Coldplay Drummer Dismisses Plagiarism Claims

Coldplay drummer Will Champion has been described as the band’s “bulls**t” meter — it’s his job to say whether the lyrics on any song the band are working on are up to snuff or need revising. Champion took the time to respond to the recent controversy surrounding the band’s single “Vida La Vida.” Coldplay are being sued by Joe Satriani, who believe the song borrows from his 2004 instrumental “Learning To Fly.”  Yusuf Islams, aka Cat Stevens, has said he is mulling a suit, due to the song’s similarities to his 1973 “Foreigner Suite.”

“It’s tough when people accuse you of stealing something, when you know that you didn’t,” Champion told HamptonRoads.com. “So, we accept that it’s part of the territory and know it is only for some reason, God only knows why, the successful songs that seem to be the ones that are accused of being stolen. So you go figure it out.”

“There are elements of our music that I’ve heard in other people’s music but it’s kind of … I don’t know,” he said. “It’s interesting but a very difficult thing to define. How can you … there are only eight notes in an octave and no one owns them. And there are probably about 12,000 songs that feature the exact same chord progression. I think it lies on an intent to steal, which we certainly have never done and never would. So, it’s unfortunate but it’s the way people are. That’s that. We’re confident we haven’t done anything wrong.”

Funny, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy said the same thing recently when Jay Bennett sued him over band royalties: ” I am equally convinced, however, that I have done nothing wrong.”

Plagiarism?