plagiarism

Cat Stevens Now the Third Person to Write ‘Viva La Vida’ Before Coldplay

By , a features writer for New York Magazine.  He was previously the magazine’s culture editor and one of the original editors of Vulture.

Hapless soft-rock combo Coldplay has been accused of plagiarizing their 2008 hit “Viva la Vida†— again! Following similar claims by guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani and Brooklyn band the Creaky Boards, Cat Stevens says that one of his songs was the basis for Chris Martin’s iTunes-advertising single. Like those other tracks whose hooks Coldplay also obviously appropriated, Stevens’s “Foreigner Suite†is yet another perfect match, which should no doubt make the division of royalties interesting.

Here’s a comparison between “Viva La Vida†and Stevens’s “Foreigner Suiteâ€:




Here’s “Viva la Vida†and the Creaky Boards’ “Songs I Didn’t Writeâ€:




And here’s “Viva la Vida†and Joe Satriani’s “If I Could Flyâ€:


We anxiously await the announcement of the next artist who wrote “Viva la Vida†first.

Cat Stevens: ‘Coldplay stole my song!’ [NME]

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Cat Stevens Now the Third Person to Write ‘Viva La Vida’ Before Coldplay