Legal Actions
In 2002 Valentino won a court case against Robert Hodgens (aka Bobby Bluebell) of Scots pop band The Bluebells for unpaid royalties from his contribution to their 1993 hit "Young At Heart", co-written by Hodgens and Siobhan Fahey. Valentino's case hinged on convincing the judge that he, rather than Hodgens, had composed the song's distinctive violin part, and that the violin part made a significant enough difference to the song to be considered an original contribution. The song, first recorded by Bananarama in 1983, was then released by the Bluebells with the added violin part in 1984, reaching No. 8 in the UK Singles chart. Valentino was paid a session fee of £75. However his claim against Hodgens only dated back to the time of the single's 1993 re-release and chart-topping performance on the back of a high profile Volkswagen TV commercial. The court case attracted media attention after Valentino performed the violin part in court to illustrate his point, convincing Mr Justice Floyd to rule in his favour and award him damages of £100,000. A subsequent appeal by Hodgens against the ruling was unsuccessful.
In 2008 Valentino brought an action against the American R&B singer Bobby Wilson (then billed as "Bobby Valentino") and his then record label Def Jam for "Passing off, Trade Mark infringement, and breach of contract, in relation to record sales, recorded content, and artist’s live performances".
Read more about this topic: Bobby Valentino (violinist)
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