Sacked ELO tribute frontman threatens legal action

Published Tuesday 18 March 2008 at 11:50 by Lalayn Baluch

A singer who was sacked as the frontman of tribute act the ELO Experience is planning to challenge the band at an employment tribunal, in a bid to win back more than £1,000 that he believes he is owed.

Gary Hopkins, an impersonator of Electric Light Orchestra lead vocalist Jeff Lynne, performed with the Hull-based band for ten months, playing to more than 100 shows at theatres, clubs and leisure resorts.

Hopkins believes that he was sacked because he was not from the band’s hometown. He has also claimed that the tribute act had already hired a new singer from Hull, before he was dismissed in January.

Hopkins told The Stage: “The agent said the band decided to dismiss me because they thought I had become too distant and did not communicate enough. They also felt they could not trust me, believing I would leave without giving them notice, so leaving them in the lurch. I think they got rid of me because they conveniently found someone from their hometown.

“I knew living 150 miles away from the band would not always be easy, but I still talked to the band and the allegations they made over my dismissal were just unfounded.”

Hopkins is now claiming breach of contract for unpaid wages, totalling more than £1,000. He has rejected an offer from the band of £230 for pay in lieu of notice. He added that he would have considered taking an unfair dismissal claim to a tribunal, but was two months short of the service needed to qualify.

A spokesperson for International Management and Agency, which represents the ELO Experience, commented: “After a minor dispute over Gary being late on several occasions to the venues, he took his equipment off the stage to go home - this was before a sell-out gig. On more than one occasion he did advise the band to get a local singer from Hull.”

She explained that Hopkins refused two weeks’ worth of wages offered by the band, and insisted he intended to deal with the situation through legal channels. She added: “If Gary wants to take this matter to an industrial tribunal the band are saying there are lots of issues that they can bring up, so they are happy to go with this.”

A date for the tribunal is yet to be set.