The legal battle between conglomerate easyGroup and indie band Hard Life, formerly known as Easy Life, has sparked anew with the release of the band’s latest single, “Tears”. The song includes lyrics referring to the lawsuit in which easyGroup sued the band for “brand theft”, forcing them to relinquish their name and resulting in the band changing their name to Hard Life. easyGroup has stated that a reference in the lyrics to the conglomerate’s owner, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, was “disparaging and defamatory” and violated a settlement agreement made with Hard Life. In a statement, easyGroup said it was disappointed that Hard Life had chosen to “needlessly refresh the dispute”.
The band’s frontman, Murray Matravers, told NME that the name Hard Life was chosen jokingly by the band as it was the most “stereotypical Easy Life thing to do”, and not to reflect the band members’ true experiences. Matravers also discussed the hiatus the band went through during the lawsuit, saying that he did not feel inspired to write music during that time. However, he eventually wrote the band’s comeback single, “Tears”, during a weekend away with producer and writer Rob Milton.
The band has received support from its fans during the legal dispute, with many saying they would boycott easyJet flights in solidarity. However, Matravers stated that he did not hold a grudge against easyGroup and had no issue with the company. Another band, Hard-Fi, took a humorous approach to the situation, jokingly quoting NME in a post on social media, responding to a possible name clash with “Er… lads…
Read the full article on NME here: Read More