There were 23 teenagers of Islington Green School who provided backing vocals for the 1979 release at the encouragement of their music teacher. But Headmistress Margaret Maden, on hearing the lyrics – "We don't need no education / We don't need no thought control" – barred her pupils from further involvement and, until now, the children have remained anonymous.
The headteacher was not alone in her shock – the local education authority described the work as "scandalous". But the song and Pink Floyd's double album The Wall went on to become massive hits.
The school itself received just £1,000 and a platinum disc; but to date the children involved in the recording have been paid nothing.
This may be about to change following the involvement of a royalties firm run by Scottish musician Peter Michael Rowan.
Rowan has filed a claim on behalf of one of the now thirty-something singers with the Performing Artists' Media Rights Association (PAMRA), the trade group responsible for collecting royalties from broadcasters each time a recording is aired.
Rowan first tracked ex-pupil Peter Thorpe by means of the Friends Reunited web site and has now made contact with eight of the singers, now in their thirties. He told OUT-LAW that he now has the names of the others, but is still trying to make contact with them.
Rowan's interest is in the fun of finding all the backing singers and getting them back in touch, as opposed to profit. The sums involved are small: the backing singers have no claim to royalties on records sold. It is only since the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations of 1996 came into force in December of that year that performers have been entitled to "equitable remuneration" for the broadcast of their performances. They cannot claim back to 1979.
So Rowan anticipates that the singers can expect between £100 and £150 for the years since the end of 1996, in respect of qualifying broadcasts – mainly Europe, Japan and Canada. They can expect just "tens of pounds" in future years, for as long as the song is played on TV or radio.