An Irish songwriter is preparing legal action against Robbie Williams to secure up to a third of future royalties from his song Angels.
Ray Heffernan claims he was paid £7,500 for handing over the hit, having played it for Williams after meeting him in a Dublin bar in 1996.
He said he planned to use the “bestseller clause” in European Union copyright legislation to recoup royalties for the song.
Ray Heffernan claims he helped write Robbie Williams’ signature hit
Angels was a breakthrough hit in 1997 for Williams, who had embarked on a solo career after leaving Take That. It remains his most popular song and has been streamed almost 700 million streams on Spotify.
Heffernan told the Sunday Independent that after meeting Williams he took him to his mother’s house in Dublin and played him Angels, which he said he wrote earlier that year when his partner suffered a miscarriage.
They booked a studio in London’s Temple Bar to record a demo before Williams took it to Guy Chambers, who is listed as the song’s co-writer.
Williams and Chambers at the Ivor Novello songwriting awards in 1999
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The song’s success propelled Williams to the top of British pop music, becoming one of the bestselling tracks of the decade. At the 2005 Brit Awards it was voted the best song of the previous 25 years by the public.
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Heffernan said: “Recording with Robbie was just my second time in a studio. So when the conversation turned to selling the song, I was mostly thrilled. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Sell your songs to pop stars.”
Heffernan, who was 22 at the time, said he was initially offered £2,500 by Williams to relinquish his rights. “When I asked to be credited on the record, they raised it to £7,500. I accepted the deal. Then, boom! The song took off.”
He added: “As songwriters, we’re often told, ‘Ah yeah, but you signed the deal. Tough luck. That’s the music business’. But why? Why are we so lightly dismissed, when our songs are the cornerstone of the whole show?”
Heffernan said he had been given legal advice that the EU (Copyright and Related Rights in the Digital Single Market) Regulations 2021 offered hope that he could recoup “lost royalties”.
The legislation states that “additional, appropriate or fair remuneration” can be granted when the “remuneration originally agreed turns out to be disproportionately low compared to all the subsequent relevant revenues derived from the exploitation of the work or performance”.
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Williams’s wealth in his last appearance on the Sunday Times Rich List was estimated at £195 million. It is unclear how much money he and Chambers have made from Angels, which has been covered by numerous artists.
Heffernan previously told the Sunday Independent that he and Williams had “clicked talking about music” when they met in Dublin, by which time he had already written “the first verse, some of the chorus and some of the second verse” of Angels.
Williams, who has previously described Heffernan as a “fantasist”, has been contacted for comment.