Furore-leafed Clovers

Harold Winley - who was a member of The Clovers when they did Love Potion Number 9 - is trying to win the right to perform under the band name from the trademark owners.

The Associated Press explain what happened:

Winley and another band mate, Harold Lucas, went on to perform with separate musical groups that called themselves The Clovers, and Harold Lucas' group eventually trademarked the name in the 1980s. Lucas died in 1994, but two of the men he trademarked the group's name with continue to use it when performing.

Yeah, you thought the Sugababes had weaved a tangled web.

Winley has been refused the right to be Harold Winley And The Original Clovers. He doesn't think it's right:

"It is our position that when people come to see The Clovers they expect that they are going to see Harold Winley or another original member of The Clovers," said Winley's lawyer, Brad Newberg.

To be honest, I suspect that most people who go to see The Clovers think they're going to see the band that did Saturday Night At The Movies; or, more likely, they're thinking 'this is the kind of stuff that Dad likes, isn't it? Why isn't he smiling? Shit, maybe we should have done the winery tour after all'.

But there's a twist here. The trademark-holding Clovers turn out not to be worried about Winley being a Clover; they're upset at his suggestion he's more of a Clover than they are:

Charles Stevens, one of the group members from Lucas' Clovers, called the lawsuit "frivolous." Stevens, who lives in Washington, said Winley is not an "original Clover" because he didn't start with the group until the late 1940s. Lucas and three others were performing as the Four Clovers before Winley joined.

They're having peace talks today. Good luck, everybody.