Rock stars’ widows could be left in penury when the royalty payments for music’s biggest hits end, says the widow of the skiffle king Lonnie Donegan.

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Donegan’s Cumberland Gap, the song that inspired the first British “beat” groups, topping the hit parade. But next year the track will be out of copyright under a 50-year limit on protection for sound recordings. Performers will cease to receive royalty payments for sales or airplay of songs that then fall into the public domain.

The rule will affect Sir Cliff Richard’s first hit, Move It, next year and the first of the Beatles’ back catalogue in 2012.

While the likes of Sir Paul McCartney will continue to earn songwriting royalties, session musicians and their families will lose their pensions.

Lonnie Donegan died in 2002, aged 71, while preparing for a concert. Sharon, his widow, said: “His recordings of Rock Island Line and Cumberland Gap are effectively worthless once the copyright term ends. It’s not even as though they made us rich. People say I must be a millionaire but, no, the royalties were just enough to get by.” She said that her husband’s performance royalties amounted to £30,000 to £40,000 a year.

Donegan had a string of hits was one of the era’s most successful recording artists, but documents show that he left an estate of £82,000. Mrs Donegan, 50, his third wife, said: “What seems most unfair about all this is that someone like Lonnie works all his life and then there’s nothing at the end of it, not even a pension.”

The family of Adam Faith, who died in 2003, will also be affected. Tommy Steele, 70, Britain’s first “pop idol”, will stop receiving payments for hits such as his 1957 No 1 Singing the Blues.

Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, recently discussed the issue with Ian Anderson, frontman of Jethro Tull. Anderson argued that the Exchequer would lose a huge amount of revenue if the term were not extended. But a report into copyright has advised Mr Brown that there is no case for extending the term, as musicians could find other means of earning income, such as advertisement soundtracks.

Mrs Donegan is lobbying MPs in the hope they will look sympathetically on the jobbing musicians who never attained McCartney-style wealth. She has lent Cumberland Gap to an album that has been produced for MPs to highlight the problem. The album, Copyright Gap, features British music from the past 50 years and was compiled by Phonographic Performance Ltd, which collects broadcast royalties on behalf of 40,000 musicians.

The Beatles, The Who, the Kinks and the Jam have all donated tracks to the CD.

Writing in Music Weekmagazine, Mrs Donegan says: “I just hope the politicians listen to all the tracks on that CD and then give us the same copyright term as the songwriters and photographers.”

Michael Connarty, a Labour MP, will call today on the Government to lobby the European Union for an extension of the sound recording copyright term. Sound recordings are protected for 95 years in the United States.

Copyright GapThe tracks

Lonnie Donegan Cumberland Gap (1957) chart position: 1

Marty Wilde A Teenager In Love (1959) 2

Helen Shapiro Walkin’ Back To Happiness (1961) 1

Joe Brown A Picture of You (1962) 2 T

he Beatles She Loves You (1963) 1

The Kinks You Really Got Me (1964) 1

The Who My Generation (1965) 2

Donovan Mellow Yellow (1966) 8

Fleetwood Mac Albatross (1969) 1

Jethro Tull Living in the Past (1969) 3

Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love (1969) 4

Elkie Brooks Pearl’s a Singer (1977) 8

James Galway Annie’s Song (1978) 3

Kirsty MacColl There’s a guy works down the chip shop swears he’s Elvis (1981) 14

The Jam A Town Called Malice (1982-2032) 1

Iron Maiden Be quick or be Dead (1992) 2

Texas Say What You Want (1997) 3

Atomic Kitten Whole Again (2001) 1

Jamie Cullum Blame it on my Youth (2003)

Lemar It’s Not That Easy (2006) 7

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