Cat Stevens Would Like A Word With Coldplay

Can't people just leave Coldplay alone?

The poor English dudes just want to get on with the business of being a hugely popular, non-threatening, massively wealthy Huge Rock Band. They want fame. Popularity. Respect.

Two out of three ain't bad, etc.

You may recall that Coldplay were served with a lawsuit over the winter, the allegation being that their song "Vida La Vida" sounded a little too much like Joe Satriani's "If I Could Fly." It was hard not to agree with Satriani - comparatively, the choruses are very similar. Also, as Satriani wouldn't shut up about, he wrote "If I Could Fly" for HIS WIFE, and so Coldplay stealing his melody was like Coldplay KNOCKING UP HIS WIFE, and so Coldplay would HAVE TO PAY for STEALING his VERY PERSONAL SONG about his freaking WIFE.

So yeah, that suit's still going on. And, of course, there was also the claim by Brooklyn indie band Creaky Boards that "Viva La Vida" was actually their melody. Man.

Now, Cat Stevens is piling on, too. The current Yusuf Islam told UK tab The Sun (via the NME) that "Viva La Vida" is really his tune, specifically part of his The Foreigner Suite Part II. Preach on, dude:

“There’s been this argument about Coldplay stealing this melody from JOE SATRIANI, but, if you listen to it, it’s mine! It’s the 'Foreigner Suite,' it is!”

Luckily for Coldplay, Stevens isn't suing. But that doesn't mean he won't necessarily not get anything out of all this. Remember, the Flaming Lips avoided legal entanglements by splitting the dough from their 2002 song "Fight Test" with Stevens, who very rightly observed that the Lips' melody was not dissimilar to his own "Father & Son."

You may be asking yourself, if Satriani's song sounds like Coldplay's, and Coldplay's sounds like Cat Stevens', then why doesn't Cat Stevens go after Joe Satriani? Good question. Perhaps he's waiting for every artist who's ever written this stupid melody to come out of the creaky boards. Or maybe he's waiting to be called as a witness at the Satriani trial.

Here's the Cat Stevens song in question. Go to 5:20 or so, close your eyes, and picture a bearded Chris Martin.