Busted And Not Reliable

Two former members of defunct pop group Busted lost a £10 million battle for the band’s song royalties because a judge doubted the validity of their evidence.

"He was not a reliable witness. He manifested a high degree of confusion and a failure to grasp the detail in relation to many of the significant events," Judge Morgan said of Owen Doyle when the matter reached the High Court June 6.

Along with Ki McPhail, Doyle claimed that in 2001 he helped pen four tracks including "Year 3000" and "What I Go To School For" while they were with James Bourne and Matt Willis in a band called The Termites.

The band then changed its name to Busted after signing to a management company in March that year. Doyle and McPhail were fired 10 months later.

The two songs in question then became hit singles for the remaining members of Busted, with new recruit Charlie Simpson on lead vocals.

Doyle and McPhail, who began the action in January, claim they were forced by "threats" and "undue pressure" to sign away their royalty rights to Bourne and Willis.