Wailers' bassist sues Marleys for royalties

Wailers' bassist sues Marleys for '£60m royalties'

High Court to resolve wrangles over reggae musician's legacy
Alice O'Keeffe, arts and media correspondent
Sunday March 12, 2006

Observer
Would Bob Marley have made it without his distinctive bouncy basslines? The question will be put to a judge this week as a protracted legal wrangle between the Marley family and the bassist in his backing band, the Wailers, finally comes to the High Court.

Aston 'Family Man' Barrett is suing the Marleys and the Universal Island record label, claiming that neither he nor his deceased brother Carlton, the band's drummer, have received any royalties since Marley's death in 1981. If he is successful, Barrett, now in his sixties and father to 52 children, could receive a payout of up to £60 million.

Barrett claims that he and his brother signed a contract, alongside Marley, with Island in 1974, which entitled them to royalties as 'partners' in the group. Barrett also co-wrote several songs with Marley, for which he claims he was never paid publishing fees.

Lawyers for Universal Island and the Marley family, headed by the singer's widow Rita, are expected to argue that Barrett gave up his right to royalties when he signed a legal settlement for several hundred thousand dollars in 1994.

Barrett's fellow Wailers Junior Marvin, Tyrone Downie, Earl 'the wire' Lindo and Al Anderson are expected in London for the trial, which starts tomorrow. The British journalist Vivien Goldman, author of the forthcoming Marley biography The Book of Exodus, will also testify.

The business dealings surrounding Marley's legacy have been dogged by a series of legal disputes since his death. The singer, who died of cancer, refused to make a will because his Rastafarian religion prohibited him from believing in death. The settlement was further complicated by his domestic arrangements: he had 11 children by nine women.

During one of the legal cases in 1986, Rita Marley was accused of forging her husband's signature on two documents, which transferred interests worth tens of millions of pounds into her name. She blamed her husband's attorney and accountant who were ordered to pay damages.

Sources close to the Barrett case said his lawyers would try to prove that other Marley collaborators, including Vincent Ford who co-wrote 'No Woman No Cry', were owed money by Universal Island and the Marleys.

The Barrett brothers played with Marley from 1969, contributing a distinctive, rhythm-driven sound to the breakthrough album Natty Dread and 11 subsequent albums, including Rastaman Vibration, Exodus, Kaya and Babylon by Bus.

The Barretts were among the most outstanding artists to emerge from Jamaica's thriving music scene. They were both self-taught: Aston's first bass was home-made and had only one string, and his brother practised percussion using pots and tin cans. Following Marley's death Aston has continued to tour with the Wailers. Carlton was murdered in Jamaica in 1986.

'If you listen to Bob's early stuff it sounded good, but it only became brilliant when the Barrett brothers joined,' said Wayne Jobson, a musician who knew both Marley and Barrett during their early years. 'Bob delegated a lot of the arranging, so Aston and Carlton really created the Marley sound we recognise today.

'Aston is still travelling the world promoting Bob's music and he's making no money out of it. It's shocking how he has been treated, it's just total greed because there is enough money to go around. Bob would be turning in his grave to think they weren't getting any money.'

Other experts dispute the extent of the Barretts' influence. 'Aston is an exquisite bass player, but he was a session musician rather than a partner,' said Jeremy Collingwood, author of Bob Marley: his Musical Legacy. 'Marley was always the driving force, and if the Barretts hadn't been around he simply would have found other good musicians. I've a lot of sympathy with Aston, but he was offered a royalties-based contract while Marley was alive, and he turned it down in favour of a generous, regular salary. At the time, it must have seemed like a good deal.
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