Cat Stevens Plagiarized in “Viva La Vida”?
Though the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens agrees that “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay sounds much like a song he released in 1973, he didn’t go on to say that he would sue them over it.
The singer-songwriter, now referred to as Yusuf Islam, told Reuters, “My son brought it to my attention and said: ‘Doesn’t that sound like ‘Foreigner Suite?’ The song definitely sounds like it. It has such logical chords and the melody has to be what it is…”
When the new source asked Islam via a telephone interview whether he would sue Coldplay, he icily replied that it “depends on how well Satriani does.”
Joe Satriani, American guitarist, is suing Coldplay over a similar plight – copyright infringement. Just as Islam found something familiar about “Viva La Vida,” so did Satriani, who claims substantial parts of his song “If I Could Fly” are being used in the Coldplay single. He is therefore seeking damages.
In other Yusuf Islam news, the singer didn’t make it to a gig in the US on Sunday because of issues with a work permit. The problem, according to Islam, has nothing to do with the incident when he was denied entry into the US five years ago, when his name was on a government no-fly list.
It seems that either everyone wants a piece of this song, or Coldplay did a hell of a job piecing this song out of other people’s songs.
Still, getting a cut of the revenue from Coldplays latest album wouldn’t be a bad thing – would it?
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