Stone Temple Pilots sued by former singer Scott Weiland

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22764995

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A row between US rock band Stone Temple Pilots and its former lead singer Scott Weiland over whether he has the right to perform their music has escalated.

Last month the band sued Weiland, whom they had ejected in February, claiming he had been "misappropriating" their name to further his solo career.

Weiland has now taken counter legal action against his former bandmates.

He has claimed they had no right to expel him and should not be allowed to perform with a new lead singer.

"How do you expel a man from a band that he started, named, sang lead on every song, wrote the lyrics, and was the face of for 20 years?" asked court papers filed on Friday.

In their action, filed on 24 May, the band claim Weiland is not entitled to call himself a former member of the group and has been using their songs without proper permission.

They cited his being late to concerts and poor performances as some of the reasons for his sacking - something Weiland said he only learned about when it was reported in the media.

The group, who won a Grammy award in 1993 for best hard rock performance with vocal, has performed with Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington since Weiland's departure.

The band enjoyed their greatest success in the early 1990s with their 1992 debut album, Core, and its 1994 follow-up Purple.

Weiland, who has a history of drug problems, rejoined Stone Temple Pilots after parting with rock band Velvet Revolver in 2008.

In a strongly worded letter to fans on his website, he said the band did not have "the ethical right" to call themselves Stone Temple Pilots without him in the line-up.