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.

According to Yahoo, a May 3 date in New York was dashed before Islam took the stage in L.A. earlier this week. The NY show cancellation was credited to an undisclosed work visa issue. Islam converted to being Muslim 32 years ago and was placed on the U.S. suspected terrorist list in 2004, prompting his deportation and accusations that he was funneling money into groups that supported terrorist acts. His last show in NY in 2006 was a rarity as well.

Islam’s set list included “Peace Train”, “Where Do The Children Play?” and “Father And Son”. No word if he played “Foreigner Suite”, which Islam is suing British band Coldplay for plagiarism. Coldplay’s song “Viva La Vida” — as we’re sure everyone and their mother is aware of — is also under scrutiny from Joe Satriani in terms of stealing guitar riffs and shit, like the line “I used to rule the world.” Very valuable.

Islam quit music at the end of the 1970s to focus on his faith and family before returning to live performances several years ago.

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.”

In an interview with Hamptonroads.com, Champion was insistent that Coldplay was innocent, and had no intention of having “Viva La Vida” sound anything like either Satriani or Stevens’ songs. He also added that pop song writing is relative, and it is undeniable that some songs are going to use some of the same chord progressions as others. (Thank you Champion for reiterating our point.)

In a statement Champion said: “It’s tough when people accuse you of stealing something when you know that you didn’t. We accept that it’s part of the territory and know it is only for some reason 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 a very difficult thing to define. There are only eight notes in an octave and no-one owns them. There are probably about 12,000 songs that feature the exact same chord progression. I think it [plagiarism] lies on an intent to steal, which we certainly have never done and never would. It’s unfortunate but it’s the way people are. That’s that. We’re confident we haven’t done anything wrong.”

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”.

Unlike Satriani, Stevens has not said he will take legal action against the group, but the musician told The Sun that he is the real inspiration behind Coldplay’s music. Though this claim might seem a bit more plausible than the Satriani case, (can’t you envision Chris Martin rocking out to Cat Stevens over Joe Satriani any day?) we have to say, it is probably one more instance in pop song writing, where a generic melody takes the shape and sound of some other melody that was already written. It is the risk you run when in pursuit of writing a three-chord hit, too bad Coldplay just found a bit more success than their accusers while doing so.

This is not the first time Stevens has been a victim of song writing copy cats. In 2003, Stevens and The Flaming Lips agreed to split the royalties from the Lips’ song, “Fight Test” after it was said to be too similar to Stevens’ 1970 song, “Father and Son”. Even though Stevens doesn’t seem interested in pushing legal action against Coldplay, let this be a note to Chris Martin while in the studio: Just let Jon Hopkins and Brian Eno write all of your songs.

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.

The nine-track live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, will be given to all fans that attend any of the dates on their Viva La Vida tour, and fans will also be able to download the album for free off of the band’s website, starting on May 15. In a statement, the band said “Playing live is what we love. This album is a thank you to our fans — the people who give us a reason to do it and make it happen.”

LeftRightLeftRightLeft track listing
01. Glass Of Water
02. 42
03. Clocks
04. Strawberry Swing
05. The Hardest Part/Postcards From Far Away
06. Viva La Vida
07. Death Will Never Conquer
08. Fix You
09. Death And All His Friends

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.”

In a response filed in Los Angeles on Monday, attorneys for the band argued that any similarities between the two songs “weren’t enough to warrant damages.”

The response states that Satriani’s song “lacks originality” and should not receive copyright protection. Satriani’s lawyer, Howard E. King, said that the Coldplay response was fairly standard for a copyright infringement case, and that he thought the matter could have been resolved outside of court.

Kudos to The Daily Swarm for keeping track of Fox News for us. We tend to shy away from their brand of muckraking because we like to think of our tastes as a bit more couth and less sensationalistic. But we couldn’t pass up on another bit of news surrounding the whole Joe Satriani Vs. Coldplay fiasco.

As you should already know by now, Coldplay has been accused of ripping the melody for “Viva La Vida” (for the second time) from Satriani’s “If I Could Fly”.

Well, according to Fox, Satriani and his lawyers have been trying to bring the case to court, but claim that Coldplay has dodged being served. And where, when and how do his lawyers propose to catch the rascally band? To quote: “The Grammys are the easiest forum at which to strike while the iron is hot.”

While Satriani has stood by his claim that Coldplay lifted his 2004 instrumental, the band has vehemently disputed this, issuing a rebuke on their website. But that hasn’t stopped Satriani or his attorney Howard King of King Paterno et al. King has promised “a fleet of process servers lined up to dog the band everywhere they go this weekend in the hopes of serving them” and also warned Coldplay’s British lawyers that they with have camera crews roaming around with the process servers to get the whole thing on tape.

Finally, something exciting to look forward to at this year’s Grammys.

As we reported just about a week ago, Coldplay and producer Brian Eno are at it again; taking some time off to record new material, after the combo’s success on 2008’s Viva La Vida. Front man Chris Martin will not be part of the equation though; at least not for another few weeks.

Martin announced during a solo, acoustic performance for the London based radio station Absolute Radio today that Eno encouraged the band to step into the studio without Martin, saying in a letter that “Viva la Vida was good. But I know that you can do better.”

The band will be in the studio sans Martin for the next two weeks, working on material with Eno. For the time being, Martin will have to hang solo, saying “This should be interesting… I’ve never tried this before.”

We’ll have to wait and see how Coldplay makes out at the Grammy Awards next week, where the group is up for seven nominations for their work with Eno.

After much commercial success with Coldplay’s fourth studio album, Viva la Vida, it sounds like Brian Eno will be heading back into the studio to collaborate with the British foursome once more. Or is that sound a tweet?

Eno recently wrapped up work on U2’s new album, No Line On The Horizon, and will be joining Coldplay in the studio before they gallivant off to Tokyo in February for the start of their world tour.

Though Eno received some slack for his last go with Coldplay, fans and critics most likely won’t be crying this time around, after the news of Coldplay’s seven Grammy nominations and 4 BRIT nominations for their work with Eno on Viva.

In total, Coldplay has received four Grammys to date, including Record Of The Year in 2004 for Clocks. Perhaps the Eno-magic will help rocket U2 to such success with their new album as well.

With no rhyme or reason, our editorial staff chooses the top 10 biggest music-related news stories of 2008. Coming in at #4: Coldplay Accused Of Ripping Off “Viva La Vida”.

Ironically, on the same day “Viva la Vida” lands on our top singles list, this seemingly never-ending saga about Coldplay’s “inspirations” behind the song lands them on our biggest news stories list. Accused twice of plagiarizing the song, the latter of which actually resulted in rock guitarist Joe Satriani suing. Satriani’s copyright infringement suit, filed in L.A. federal court, alleges that “Viva La Vida” features “substantial original portions” of his 2004 instrumental track “If I Could Fly”.

Read the full story and compare the two songs here.

40 Year Old Virgin called them gay and the BBC said they induce narcolepsy, but Coldplay’s triumphant “Viva la Vida” is a current testament to their monstrous fame. From the insistent string section that opens the track to the anthemic “wo-ho-ah-ho!” harmonies that end it, “Viva la Vida” refuses to let go of our attention for even a second. Chris Martin sings loud and firm, better than ever before, telling a story of royalty that might well be his own: “I used to rule the world,” but like all royalty, his Kingdom fell. Not about rebuilding it, the song is about moving away from it. Say what you will about Coldplay or their perpetual mediocre albums, but to deny this song’s prowess is to deny deserving music based on foolish preconceived notions of what is cool, and what isn’t. Oh, and they didn’t steal it from Joe Satriani.

Coldplay – “Viva la Vida”