Just hours after Coldplay learned of receiving seven Grammy nominations, the British group were sued by legendary guitarist Joe Satriani in a Los Angeles Federal Court for Breach of Copyright on the basis that Coldplay’s hit Viva la Vida bears more than just a canny resemblance to Satriani's track If I Could Fly.
It looks as though Satriani is prepping himself for one tough game of hardball with the Brits, and little wonder. If I Could Fly was penned by Satriani as a love letter to his adored wife, and took more than 10 years to compose before it was eventually recorded in 2004.
Coldplay admit similarities, but not plagiarism
Coldplay have admitted there are striking similarities between the two songs, but refute the plagiarism claim saying the resemblance is purely coincidental. In a statement on Coldplay's official website, the band says, "If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him,"
"Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song Viva La Vida. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours."
But it looks as though Satriani and his team’s “future endeavours” will be taking a back seat to the impending legal proceedings, where Satriani will be seeking a jury trial to demand damages and "any and all profits" in relation to copyright infringement.
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Viva La Vida, is the title track for Coldplay’s latest album, earning them No1 spot on the album sales charts in more than 26 countries, including Europe and the U.S. The album has also broken current records for being the most paid-for downloaded album of all time, and paved the way for the group's 7 nominations for the upcoming 51st Grammy Awards in February 2009.
Skeletons in the Closet
Unfortunately for the band, the plagiarism accusation has also forced another skeleton out from the Coldplay closet.
Curiously, another lesser-known group by the name of Creaky Boards have also accused Coldplay of plagiarism in July, 2008 – over the same track. In a video posted on Youtube, Creaky Boards singer and songwriter, Andrew Hoepfner claimed that the Viva La Vida melody is a blatant rip-off from a song he penned in 2007, ironically named "The Songs I Didn't Write".
Meanwhile, Coldplay are pushing to have Creaky Boards publicly retract any plagiarism allegations against them, but are said to be “reluctant” to pursue the matter through the courts as it would “look bad” for Coldplay to be involved in a David and Goliath struggle against the band.
Creaky Boards are still looking for a record deal.
