Indie band Easy Life have revealed they have been told to change their name by easyGroup - the largest investor of popular airline easyJet.
The Leicester band, who formed in 2017, came second in BBC’s Sound Of… poll in 2020 and have released two studio albums to date. Their most recent effort MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE… reached number two on the UK album charts last year.
The five-piece band has also performed at Glastonbury Festival, appeared on Later... With Jools Holland and even had their music featured in video game Fortnite. Frontman Murray Matravers took to social media on Monday evening (October 2) to reveal the band have now been faced with legal action.
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Despite the posts suggesting they were being sued by easyJet, the popular airline has strongly denied they are involved in the matter in any capacity. The legal action is instead being carried out by easyGroup - an investor in the airline.
Posting on Twitter, Murray said: “Okay… Never imagined having to do this but we’ve no choice but to address the situation we find ourselves in. As some of you have already discovered, we are being sued.
“easyJet are suing us for being called Easy Life. They’re forcing us to change our name or take up a costly legal battle which we could never afford. We’ve worked hard to establish our brand and I’m certain in no way have we ever affected their business.
“Although we find the whole situation hilarious, we are virtually powerless against such a massive corporation. I don’t really know what to say, will keep you lot updated.
“For those of you that bought gig tickets and ended up on a budget flight to Tenerife, I apologise, for the rest of you, thank you so much for your support.”
easyGroup, which had an estimated net worth of around £29.9 million in 2021, is part of a concert party that holds 15.3% of easyJet shares. The airline licences the easyJet name from easyGroup.
In a strongly worded statement, an easyGroup spokesperson said: “With reference to the brand thief Mr Matravers and his fellow band members who have decided to use our brand, easyLife without permission.
“We have a long established record of legally stopping thieves from using our brands and I am confident we will stop Mr Matravers.”
