Ghost’s Papa Emeritus sued by former band members

Ghost
Ghost

Ghost leader Papa Emeritus, aka Tobias Forge, is being sued by four former band members, according to Swedish website Corren.

The un-named musicians have brought the lawsuit against the vocalist at Linkoping District Court, Sweden, for “missing wages and allowances for several years” and are asking Forge to disclose the band’s revenue and expenses between 2011 and 2016.

They are asking the court to penalise Forge 200,000 SEK – around £18,000 – if he fails to do so, or “the amount that the court considers reasonable.”

Corren say that Forge is in charge of the band’s “operations” and has been collecting “all revenues” through his company.

The four former Nameless Ghouls claim they did not receive any compensation in 2012 but were eventually paid sporadic amounts when Forge was put under pressure. The frontman allegedly claimed there was no money available at the time.

It’s also claimed that on two separate occasions in 2016 the musicians were offered contracts, but those were rejected on the grounds that they saw them to be “slave contracts.”

Former Ghost musician Martin Persner, who revealed his identity last month, is not included in the quartet taking Forge to court.

Ghost are currently on tour across Europe and will play Cologne’s E-Werk tonight (April 5).

Getting to know Ghost: The Swedish ghouls answer your questions

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.