Music Blogs

When Snap, Crackle and Pop was a kid, the closest we got to being a pop hero was lording it around the lounge with a tennis racket. A wooden tennis racket. Now, it's 2009 and every little upstart has a games console and a bad attitude to match, which they can channel through "Guitar Hero", "Rock Band" or "DJ Hero", the latest addition to the interactive music catalogue. The world of rock'n'roll is your oyster.

But there are problems, as confirmed in a Los Angeles court yesterday, when No Doubt filed legal papers against "Band Hero" creators Activision. They are said to be "mortified" by the discovery that the group can be split up and made to play on over 60 songs, which include Gwen Stefani becoming a man lusting for hookers on "Honky Tonk Women". "While No Doubt are avid fans of The Rolling Stones and even have performed in concerts with The Rolling Stones, the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorised performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice choir boasting about having sex with prostitutes", the action reads.

The pop act have called on the company to recall existing copies of the game, accusing them of breach of contract and fraudulent inducement. Activision deny such claims but seem on pretty unsteady ground, given that Courtney Love has already threatened to "sue the sh*t" out of the firm for their depiction of deceased husband Kurt Cobain in the same game. Surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic confess they are "dismayed" by the use of his likeness. But what's worse? Singing Bon Jovi or being made to impersonate a sex mad scoundrel!?