Pop legends "Frankie Goes to Hollywood" were denied entry to collect an award honouring their iconic 80s anthem Relax.
The band-mates heard at the last minute that Relax was to be hailed as a "Classic Song" at the "Q Awards".
But aside front man Holly Johnson, none of the Liverpool band members were invited to the show, and even after requesting tickets, they were refused.
While Johnson was invited to accept the award, the rest of the band were kept in the dark until Norris Green-born guitarist Brian "Nasher" Nash overheard the news on the radio.
A source close to the band said: "This was the first any of them had heard about it.
"The band contacted the team behind the awards, who were quite staggered they had not been informed or invited."
But despite the band-mates' hurried requests for tickets, they were not allowed to attend the ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
A spokesperson for the Q Awards said: "This award was sorted out via the band’s label Universal, who said it was Holly fronting the campaign.
"Q said they did ask for the full band but the label said that was not possible."
Universal, which is about to release a greatest hits compilation by the band called Frankie Say Greatest, was unavailable for comment.
The song Relax is credited jointly to "Gill, Johnson, Nash and O'Toole".
With its B-side Ferry Across The Mersey, Relax became one of the most iconic songs of its generation.
The band recorded the video at Liverpool's State Ballroom on Channel Four TV show The Tube in February 1983.
It showed smartly-dressed singer Johnson being greeted at a gay bar by a leather-clad man, a topless woman and a man dressed as a schoolboy licking a banana.
After reaching the top 40, the Trevor Horn-produced track became infamous when then-Radio 1 breakfast show host Mike Read refused to continue playing it.
Relax subsequently rocketed to number one for five weeks, knocking Paul McCartney's Pipes Of Peace off the top spot.
It ended up as the second best-selling single of 1984, behind Band Aid's Do They Know It’s Christmas?
This isn't the first time the former band-mates have come to blows.
In 2007, Johnson lost his bid to cash in on the Frankie Goes To Hollywood name on beer mats.
He had applied for patents to use the title on a range of products, including sunglass cases, footwear and belts.
But a trademark adjudicator ruled in favour of Johnson's four former band-mates after hearing the group was an equal collaboration between all the members.
Nash, Peter Gill, Mark O’Toole and Paul Rutherford were also awarded costs after opposing Johnson's application.
The singer had also attempted to secure all rights to the use of the name for musical performances.
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