The Hives have been ordered to pay 18.5 million kronor (approximately AU $2.8 million) to fellow Swedes The Cardigans, after a court ruling yesterday.
The dispute involves a rather shonky-sounding recording studio called Tambourine, located in the southern Swedish city of Malmo, which also doubles as an accounting firm for both bands. Tambourine transferred cash from ’90s Lovefool hitmakers The Cardigans to The Hives, which they claim is standard accounting practice – moving money from bands with high liquidity to those with less cash. But The Hives claimed they knew nothing about it, releasing a statement via their blog saying, “There are no loan agreements, no signed documents, no agreements on interest rates.”
But the district court of Lund ruled against them, ordering Howlin’ Pelle and company to repay the money, plus The Cardigan’s legal fees. The Hives’ lawyer Monica Crusner says the band will be appealing the decision, saying that they shouldn’t be held liable as they didn’t benefit from the loan.
Tambourine are also being sued by Europe, the band that brought us Gob Bluth‘s signature tune, The Final Countdown. The ’80s band claim the company forged signatures on some of their financial documents.
