The self-titled and debut album of the British band Placebo was released 16 years ago, so you would think that they are safe from any lawsuit related to this old release. Well not exactly! David Fox is planning to sue the band, claiming his life was ruined because Placebo used a photo of him at 12 for the album cover, without his authorization.
The picture was taken by a professional photographer, and the huge success of Placebo’s album made the picture pop everywhere:
‘Within a week it was out in the shops, It was in Virgin, it was in HMV, it was in Tesco, it was all over the place. I was watching EastEnders with my mum and I saw one of the billboards by the Tube station and it had my face on there.’
He claims to have been bullying at school, which led him to drop out definitively. Fox is also saying he is using his mother’s saving and ‘every bit of spare money’ he will be able to gather to file a lawsuit.
Again, the album was released in 1996! It took him such a long time! And for what reason would he have been bullied over a cool picture?
That reminds me the story about Vampire Weekend album cover for ‘Contra’! They went exactly through the same crap with model Ann Kirsten Kennis, who sued the band for using her image without her permission… could it be one of these copycat lawsuit?
In any case, it’s lame, and looks so much like a lazy attempt to get easy money… interestingly, Fox is a trained chef who recently lost his job.