Last week, Wollongong band Ruby Tuesdays were sued by the American fast food chain Ruby Tuesday for $2 million. Yesterday, the group found out that they won the case and won’t need to change their name.
To celebrate the news, the band have released a new single and are hoping to announce a tour soon. Shaun Snider from Ruby Tuesdays spoke to Tone Deaf about the support from Australia, and the music community, as well as their original worries about changing the name.
Watch: Ruby Tuesdays: “Wooden Moon”
“We got an email Wednesday morning from our lawyer saying they were withdrawing the case.” Said Snider. Their cause was heavily helped by the media coverage and the support of the Australian public. “We didn’t think they had a case, but at the same time it was pretty intimidating.”
“Once Americans got wind of it, they weren’t impressed either.”
The band was also inundated with messages from people in America who sent messages to the restaurant telling them to leave the band alone “in more colourful language”. The situation quickly became a PR nightmare for the chain restaurant.
Now that the court case is over, the band are hoping to tour in Australia outside of Sydney and Wollongong. They’ve also released a new single “Kill My Muse” which you can watch below.
The boys from the band also shared some advice for other bands or artists in similar situations. “If you believe in your enough and you stand your ground, people will get behind you.” Snider continues, “This is our passion project and we’re not just gonna roll over.”
When asked if they had thought about what they’d change the bands name to if they were pushed, Snider confirmed they had one tongue in cheek idea. “The law company that’s suing us is Mintz Levin, so we decided we’d change our name to ‘Mintz Levin Infringement’.”
Watch: Ruby Tuesdays – “Kill My Muse”
