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U2 are being sued for allegedly plagiarising an unknown British guitarist for the basis of their 1991 number one hit, ‘The Fly’.
Paul Rose claims that his instrumental track, ‘Nae Slappin’, had been lifted by the Irish rockers and has – ahem – slapped them with a $5m lawsuit.
The heart of the suit is the assertion by Rose that U2 heard his demo tape, which features ‘Nae Slappin’, at the offices Island Records in 1989 after he’d sent the label his recordings. He claims in the suit that U2 may have lifted his ideas for their hit’s groove as well as “an elaborate and distinctive guitar solo nearly identical to [“Nae Slappin”]” because their sound was “in need of invigoration.”
The New York Post reports that Rose’s claim states: “An ordinary lay observer would reasonably find that the songs are substantially similar and that an infringement has occurred.”
In addition to the $5m, Rose is also seeking lawyer’s fees and songwriting credit for ‘The Fly’.
It’s been well documented that U2 were looking for a new direction by the end of the 80s. The criticism of appropriating Americana and roots music levelled at the band in the wake of their Rattle And Hum album and film stung the band and so they retreated to re-invent themselves. They re-emerged in 1991 with the planet-straddling album, Achtung Baby.
But why wait 26 years before coming forward?
Rose’s lawyer, Thomas Mullaney, claims that his client was only just starting out his career at the time of the alleged plagiarism and was worried about ruining his future prospects. Also, Mullaney claims that Rose has only just recently tracked down as ex-Island Records employee who can corroborate that Rose’s tape was played at the label while U2 were making ‘The Fly’’s parent album, Achtung Baby.
What do you reckon? You can have a listen to the two tracks below:
