Rham Records, the label that released the single, refutes the claims.
Gerald Simpson, AKA A Guy Called Gerald, says that he never made "one penny from" sales of his 1988 hit single "Voodoo Ray" or his 1989 LP, Hot Lemonade.
Both records were released via UK-based label Rham Records. According to a statement Simpson posted on Facebook, "Rham ceased operations in 1992 when Peter Leay, the owner disappeared, after him telling me the bad news about the collapse of the record's early distributor Red Rhino."
"Peter Leay had ran off with what was going to be my future," Simpson continued. "I had plans to build a studio in Manchester to develop artists like me. In the end I had to sign Subscape with Sony/CBS where I had to focus on the GCG artist project. We found Peter Leay, who had moved on from the music business and we got him to sign my music back to me but all the original money had got tied up in a Merseyside corner shop."
Simpson went on to describe how the Rham label was rebooted in 2019 and uploaded his music on Spotify without permission or paying him royalties. "In 2019 the guy who was the assistant to Peter Leay restarted the Rham label not knowing what he has got himself into... His only thought to steal my music? Why would the assistant of Peter Leay re-start Rham, who never paid its bills for decades and is now working stealing my royalties through an illegal Spotify page where they use my name and likeness and intellectual property with no permission... it never ends."
In response to Simpson, Rham provided the following statement.
"We are aware of a recent social media post by Gerald Simpson regarding payment of royalties. We refute the allegations made in his statement, and his recollection of events. We have repeatedly attempted to communicate with Gerald and his business manager in order to pay royalties due to him, but he has not so far acknowledged us. If Gerald would like to contact us we will be happy to send any money currently due to him immediately."
Simpson has not yet responded to Resident Advisor's request for further comment. Read his full statement below.
Watch A Guy Called Gerald performing "Voodoo Ray" in 1988.