By Oliver Farrimond
STARS from the Bay City Rollers are gearing up for a fresh battle over unpaid royalties.
Pat McGlynn, 52, and Nobby Clark, 59, are currently embroiled in a court worth millions of pounds with Sony Music, who own the Rollers’ former record label Arista Records.
And now the pair are readying themselves for more conflict after the label released two new compilations last month.
The CDs, a Greatest Hits and a Best Of compilation, feature Clark’s vocals and McGlynn’s guitar playing and backing vocals on a number of tracks.
McGlynn, from Straiton, Edinburgh said: “I have been fighting for 30 years to get my money.
“I just cannot believe that a record company can release material and not pay us, it just drives me crazy.
“It is hard to believe, and you would think it would be against human rights.
“On three tracks I am playing guitar and on backing vocals.”
In the suit filed in New York against Artista records, the group have said that they are owed millions in unpaid royalties for more than 70 million albums sound worldwide.
Clark, the original singer and founder member of the band, said: “We are in court in New York against the record company and meanwhile the Bay City Rollers’ Greatest Hits and The Best Of albums have been released, and there is no agreement to pay us royalties.
“I found out about it the day after the albums were released and I was raging.
“I drove right to Sainsbury’s at Cameron Toll that morning to buy The Greatest Hits so I could listen to it, and I listened to The Best Of online.
“I immediately checked all the tracks and three of the tracks have my vocals on them.
“How could they do that knowing that my vocals were on the albums?”
Clark added: “My lawyer got in touch with the record company to try and slap an injunction on them when we heard about the albums, but by that time they were already in the shops.
“They haven’t paid me a single penny in more than 30 years for my performances.
“I haven’t received any publishing or performance royalties – I am tearing my hair out.”
