Glenn Hughes : Black Country Wanted 500K For Name

Rock Radio UK is reporting that Glenn Hughes tried to negotiate with the owners of the name 'Black Country' when he decided to use it for his supergroup – but they wanted half a million dollars for the title, he says.

The band, now called Black Country Communion, found themselves engulfed in three months of negotiations before giving up.

Hughes tells EspyRock: "When I Googled, 'Is there a band called Black Country?' the answer came back no. So I said, 'Okay, we'll call ourselves Black Country.'

"Jason Bonham was doing a TV interview and next thing we knew we got a cease-and-desist letter from this band called Black Country in Baltimore, Maryland.

"So for the next three months we tried to negotiate a fee to buy the name – but they wanted half a million dollars. I told them very nicely: 'Are you out of your f'kin minds?'

"They were really aggressive with me. They were trying to play down who we are, saying they weren't a Led Zeppelin tribute, but they were saying, 'Our music is very influenced by Tommy Bolin' – not realising Tommy was in my band Deep Purple!

"They thought because of all the records we've sold and all the stuff we've done that I'd just have half a million dollars in my back pocket to give them. It's just rude.

"So I added the word 'Communion' at the end. It's not a religious term – I wanted to have a real 60s vibe, a hippy-sounding last word, and 'Communion' is that.

Black Country Communion's self-titled album, featuring Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian, and produced by Kevin Shirley, is released in September after lead single One Last Soul.