A British judge has ordered a tribute band to stop using the name Four Tops, after the surviving members of the original Motown quartet launched a lawsuit.
High Court Judge Nicholas Warren ruled on Friday that singer Viscount Oliver Miller must stop performing and recording under the name Viscount Oliver's Legendary Four Tops.
The Four Tops, from left, Obie Benson, Duke Fakir, Levi Stubbs and Lawrence Payton, shown in 1990.
(Ron Frehm/Associated Press File)
Miller, who was never a member of The Four Tops, played and toured in Britain in a tribute act to the group, who had hits such as Baby I Need Your Loving, Same Old Song and Reach Out and I'll Be There.
"Today's ruling was important for The Four Tops because it permitted them to protect their legacy in the U.K.," said the group's lawyer, Adam Robertson.
The group helped define the Motown sound during the 1960s with their brand of doo-wop and soul.
The four members — Levi Stubbs, Abdul (Duke) Fakir, Renaldo (Obie) Benson and Lawrence Payton — performed together for nearly 40 years.
Two of the original members, Payton and Benson, have died, but Fakir still performs and is currently touring Britain with fellow Motown act The Temptations.
Mary Wilson, former singer with The Supremes, is headlining a national campaign in the United States pushing for legislation to stop imposters from posing as her 1960s Motown group, or any other classic group of the past.
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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