After the song was released, the headmistress at Islington Green refused to let the children appear on television or video for the song. For almost two years Peter Rowan has been working on the royalties case, and just last week he appealed to a music royalties society on behalf of a former pupil. Since it’s been well over 20 years since the original recording, most of the group has yet to be contacted.

But how did it ever happen in the first place? The children’s music teacher, Alun Renshaw, took the group to a nearby recording studio after being approached by the band’s management. The headmistress never gave permission for the recording to occur.

The school was paid 1,000 pounds and given a platinum record of the song after the single hit Number 1 in Britain and America.

But who’s paying? According to Rowan, the money would come from the music royalties society – not the band. And what’s the payoff? Just a couple hundred of pounds each.

The original royalty application lacked sufficient evidence, but the school’s headmistress at the time, Margaret Maden, provided enough information to substantiate the claim.

Source CNN.com