The Scottish group says Arista Records has withheld payments from album sales, merchandise, commercials, film rights and ringtones during the last 25 years.

A spokesman for Arista, now a part of Sony BMG, declined to comment.

The act were hugely popular among teen fans in the UK, the US, Australia, Japan and elsewhere from 1971-77.

They enjoyed 10 top 10 hits in the UK including Bye Bye Baby and Give a Little Love, and also made it big in the US when their single Saturday Night went to number one in 1976.

The legal action, filed in the US District Court in New York, does not specify how much the group are seeking from Arista.

Band ‘deprived’

But one of their lawyers, Joshua Krumholz, said: “We know it’s in the millions.”

In the documents, the group said they had sold at least 70 million albums around the world but received only a single royalty payment of about $254,000 (£129,000) in more than 25 years.

The documents said Arista had promised to pay royalties over the years but claimed not to know who to pay.

This was a “pretext intended to deprive the Rollers of the royalties to which they are entitled”, the group said.

The legal action has been brought by band members Les McKeown, Eric Faulkner, Stuart Wood, Alan Longmuir, Derek Longmuir and Duncan Faure.

Singer McKeown now tours small venues, while Derek Longmuir is a nurse and another former member is a plumber, Mr Krumholz said.

BBC News 21.3.07