Easy life: Fans vow to keep tattoos despite easyGroup legal action

Kate Price (centre) and James Keys (right) were invited to sing on stage by the band because of their tattoos

Fans of easy life have vowed to keep their tattoos despite legal action against the band by conglomerate easyGroup.

The company, which owns multiple "easy" brands including easyJet, had accused the band of trademark infringement and called them "brand thieves".

The Leicester band have now said they will change their name and performed their last gig as easy life on Friday.

The band previously encouraged fans to get "easy life" as a tattoo.

'It holds memories'

So far there has been no announcement on what their new name will be.

Friends Kate Price and James Keys have had easy life tattoos since 2019, and the band invited them on stage to sing Pockets in April of that year after spotting their tattoos.

Miss Price said: "I thought 'These are the best band in the world ever, I want to get their name tattooed on me'.

"I got mine years ago, they weren't even on the radio back then, but since then lots of people have had them.

"I got the tattoo as soon as I turned 18 in 2019, much to my dad's disgust. It holds memories so I wouldn't want to get rid of it."

James Keys got an easy life tattoo on his ankle in 2019

Mr Keys said he would not be removing his tattoo either.

"I'm not legally required to change it, unless they [easyGroup] come to me to change my tattoo," he said.

"EasyGroup are taking advantage of the fact they've got the resources to enter lengthy court proceedings and the band hasn't really."

'It's still them'

Lewis Iwasiw got his tattoo in August with the assistance of band member Lewis Berry, who wrote easy life for him on a scrap of paper.

"We traced that and it's in his handwriting," said Mr Iwasiw, whose tattoo also features a palm tree.

Although he feels "upset" about the band changing their name, he said he still looked at his tattoo and smiled.

"It's still them, I think they are always going to be easy life," he said.

Lewis Iwasiw's tattoo features the words easy life written by band member Lewis Berry

On the band changing their name, Miss Price said: "I think it's really sad because they've worked hard and built up their reputation, and they are well known as easy life.

"But at the end of the day they are still going to be the same easy life."

Mr Keys added: "It's a bit surreal really. But at the same time, if that's what they've got to do, that's what they've got to do."

A document filed with the High Court featured a poster for the band's tour

EasyGroup and its owner Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou have a long history of taking legal action against businesses who use the prefix "easy" in their name.

There is even a section of the easyGroup website called "Brand thieves", in which some of the cases are listed.

However, easyGroup does not always win. In 2021 it lost a claim against the catalogue retailer Easylife Limited and its owner Greg Caplan.

easyGroup claimed the retailer had infringed four of its registered trademarks, including easyJet, but this was dismissed by a High Court judge.

Having lost the case, easyGroup then bought a 10% shareholding in Easylife Limited and now includes the company in its "easy family of brands".

EasyGroup is the brand owner of airline easyJet

EasyGroup's claim against easy life, the band, did not only relate to the name.

The Particulars of Claim detailed how the band had promoted a tour with a poster showing a plane in the style of easyJet's orange livery but substituting the airline's name with its own.

The company also said the band had produced T-shirts bearing their name in the firm's branded style, and their website infringed its trademark with its similarity to easyJet branding.

It stated: "By wrongly creating a link with the claimant, the defendant benefits from an association with that positive view and vast brand recognition, regardless of whether the link was intended to be provocative or humorous."

The band performed their last gigs as easy life on Thursday and Friday

Easy life announced their intention to change their name in a statement on Tuesday.

"We simply don't have the funds to access a fair trial in the High Court," the statement said.

"Not to mention the fact that this would likely rattle on through to 2025, and with this hanging over us we wouldn't be able to release any music in the meantime.

"Our careers, and indeed our lives, would be on hold."

The band said they were going into "a period of legal mediation" with easyGroup.

EasyGroup said it did not want to comment until an agreement had been reached about the band's rebranding.