Brother formerly known as Brother UK in the U.S. have been forced to change their name to Viva Brother across the world.
The name change stems from a legal dispute with another band also named Brother.
The band had previously kept the name Brother in the U.K. but had changed it to Brother UK in America. Now the band will be known as Viva Brother throughout the world.
Talking about the name change, lead singer Lee Newell said, “A long time ago in a galaxy far far away three men decided one day that it would be a good idea to start a band called Brother. Many, many years later four frighteningly handsome devils in the desolate, post apocalyptic wasteland of Slough decided to do the same thing. But something called “litigation” got in the way. However with this out of the way we do finally feel free. Brother is dead. Long Live VIVA BROTHER!”
The band released an official statement online regarding the name change which states the following:
The U.K. band BROTHER have changed their name to VIVA BROTHER after a legal challenge by another band named “Brother.” The U.K. band Brother, with their increasingly high profile in America, came to the attention of the other band- an Australian ‘powerhouse celtic tribal trio’ based in the USA that combine ‘the deep pulse of the didgeridoo, the soaring highs of the bagpipes, and tribal percussion.’
In the spirit of The Chemical Brothers and Santigold before them, the band decided that life would be simpler if they changed their name for the world rather than just the USA, and avoided a battle in the US courts – Viva Brother were born. They were briefly called ‘Brother UK’ in the USA, like the Charlatans UK before them, but the geographical addition to the word Brother was not accepted in this new digital age.
