Robbie Williams in row over booze brand as sober star attempts to launch money-spinning rival to Gary Barlow’s wine line
ROBBIE Williams has gone into battle with a Jamaican booze brand over his plans to launch his own wine label.
The singing star, who has been sober for over 20 years, hopes to rival Take That mate Gary Barlow by knocking out his own Rude Rise plonk.
He has filed papers with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office to trademark the name.
But we can reveal that the plans have hit a snag.
A UK businessman called Lloyd Partridge who runs the Rude Boy drinks firm on the Caribbean island says Robbie’s booze brainchild sounds too similar to his own.
And he has applied to the IPO to have Robbie’s name blocked.
Lawyers at the government department are now assessing the trademark challenge.
Rude Boy drinks sell a range of vodka-based booze and tell would-be buyers: “The term Rude Boy comes from the Jamaican vernacular which means “bad boy” or “bad man“.
“Deeply rooted in Jamaican and Caribbean culture, the Rude Boy genre of music, dance, film and the arts has positively impacted social attitudes across the world bringing people from different cultures together.
“The Rude Boy culture is very simple, “nobody tells Rudies what to do, nobody touches the rude boys, and no one can disrespect us”.
Gary launched his £8 organic Spanish red and white wines 18 months ago and later added a rose.
He said at the time: “The definition of a great evening for me is friends, laughter and good wine.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have travelled and experienced different cultures over the years and wines from across the world.
“After months of learning about the process and tasting different blends, I’m very proud to now launch my own range of organic wines from Spain.”