Fight over will of Mixtures guitarist

The will of an Australian rock guitarist who shot to fame with the novelty tune The Pushbike Song is the focus of a £1m legal dispute.

Australian band The Mixtures, with Fred Wieland far left, on British TV in 1971. Picture: David Redfern

The will of an Australian rock guitarist who shot to fame with the novelty tune The Pushbike Song is the focus of a £1m legal dispute.

Fred Wieland was a member of the Australian band the Mixtures, who in 1970 became a one-hit wonder with a single that went to No. 1 in its native country and was kept off the top slot in Britain by George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord. The guitarist’s music career was short-lived but he went on to settle in England and set up a buy-to-let property business in Buckinghamshire.

Wieland died of cancer in 2018 aged 75, leaving behind his widow, Karen, their daughter, Amber, and two daughters from a previous relationship, Jasmine and Jade Wieland. In his final will, he bequeathed his entire estate to Jasmine and Jade – a decision that has triggered a legal battle between the two branches of his family that has landed in Central London county court.

The Mixtures covered Mungo Jerry’s In the Summertime then released The Pushbike Song, which recounts a trip around town on a bicycle while flirting with girls. Although his rock career was short, Wieland featured as a mystery guest on the BBC’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2002.

The Mixtures, with Fred Wieland at back.

Wieland and Karen separated in 2013, reconciling briefly when he became ill, before finally splitting and beginning divorce proceedings. Wieland moved to Spain before his death.

His final will left his estate to Jasmine and Jade, and appointed the former as administrator. His former wife is now suing for “reasonable provision” – a fair share of her ex-husband’s fortune. Jasmine is arguing for a half-share of the former couple’s £1m property portfolio to go into her late father’s estate; her stepmother claims it is all hers.

George Woodhead, a barrister representing Karen Wieland, has told the court that when the couple decided to divorce they had a written agreement regarding the ownership of the properties.

“Freddy had agreed that she would have his beneficial interest in the properties for a payment of £50,000,” he said. The barrister added that the deal was part of an agreement that split all their wealth.

Mr Woodhead noted that the widow, as a former letting agent, had sourced, managed and rented out the properties, which had been bought for her future benefit.

But James Kemp, a barrister for Jasmine, argued that the agreement was “not valid” because the widow did not pay the full £50,000 before Wieland died.

Judge Nigel Gerald has ruled that the issue of whether Wieland still held his shares in the properties at the time of his death would be decided at a trial in April. His widow’s claim for “reasonable provision” will only resume after that issue has been decided.

The Times