Yusuf Islam (nee Cat Stevens) played the El Rey in Los Angeles Monday for an acoustic, invite-only show. Most of the tracks played live were off his new full-length Roadsinger, the singer’s second release in thirty years.
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Coldplay has said enough is enough with all the copy-catting banter that has been circulating around their song “Viva La Vida”. As we previously reported, both Cat Stevens and Joe Satriani have accused the pop-rock musicians of ripping off their music. The band has adamantly denied the accusations and now Will Champion, the band’s drummer, has a message for them both: “there are only eight notes in an octave and no one owns them.”
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Chris Martin and co. seem to have mastered the art of the generic pop-rock song when they wrote the title track for their last album Viva La Vida. Why else would the British alt-rockers keep finding themselves under scrutiny from other musicians accusing Coldplay of ripping them off? First it was Joe Satriani, claiming the foursome stole the melody for “Viva la Vida” from his song “If I Could Fly”, but now Cat Stevens has joined in on the drama, claiming the band actually ripped off the melody from his song, “Foreigner Suite”.
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Back in February we told you Chris Martin and his Coldplay pals were planning to give fans a ‘thank you’ present for still buying tickets to shows, despite the state of the economy. The blueprints were drawn and the plans are now solidified, as Coldplay confirmed they will be giving away a live album to fans at their upcoming tour dates and as a free download from their website.
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They denied it to their fans, they denied it to the press and now they’re denying it to the judge — Coldplay went on the record in federal court with their stance that no part of “Viva La Vida” was copied or borrowed from guitarist Joe Satriani’s “If I Could Fly.”
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