'Who's Bucks Fizz?' They're making their minds up row

Some would argue the Bucks Fizz brand lost its sparkle long ago. But 30 years after their Eighties pop act made them the darlings of the Eurovision song contest, Bucks Fizz's warring band members took their bitter fight over the right to use the name to a tribunal yesterday.

Three of the band's singers, Mike Nolan, Jay Aston, and Cheryl Baker, who found new fame this year as a finalist in the Pop Star to Opera Star show, are challenging the fourth original member Bobby G for the dubious privilege of performing as Bucks Fizz.

The trademark officer hearing the case, Allan James of the UK's Intellectual Property Office, said yesterday he would spend five or six weeks making his mind up.

Bobby G, whose real name is Robert Gubby, has been appearing as Bucks Fizz with other musicians, including his wife Heidi Manton, who officially owns the name. But a solicitor for the other three claimed yesterday that "disappointed" fans had bought tickets to his concerts expecting to see them.

Bucks Fizz found fame when they won Eurovision in 1981, hosted by Terry Wogan with the catchy number Making Your Mind Up and an infamous dance routine in which Baker and Aston had their skirts ripped off half-way through the song.

Baker, basking in her new television exposure, recently played to a packed house at the London Palladium with Nolan and Aston as the Original Bucks Fizz. When Bobby G objected to their use of that name, they countered by challenging his right to Bucks Fizz.

Dean Dunham, representing Baker, Nolan and Aston, said the situation "misled" the public. Baker's agent David Hahn had received emails and phone calls from disappointed fans who had booked tickets for Gubby's band expecting to see the original members, the hearing was told.

Mr Dunham gave examples of adverts with a strapline mentioning the 1981 Eurovision win, and using a photo of the original band, for appearances by Bobby G's act. He said: "The public perception of the words Bucks Fizz is simply the band that consisted of my three clients as well."

A notice on the Bobby G Bucks Fizz website says: "Bucks Fizz(R) are solely owned and managed by Heidi Manton. The current members of the group, as featured on this site, are the only group authorised to perform under the Registered Trade Mark of Bucks Fizz(R)."

The name Bucks Fizz was applied for in 1997 and registered in 2001 after a legal dispute. Mr Dunham said Nolan signed an agreement not to contest the registration.

Speaking after the hearing, Baker said: "He has no right to stop us from working. We do proper theatre shows and we're on TV, we've got a new album coming out that should have been released by now and we can't because of the dispute."

She accused Gubby, who she last saw in 2006, of "trading off their success", and said it was "really sad that it's come to this".

Gubby said he felt entitled to claim his band was the "original" act because it had a "direct connection" back to the first days of Bucks Fizz. He said bands often had different line-ups over the years and it did not mean people were being deceived.

Making Your Mind Up

You got to speed it up/And then you gotta slow it down/'Cos if you believe that a love can hit the top/You gotta play around/But soon you will find that there comes a time/For making your mind up

You got to turn it on/And then you got to put it out/You got to be sure that it's something/Everybody's gonna talk about/Before you decide that the times arrived/For making your mind up

Don't let your indecision/Take you from behind/Trust your inner vision/Don't let others change your mind

And now you really got to burn it up/And make another fly by night/Get a run for your money and take a chance/And it'll turn out right/And when you can see how it's got to be/You're making your mind up

Name game nets lawyers a fortune when bandmates go their separate ways

BUCKS Fizz are not the first band to fall foul of copyright disputes, with members of groups from Bill Haley and the Comets to the Bay City Rollers forced to perform under a series of subtly different names.

The Beach Boys, who defined the California surf sound of the 1960s with hits such as Good Vibrations, were split by a court battle after Al Jardine, one of three surviving members, began touring under names like "Beach Boys Family and Friends".

The dispute was only settled after his former bandmate Brian Wilson brought a case that cost millions of dollars in legal fees, and an agreement prompted talk of a reunion concert with Wilson, Jardine, and Mike Love.

Three surviving members of another band with a unique place in rock culture, the Doors, also went to court over the use of the band's name and images.

In 2002 drummer John Densmore challenged the right of keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger to tour as the Doors, famous for hits like Riders on the Storm, after he declined an offer to perform alongside them.

Densmore argued that the Doors could not exist without its iconic lead singer, the late Jim Morrison.

A judge found in favour of Densmore and Morrison's parents, who had backed him.

Members of the Bay City Rollers, the hit 1970s Scottish group, have toured under titles from "The New Rollers" to "Les McKeown's Legendary Bay City Rollers".

McKeown, pictured left, was the lead singer who replaced the original Nobby Clark.

Tim Cornwell