The music industry and social media at large are taking aim at easyJet in light of what might be one of the most ridiculous stories we’ve ever heard, as the airline is reportedly suing alternative indie-pop band, Easy Life, because their names are apparently too similar.
Like the majority of people who first saw this online, we thought it was a joke at first too. Apparently not…
Despite having been formed in 2017 and having seemingly caused no disruption to the company’s business in the past six years, Easy Life shared a statement on Monday evening claiming that popular UK airline easyJet is set to sue them simply because they share the word ‘easy’ in their name.
Much to our and everyone else’s shock, the lawsuit appears to be real after a spokesperson for the budget flight operator told NME: “Stelios and easyGroup founded and (now) own the right to the easy brand name… We cannot allow unauthorised third parties to simply use it free, gratis and for nothing. That would be very unfair.”
They basically believe they have a copyright on the word ‘easy’. Simply flabbergasting and, as you can expect, it has led to some very low-hanging fruit and amusing reactions:
The full statement by the Leceister-based band reads: “Okay… never imagined having to do this but we’ve no choice but to address the situation we find ourselves in. As some of you have already discovered, we are being sued, easyjet are suing us for being called easy life.
“They’re forcing us to change our name or take up a costly legal battle which we could never afford. we’ve worked hard to establish our brand I’m certain in no way have we ever affected their business.
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“Although we find this whole situation hilarious, we are virtually powerless against such a massive corporation. I don’t really know what else to say, will keep you lot updated.”
The five-piece signed off by joking, “for those of you who bought gig tickets and ended up on a budget flight to Tenerife, I apologise, for the rest of you, thank you so much for your support”. Naturally, they aren’t the only ones laughing at the absurdity of it all.
While a large proportion of the comments are versions of “surely they are joking?” and “this has to be a p*** take?”, for those that have clocked on to the fact this is somehow real, easyJet are currently being called every name under the sun.
As for the company’s stance on the matter, they went on to insist to the NME that not only do “Stelios and easyGroup own the right to the easy brand name” but stated that “other companies (including easyLife) [already] pay annual royalties for its use as part of their business strategy”.
So yes, although it might sound silly that they are basically trying to copyright a common word in the English language which has been used in various different phrases since the start of the Middle Ages, easyJet have indeed been trademarking a number of different names including easyVan, easyProperty, easyCurrency and more — the suggestion being that they could be angling for easyLife insurance next.
It goes without saying that we find this whole thing stupid we’re still in disbelief that it’s actually genuine. Then again, we shouldn’t be too surprised as the company’s owner Stelios Haji-Ioannou has tried to sue everyone from the creators of Come Fly With Me, who parodied him back in 2010, to a small taxi company that also had easy in their name.
What they’ve actually done is just lost even more faith amongst Brits who travel from time to time and might have been considering using the airline and given easy life one of the best bits of inadvertent publicity and nationwide exposure we’ve ever seen.
Here’s hoping the boys’ nightmares turn into daydreams soon and in case it wasn’t already hammered home just how daft this whole thing is, just check the comments underneath this statement of solidarity from music label Blood Records.
Featured Image — easy life (via Instagram)/Bene Riobo (via Wikimedia Commons)
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Gig tickets, signed merch and more up for grabs in important Headstock charity fundraiser
Daisy Jackson
Some huge music-related prizes have been announced as part of a major charity fundraising campaign for the music industry.
Headstock, a Manchester-based music and mental health social enterprise, is running a Crowdfunder campaign with prizes including tickets to huge arena shows, signed merch, and loads more.
Headstock has announced the campaign to raise funds for the support of MUSIC 85258, a 24/7 confidential text support service launched last year to support those working in the music industry.
The text support service is run in partnership with Music Minds Matter and delivered by Shout.
Headstock’s mission since its inception has been to deliver music-led solutions to tackle the growing mental health crisis, both within the music industry and beyond.
The dedicated mental health text support service has already drummed up loads of support, including being signposted back-of-house in key venues like the AO Arena, Co-op Live, and Warehouse Project.
Now, Headstock is running a fundraiser campaign to keep this vital service thriving, pulling together some major prizes across multiple prize draws.
These prizes have been donated by local Manchester bands and venues, and include VIP Parklife tickets, VIP to shows at the AO Arena and Co-op Live, season passes for WHP, and signed merch from the likes of Elbow, Courteeners and New Order.
To enter each prize draw, make a donation to the Crowdfunder – the bigger your donation, the more entries you will receive.
You can see all the prizes up for grabs and make a donation below – or you can just donate to Headstock HERE.
All the prizes in the Headstock fundraiser
Aitch – A pair of tickets to see Aitch’s headline show at Mayfield Depot + 4x signed albums – HERE
Parklife – 2x pairs of VIP tickets to Parklife 2026 – HERE
All money raised will be donated to mental health charity, Shout, who deliver MUSIC 85258 – a free, confidential and 24/7 text support service for anyone working within the music industry.
MUSIC 85258 is a de-escalation service for anyone working in the music industry who is struggling with their mental health. It is a partnership between Headstock, Music Minds Matter and Shout, with Mental Health Innovations providing the underlying service through Shout’s network of trained volunteers. To use the service, anyone that is struggling simply needs to text the word “MUSIC” to 85258 to connect with a volunteer for in-the-moment support.
Richard Ashcroft announces all-North West lineup of support acts for Alexandra Palace headliner
Danny Jones
Wigan’s finest, Richard Ashcroft, has announced an all-North-Western lineup for his upcoming headline show at ‘Ally Pally’.
The former Verve frontman is not only riding a fresh wave of popularity thanks to supporting Oasis on their incredible Live ’25 world tour, but also recently released his long-awaited new album, Lovin’ You.
Not just a Manc music icon but one of the biggest names to have come out of his borough, specifically, the legendary lyricist is finally getting more like the kind of recognition he deserves, and is making sure to pay that exposure forward in the best way possible.
He could have picked from all manner of big British acts as supports at Alexandra Palace, but Richard Ashcroft has chosen to keep flying the regional flag by picking a group he’s spent the last few months with, as well as a fellow Greater Manchester act.
That’s right: as well as signing up Liverpool’s very own Oasis Live ’25 openers, Cast, as one of the warm-up acts, the 54-year-old has also chosen another native Wigan artist in the form of The Lathums to join him for the momentous headline show.
Much-loved not only in their hometown but across Manchester and beyond, the indie favourites – who also released their latest studio LP, Matter Does Not Define, back in February – the young band are only getting better and becoming more established as time goes on.
Having already played the likes of the AO Arena here in Manchester and booked numerous big festival slots of the past few years, we reckon you can pretty much bank on them headlining this historic and bucket list venue for themselves in the future.
In terms of Cast, the scousers continue one of the busiest years for touring in their career by supporting ‘King Richard’, having followed up supporting ‘LG’ in 2024 to both Gallagher brothers over the summer.
As for Ashcroft himself, we’re glad to see him back releasing new music, and can confirm his seventh record is a great listen.
By no means our favourite, but just a taste of his latest sound.
Now, if you were wondering why we’re talking about this show over any of the other gigs (namely the Northern ones) on his upcoming UK run, it’s because most of the tour has now sold out.
His Co-op Live date was obviously the first to go, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium going shortly after, and extra dates being added in the likes of London, Liverpool and over in Leeds.
If you do happen to be in the capital already or are willing to make a trip to London for the show, there are still some tickets left for Richard Ashcroft at Ally Pally in July 2026.
Cannot wait to hear how this sounds in that storied room:
Danny Jones -
3rd October 2023 
