The bitter infighting in the musicians union rages on with Lloyd Simmons denying he has been removed as leader.

Mr. Simmons, the long time head of the Bermuda Federation of Musicians and Variety Artists, is urging executive members to attend a meeting at the BIU tomorrow although other union members have said the meeting is a sham.

But Mr. Simmons has a different version of who is on the executive after complaining a meeting held at the Mariner?s Club in May to elect a new leadership used an unratified constitution and was therefore void.

He then held a meeting at the BIU early last month attended by seven or fewer members ? below the quorum of 15.

Union rules allow for another meeting to then be held without a quorum, said Mr. Simmons, and five or six members gathered to ratify the block re-election of standing members which saw him re-elected as president, while three new names were added.

However, one of the members Mr. Simmons named as part of his executive told Mr. Simmons claims were invalid, delusional and part of a bid to cling to power.

Lawyer Kevin Bean, who chaired the May AGM at the Mariner?s Club attended by around 35 members, said Mr. Simmons had not raised any objections about protocol before he lost his place as leader.

?He continues to function under the delusion that he is still president,? Mr. Bean said. ?It causes the impression there are two unions.?

He said Mr. Simmons ran the risk of disciplinary action if he continued.

Mr. Bean said Mr. Simmons? challenge on the union constitution was over whether amendments, made in 1967, allowing people without Bermuda status to sit on the committee had ever been ratified.

Mr. Bean claims they were backed up by members? signatures at the Registrar General and that the issue in no way affected the vote. And he has suggested putting the issue to the vote at a special general meeting to clear the matter up.

In the meantime, two individuals on the slate have been temporarily stood down.

He said the new executive consists of Miles Manders, Shine Hayward, Selena Lambert, Randy Lambert, Jeffrey Marshall, Tony Brannon and Erskine Phillips.

However, Mr. Simmons labelled that committee bogus. His own version of the executive includes himself and former members Irwin Whitter, Miles Manders, Erskine Phillips and Jeffery Marshall ? all of whom he says were re-elected at a meeting on July 19 while new members coming on board were Shine Hayward, Wendy Flood and Bill Caisey.

He claimed the low turn-out at the BIU was because of a campaign by his opponents.

?Certain people are trying to oust me. I am president,? he said.

Mr. Bean said, however, that Mr. Simmons had flouted the constitution by never holding the annual election for the executive ? a claim Mr. Simmons denied.

Mr. Simmons said there had been an election three years ago ? that time too the original meeting without a quorum was followed by another low turn-out meeting which returned him as president.

Union member Tony Brannon said there hadn?t been an election for more than a decade. ?Lloyd Simmons has never communicated with anybody,? he said.

Asked why there hadn?t been annual elections, Mr. Simmons told : ?There is no explanation for it. It is what happens. I have been involved in the union for 40 years.

?There was never a yearly election. My members told the committee ?Go along and do your job?.?

He admitted members had not been sent letters about the July meetings but some had been rung and notified.

Meanwhile the executive elected at the Mariner?s Club in May plans to meet with Government facilitator Stuart Hayward on Saturday afternoon at the Community and Cultural Affairs building to work on recommendations from Mr. Hayward?s report on improving the entertainment industry.