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Kid who appeared on Placebo album cover sues band for “ruining his life”

June 26, 2012 Tyler Munro

Placebo’s 1996 self-titled debut was by all means a breakout success, hitting as high as #5 on the British charts. That proved great for the band, who went on to sell ten million albums worldwide over the next decade-plus. Unfortunately, the album’s cover star hasn’t had such luck and today Spinner reports that David Fox, now 28, is suing the band for “ruining his life”.

Fox was 12 when the album art was shot and he alleges that his image was used without permission. He says his cousin, a photographer, took the picture after Fox’s brother’s death. The album’s success led to bullying and abuse, alleges Fox, who eventually dropped out of school.

Placebo haven’t commented on the lawsuit, though their management says the suit should be aimed at Virgin, who distributed the record.

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meghan webster

why did it take him this long to sue? 17 years later, he wakes up one morning, thinking sh*t! i need money…mmmmm i know!!! the placebo cover!! …cha-ching!!! doesnt make sense. if he was really concerned about it, he wouldve dont it years ago….
oldostritch

Get over it. And Frank Sinatra will not outsell the Beatles.
oldostritch

No amount of money can stave off ill will. If that worked, why are you posting?
Vedderlover

Yes, but I’m pretty sure that a picture of you that was taken after your brother’s death wasn’t used on the cover of an album without your permission, leading to being bullied so badly in school that you had to drop out. You have no idea about this man’s life or what he has gone through, so why are you so quick to judge? How can he hold himself responsible when he had no control over the events?
Socius

I’m sorry but 28 is a little late to be complaining. He’s 28, hasn’t gotten anywhere, and is looking somewhere to blame someone other than himself. If his cousin took the photograph, and gave permission for the photograph to be used, then this kid doesn’t have anything to stand on.
Socius

Not entirely correct. Responsibility would have been with whoever took the picture. In this case, his cousin. If his cousin didn’t give permission for the photo to be used, then there’s a case. If the cousin did give permission, then he needs to sue his cousin for authorizing its use without consent. From the sounds of it, his cousin did give permission. But he’s still mad and wants to blame them because they have more money than his cousin. It’s childish, really. If he had an issue he should have brought it up a decade ago.
RonH

Ridiculous claim…try another angle to get your “just” share of the $$, but the whole “woe is me” angle is just silly.
http://www.facebook.com/ariaaria Aria Stock Loc

Wait, how do you know that kid’s name?
nevilleross

No amount of money can really do so, yes, but it’s the principle of the thing that counts.
nevilleross

The imbecile is you, for not understanding about another person’s pain. Try again, sir, and better luck next time.
nevilleross

I’m calling somebody an asshole because they’re pissing on the hurt and pain of somebody that’s suffered bullying and now wants compensation for the hurt that they’ve suffered. I think that this is more about people loving and supporting Placebo way too much; I’ll bet that if Justin Bieber or any other pop star like him had done this, people here would be supporting the man in his endeavor. But it’s Placebo, and they get an automatic pass simply because they’re an alternative band that viewers of AUX like (or love) a lot. However, it’s still wrong, and as I’ve said before, at least Justin Bieber would use his image on his albums to promote it, and not put somebody on the cover that didn’t want to be there.
nevilleross

Did I mention anything about Frank Sinatra or the Beatles, dumbass? All that I said was that this won’t look good for alternative artists or their fans. No more, and no less. The mentioning of pop artists/groups was just as an example.
nevilleross

Way to misinterpret what’s happening, moron.
nevilleross

Spencer was a baby and most likely didn’t know or didn’t mind; this man did, and does, because it affected him a lot. There’s a big difference.
nicholasi

Placebo are a pack of queers, and this kid should sue them for all he can get. Lowlife homos didn’t even bother checking who was on their album cover?
paulfrottawa

This is a cash grab only and if he only stated he wasn’t paid then OK. But he’s going to get burned from claiming the other things. If he doesn’t prove the picture ruined his life then he might just get sued himself.
disqus_8dXyazgwxu

What’s with the name calling, it only makes you look foolish and pathetic. Try a more positive roll in life
nevilleross

The name calling stays-if the person doesn’t want to be regarded as dumb, they they should shut their mouth rather than be a fool and remove all doubt.
http://www.facebook.com/gregmunro1963 Gregory Scott Munro

The parents should have signed a consent form at the very least. But how did it ruin his life? Who ever printed the record cover, or authorized it- messed up. But suing 16 years later, please get a life! ( why didnt the family deal with this, when it was first released – clearly, if the cover made his life so bad, they were aware of it. I think its utterly ridiculous to sue now. But, some thing needs to be in place, so it never happens again. How did it ruin his life again? He was bullied, most kids at the age get some kind of peer pressure- and it made him drop out of school. Hmm, that is one amazing album cover , said no one.
Hmm.

You mean, when he was still a teenager, probably with no idea he even had any recourse?
http://www.facebook.com/ward.wagar Ward Wagar

obviously? seems you make a lot of assumptions, all we can truly do is speculate with the facts we have. we hear all too often someone blame their past for their present state. If there is a suit, then it is a legal issue, whichever way it goes. claiming one event ruined your entire life is a stretch….unless you spend your life dwelling on it. I have been bullied, as many others who dont blame their life on it.

I dont think anyone is going to burn their albums for this either. its a small blemish on a band that wasnt really popular enough to sleight the enrtire music industry.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Neville-Ross/100002343524258 Neville Ross

I never said that albums will be burned over this, or even implied anything of the sort. All I said was that this incident won’t go over well for this band, or anybody in the alternative rock genre; if they wanted to do said picture, the band and it’s management could have hired a male child model to do the picture, the same way that Blind Melon and their management managed to find a young girl for the cover of the first album and the music video of the song ‘No Rain’ and feature her in the video without any problem. That’s all that there was to it.
http://www.facebook.com/I.am.the.JinXed Brandi Gray

A) The picture of this kid is not of him “grieving for his dead brother”, it is of a kid making a typical silly face. While he might have been grieving inside, the picture in no way reflects that, so we can all stop acting as though he was breaking down sobbing in the photo.
B) How many kids do you know who would bully a kid who was on the cover of a successful album, or even an unsuccessful one? At that age especially, he would have been a playground hero, next best thing to a rock star himself.
I am far from heartless, quite the opposite. I am terribly sorry he lost his brother, and maybe the emotional trauma from that event is why he’s been so unsucessful in life, and is contributing to his out of orbit behaviour now. Obviously he does need help, because stating that the bands success is responsible for his being unable to move past his childhood issues is seriously off.
I can’t say for certain, but knowing children as well as I do, I would imagine he was likely thrilled to be on that album cover, tried to trade in on that with everyone his whole life, and now that the band is in obscurity and he can’t say “Guess who I am?” any longer, he wants some cash.
Just my opinion.

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