Asia Vocalist John Payne Suing Vegas Musical 'Raiding The Rock Vault' for Performance Dues, More

Musician and co-director John Payne was fired from the set of the Las Vegas musical performance Raiding the Rock Vault and he isn't happy about it.

Payne, formerly the vocalist for rock group Asia from 1992-'06, was heavily involved in the creation of the performance, which tells the "story of classic rock" from 1948 to 1989 at the Las vegas Hotel & Casino. There are four major charges behind Payne's lawsuit:

01) What he's owed: The foremost aspect of the suit of course involves the money. According to the lawsuit, promoter Rock Vault Tours agreed to give Payne 2.5 percent of box office receipts until the show had paid off its initial investment, at which point he would receive 3.5 percent. He was also to receive 2 percent royalties until recoupment and then 3 percent afterwards. Payne signed an agreement assigning his rights, but claimed that his firing was threatened if he didn't, and therefore the contract was null as he had signed under duress. He also claims he was supposed to be paid $1,000 per show for performing (he handled bass and vocals for the performance), which he never received.

02) Copyright: Payne was one of the co-writer's behind the show's creation and suggests that as he was later fired from the performance, his copyrights are being violated by continued performances since the play is registered at the copyright office as a "Dramatic Work and Music; or Choreography."

03) Slander: Payne alleges that the defendants spoke falsehoods about him publicly following his firing, amounting to slander. No comments are specified in the lawsuit.

04) Publicity Rights: Payne alleges that his publicity rights were violated, as promoters continued to use his name in advertising for the show following his firing.

Raiding The Rock Vault features music from The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, although the musical's site doesn't suggest anything by Asia is on the playlist.