with many of the significant events”.
If the pair had won, the remaining original members – James Bourne,
24, and Matt Willis, 25 – may have lost hundreds of thousands of
pounds.
Busted had eight Top Ten hits between 2002 and 2004 before splitting up a year
later. Bourne and Willis said: “This was an opportunistic attempt
by Ki and Owen to cash in on our success. Their claims were a complete
fabrication.”
But a statement from McPhail and Doyle said they would appeal, adding: “The
case remains unresolved.”
g.smart@the-sun.co.uk
