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Re: Ex-Wailer Gets Up, Stands Up in Court
WAILING IN VAIN - Barrett's case latest in failed attempts at Marley estate
published: Sunday | May 28, 2006
Marley
Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter
"Them belly full but we hungry. A hungry mob is a angry mob. A rain a-fall but the dirt it tough; A pot a-cook but the food no 'nough."
Them Belly Full (But We Hungry),
Performed by Bob Marley, written by L. Cogil and Carlton Barrett.
IT IS no secret that there would have been no Diana Ross without the Supremes, no Gladys Knight without the Pips, no Lionel Richie without the Commodores and, in the same way, it's impossible to think of Bob Marley without linking him with the Wailers, whether they are Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh or the band with which he toured after the trio split.
As ill-fate would have it, more than two decades after Marley's death, some of the Wailers seem to be waiting in vain to get what they consider their fair share of the reggae king's estate, while others have had to fight for years to get a portion.
The original Wailers were three young boys who got together in Trench Town and found solace in music. They were Robert Marley, Winston Hubert McKintosh, better known as Peter Tosh, and Neville Livingston, who later became known simply as Bunny Wailer.
Marley teamed up with Tosh and Livingston in 1961 after he did the songs One Cup of Coffee and Terror, then in 1969 the Barrett brothers, Carlton as drummer and Aston as bassist, joined the unit.
Tosh and Livingston left the band in 1974 but the Barrett brothers remained with Marley, being the drum and 'base' of the crack outfit which also included Tyrone Downie, Alvin Patterson, Earl Lindo and Al Anderson. They went on to record the albums Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibration and Babylon By Bus and, according to Marley's official website www.bobmarley.com, "Carlton has songwriting credits for two of Natty Dread's songs: Talkin' Blues and Them Belly Full".
Their loyalty and work with Marley over the years seemed to have been overlooked, or so Aston thought. So in 2001 Barrett decided to bring his second suit against the Universal-Island estate for 'breach of contract', the lastest in a string of suits against the estate.
LATEST FAILURE
It was also the latest failure, as Barrett lost the case last week.
The Marley estate is one of the most valuable in the world and, according to the Forbes magazine list, it now rakes in more than J$390 million annually and in 2002 was worth over J$3.2 billion. (All figures converted from US dollars at exchange rate to press time.)
Marley died from cancer in 1981 when he was only 36 years old without making a will. Control of Bob's estate was therefore left to Rita, his wife, and administrative general of the estate.
According to Sajoya Alcott, an entertainment lawyer, most entertainers fail to plan for their future, thus exposing themselves to unnecessary lawsuits. "There is the basic reluctance on the part of entertainers to make sound and solid arrangements for assets during their lifetime. There are so many who died without leaving a will," she said.
"The sad thing is that most of them die so young and it seems most aren't aware of the benefits of having a will," said Alcott.
Apart from Marley, Peter Tosh, Delroy Wilson, Garnett Silk and Dennis Brown all died intestate. Luckily for the families, most of these estates have not endured the tussles which Marley's has. Alcott says a will not only protects the artiste's family but also their assets, which could be contested later. She said that apart from a will artistes could make their beneficiaries co-owners of the property, "This can be done during their lifetime... Here they can decide who gets what and they can create trusts," she said.
Alcott says the larger the estate, the more susceptible it is to lawsuits.
One of the first cases brought against the Marley estate was by Danny Sims in 1984. Sims, who was at one point Marley's manager, sued for J$390 million for copyright infringement. He cited that between 1973 and '76 Marley used illegal means to avoid paying royalties to Sims' Cayman music. He lost the suit in 1987.
In 1992 Bunny Wailer brought action against the Marley estate for non-payment of royalties to his and Peter Tosh's estate. Finally, in 1999, in an out-of-court settlement, the two estates received J$130 million each from Island Records in back royalties.
SETTLEMENT
In the early '80s Barrett began to clamour for back-royalties owed to the Wailers band and in a 1994 settlement, Island Records paid over J$115 million to them.
A case was even brought against Rita and Marley's lawyer, David J. Steinberg, and his accountant, Marvin Zolt, in 1993. They were accused of diverting millions of dollars from the estate to themselves from 1981 to 1986. They were cleared of the charges.
However, in 2002 in a high court in London, there was a familiar face again clamouring for justice. Aston Barrett, who now stood alone as his brother Carlton had been murdered in 1987, alleged that they were owed a whopping J$7 billion dollars in royalties from a contract they signed with Island Records in 1974.
During the trial, Rita Marley testified that the Barretts were not considered as Wailers even when her husband was alive. . This was one of the reasons for the high court judge, Mr Justice Lewison dismissing Barrett's claim. also said as a result of the 1994 settlement, they relinquished their rights to further money from the estate.
Lewinson is quoted as saying: "I conclude that all the claims that Mr. Aston Barrett brings in his personal capacity have been compromised by the settlement agreement."
STATEMENT
Barrett, however, insisted that they were coerced into the deal.
After the judgement was handed down the Marley family issued a statement in which they expressed not only relief but joy.
"For the last four years Aston 'Familyman' Barrett has persisted in this hopeless and extremely expensive litigation in relation to claims which were actually settled in 1994," the statement said.
"The family of Bob Marley are delighted that those claims have now been rejected in full. We always felt that this would be the outcome and it was hard to listen to Aston Barrett reduce his friend Bob to someone who was more interested in playing football than making music...," it continued.
LEGAL FEES
If Barrett, 60, had won the case, he would have been able to provide each of his 52 children with over J$100 million. However, since quite the opposite happened, he now seems to be in a quagmire of legal fees.
It is now alleged in international media reports that Barrett has legal debts in excess of J$234 million and as a result of this he will have to sell his two homes in the island. Though The Sunday Gleaner made contact with the family, repeated attempts to confirm this proved futile.
According to Roger Steffens, owner of Bob Marley's archives, who also testified in the case, there is a lesson for all.
"Anyone who feels they have contributed to any group will now have legal documents to back them up," he said.
WAILING IN VAIN - Barrett's case latest in failed attempts at Marley estate
published: Sunday | May 28, 2006
Marley
Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter
"Them belly full but we hungry. A hungry mob is a angry mob. A rain a-fall but the dirt it tough; A pot a-cook but the food no 'nough."
Them Belly Full (But We Hungry),
Performed by Bob Marley, written by L. Cogil and Carlton Barrett.
IT IS no secret that there would have been no Diana Ross without the Supremes, no Gladys Knight without the Pips, no Lionel Richie without the Commodores and, in the same way, it's impossible to think of Bob Marley without linking him with the Wailers, whether they are Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh or the band with which he toured after the trio split.
As ill-fate would have it, more than two decades after Marley's death, some of the Wailers seem to be waiting in vain to get what they consider their fair share of the reggae king's estate, while others have had to fight for years to get a portion.
The original Wailers were three young boys who got together in Trench Town and found solace in music. They were Robert Marley, Winston Hubert McKintosh, better known as Peter Tosh, and Neville Livingston, who later became known simply as Bunny Wailer.
Marley teamed up with Tosh and Livingston in 1961 after he did the songs One Cup of Coffee and Terror, then in 1969 the Barrett brothers, Carlton as drummer and Aston as bassist, joined the unit.
Tosh and Livingston left the band in 1974 but the Barrett brothers remained with Marley, being the drum and 'base' of the crack outfit which also included Tyrone Downie, Alvin Patterson, Earl Lindo and Al Anderson. They went on to record the albums Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibration and Babylon By Bus and, according to Marley's official website www.bobmarley.com, "Carlton has songwriting credits for two of Natty Dread's songs: Talkin' Blues and Them Belly Full".
Their loyalty and work with Marley over the years seemed to have been overlooked, or so Aston thought. So in 2001 Barrett decided to bring his second suit against the Universal-Island estate for 'breach of contract', the lastest in a string of suits against the estate.
LATEST FAILURE
It was also the latest failure, as Barrett lost the case last week.
The Marley estate is one of the most valuable in the world and, according to the Forbes magazine list, it now rakes in more than J$390 million annually and in 2002 was worth over J$3.2 billion. (All figures converted from US dollars at exchange rate to press time.)
Marley died from cancer in 1981 when he was only 36 years old without making a will. Control of Bob's estate was therefore left to Rita, his wife, and administrative general of the estate.
According to Sajoya Alcott, an entertainment lawyer, most entertainers fail to plan for their future, thus exposing themselves to unnecessary lawsuits. "There is the basic reluctance on the part of entertainers to make sound and solid arrangements for assets during their lifetime. There are so many who died without leaving a will," she said.
"The sad thing is that most of them die so young and it seems most aren't aware of the benefits of having a will," said Alcott.
Apart from Marley, Peter Tosh, Delroy Wilson, Garnett Silk and Dennis Brown all died intestate. Luckily for the families, most of these estates have not endured the tussles which Marley's has. Alcott says a will not only protects the artiste's family but also their assets, which could be contested later. She said that apart from a will artistes could make their beneficiaries co-owners of the property, "This can be done during their lifetime... Here they can decide who gets what and they can create trusts," she said.
Alcott says the larger the estate, the more susceptible it is to lawsuits.
One of the first cases brought against the Marley estate was by Danny Sims in 1984. Sims, who was at one point Marley's manager, sued for J$390 million for copyright infringement. He cited that between 1973 and '76 Marley used illegal means to avoid paying royalties to Sims' Cayman music. He lost the suit in 1987.
In 1992 Bunny Wailer brought action against the Marley estate for non-payment of royalties to his and Peter Tosh's estate. Finally, in 1999, in an out-of-court settlement, the two estates received J$130 million each from Island Records in back royalties.
SETTLEMENT
In the early '80s Barrett began to clamour for back-royalties owed to the Wailers band and in a 1994 settlement, Island Records paid over J$115 million to them.
A case was even brought against Rita and Marley's lawyer, David J. Steinberg, and his accountant, Marvin Zolt, in 1993. They were accused of diverting millions of dollars from the estate to themselves from 1981 to 1986. They were cleared of the charges.
However, in 2002 in a high court in London, there was a familiar face again clamouring for justice. Aston Barrett, who now stood alone as his brother Carlton had been murdered in 1987, alleged that they were owed a whopping J$7 billion dollars in royalties from a contract they signed with Island Records in 1974.
During the trial, Rita Marley testified that the Barretts were not considered as Wailers even when her husband was alive. . This was one of the reasons for the high court judge, Mr Justice Lewison dismissing Barrett's claim. also said as a result of the 1994 settlement, they relinquished their rights to further money from the estate.
Lewinson is quoted as saying: "I conclude that all the claims that Mr. Aston Barrett brings in his personal capacity have been compromised by the settlement agreement."
STATEMENT
Barrett, however, insisted that they were coerced into the deal.
After the judgement was handed down the Marley family issued a statement in which they expressed not only relief but joy.
"For the last four years Aston 'Familyman' Barrett has persisted in this hopeless and extremely expensive litigation in relation to claims which were actually settled in 1994," the statement said.
"The family of Bob Marley are delighted that those claims have now been rejected in full. We always felt that this would be the outcome and it was hard to listen to Aston Barrett reduce his friend Bob to someone who was more interested in playing football than making music...," it continued.
LEGAL FEES
If Barrett, 60, had won the case, he would have been able to provide each of his 52 children with over J$100 million. However, since quite the opposite happened, he now seems to be in a quagmire of legal fees.
It is now alleged in international media reports that Barrett has legal debts in excess of J$234 million and as a result of this he will have to sell his two homes in the island. Though The Sunday Gleaner made contact with the family, repeated attempts to confirm this proved futile.
According to Roger Steffens, owner of Bob Marley's archives, who also testified in the case, there is a lesson for all.
"Anyone who feels they have contributed to any group will now have legal documents to back them up," he said.
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