Angels, a song by Robbie Williams, debuted at number four on the UK charts in 1999, and it’s been reported that the songwriter may be facing legal action.
Robbie Williams is set to face a legal battle. A songwriter who claims that he wrote the original version of Angels is said to be preparing to sue the iconic star for future royalties from the song. Ray Heffernan is reportedly aiming to use new legislation in a potential case.
After leaving Take That, Robbie, 51, went solo and released Angels in 1997. It was listed at number four at the time as “a significant commercial success” and has since since been.
Ray has previously claimed to have collaborated on the song. However, Robbie claims that he and his songwriting partner Guy Chambers, who is credited with Robbie on the track, created the “fully formed version” of Angels after an initial demo.
According to reports, Ray, who reportedly sold the rights for £7,500 years ago, is now preparing to sue Robbie for roughly a third of the upcoming royalties. According to reports, Ray intends to file the case in the UK and Germany and believes a 33 percent share would be appropriate compensation.
A new EU copyright law, the “best seller clause,” may have resulted in Ray receiving a share of the royalties, according to Ray to The Irish Independent. According to some, the “seller clause” allows for writers to receive retrospective pay.
According to what the outlet reported, writers may receive additional pay in some circumstances. When a court rules that “the remuneration originally agreed turns out to be disproportionately low in comparison to all subsequent relevant revenues derived from the exploitation of the work or performance,” an author is said to be entitled to “additional, appropriate, and fair remuneration from the party with whom he or she entered a contract.”
In 1996, Ray is said to have met Robbie in Dublin. The former boyband member was later invited to his mother’s house to write together, and it is said that he had been recording a song about a partner’s miscarriage while the session was taking place.
He is alleged to have once told the Mirror that he had performed “Angels,” a song I had written the week before to try to understand what transpired. According to reports, Ray then gave Robbie permission to work on the song in London.
Later, Ray is said to have accepted Robbie’s management’s offer to purchase the rights for $7,500. They initially offered £2,500 to give up the rights, according to Ray of the Irish Independent. They increased the amount to £7,500 when I requested to be credited on the record. I agreed to the deal, promising that I would add my name as well. Then, boom, the song started to gain momentum.
On the cover sleeve, Robbie reportedly gave Ray credit. His then-manager, David Enthoven, is quoted as saying in 1999, “They got together two or three years ago and wrote a couple of songs together, one of which was Angels.”
Robbie, the 2017 True Geordie podcast’s host, spoke about the song in 2017. She has reportedly never confirmed co-authorship. He claimed to have recorded a demo with Ray in Ireland with another person.
Robbie did, however, claim that Guy Chambers and he later produced the “fully formed version” of the song. When he and Ray worked on the first version, he suggested there wasn’t a chorus.
When the Mirror reached out to Robbie’s representative, she declined to comment.
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