Major twist in Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty’s Qld festival deal dispute

Creedence Clearwater Revival founder John Fogerty was due to headline a Central Queensland music festival before the deal collapsed over “logistics”.

Creedence Clearwater Revival founder John Fogerty.

The agency for Creedence Clearwater Revival founder John Fogerty was paid a $US700,000 ($A1.07m) “deposit” to perform at a Central Queensland music festival and has allegedly not repaid it after the deal collapsed over “logistics”.

On February 12, Country Fest Queensland concert promoter SFP Events Pty Ltd paid $US700,000 to billion-dollar Hollywood talent giant Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA), the Supreme Court in Brisbane was told on Wednesday.

The money was allegedly part of preparations to secure a 100 minute performance by Fogerty at the March 30-31 event, for which he was to be paid a further unspecified “large sum of money”, the court heard.

But days later when SFP Events “withdrew” its offer to sign him up as headliner, they also demanded $US700,000 they sent to CCA’s trust account be refunded.

John Fogerty performing at the Bluesfest music festival in Byron Bay.

Details of the deposit and the “large” performance fee which was set to be paid by organisers of the festival at Bloomsbury, about an hour’s drive north of Mackay, to CAA were revealed as part of a legal case brought by SFP Events against Fogerty’s US-based Little Swamp II Inc and CAA after the deal fell over.

SFP Events wants the court to order they be repaid the $700,000.

Liam Copley, for SFP Events, told Justice Peter Applegarth that the key issue in the case is whether or not an agreement was entered into for the 78-year-old to perform at the festival.

The case is in its early stages and no ruling has been made about whether CAA and Little Swamp II were contractually obliged to perform for a fee.

Mr Copley said no formal agreement was ever entered into because while SFP Events signed a document agreeing to pay Mr Fogerty’s “expenses, and his travel to Australia” and the $US700,000 deposit when negotiations began in November, CAA did not sign it.

Before CAA had the chance to return the agreement with their signature on it, there was some “back and forth about some logistics and things like that”, Mr Copley said.

At the point where CAA told SFP Events in a letter that they “plan to get back to you shortly” with a signed agreement, SFP wrote about February 23 and said “if you haven’t signed it, we then want to withdraw our offer”, Mr Copley said.

Mr Copley submitted that SFP Events said they were entitled to withdraw the offer because it was done before Fogerty and CAA signed.

“The matter before me does not require me to analyse or make a decision of whether there was a binding contract or not, or what may have constituted the offer and whether all relevant terms were agreed… these matters are for argument on another day,” Justice Applegarth said.

CAA has suggested the dispute should go to arbitration in Los Angeles, the court heard.

CAA and Little Swamp II have told the court they do not accept they are subject to the jurisdiction of Australian courts.

The jurisdiction issue will also be determined by a court at a later date, Justice Applegarth stated.

.