This past Sunday, singer Lana Del Rey revealed that Radiohead are suing her over similarities between her 2017 song "Get Free" and the band's September 1992 single, "Creep."
Del Rey announced the news via Twitter, adding that the lawsuit will likely end up in court. "It’s true about the lawsuit," she wrote. "Although I know my song wasn't inspired by Creep, Radiohead feel it was and want 100% of the publishing—I offered up to 40 over the last few months but they will only accept 100. Their lawyers have been relentless, so we will deal with it in court."
Oddly enough, several years ago, songwriters Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood sued Radiohead, claiming that "Creep" sounded a bit too much like their own composition, "The Air That I Breathe," which was a 1972 hit for the Hollies.
According to Hammond, "Radiohead agreed that they had actually taken it...Because they were honest they weren't sued to the point of saying 'we want the whole thing.' So we ended up just getting a little piece of it." As a result of the Hammond/Hazlewood incident, the official songwriting credit for "Creep" is now "Radiohead/Albert Hammond/Mike Hazlewood."
Below, you can check out all three songs in order of release:
Of course, things tend to remind me of other things, and today I'm reminded of the time Joe Satriani sued Coldplay because their 2008 single "Viva La Vida" sounded like his 2004 tune, "If I Could Fly."
Sure, that's all ancient history now, and the lawsuit was settled out of court in 2009—but if you'd like to refresh your memory, check out the two videos below.
“I was playing a lot of jazz when we did Longview. I’d sit in at jazz clubs and read off the Real Book”: If you think Mike Dirnt is another clueless punk, think again
“Jim Morrison was carried out because he was shouting abuse. Jimi Hendrix was there. We were all getting drunk”: Ritchie Blackmore recalls the first time he saw two-hand tapping – at a wild show in 1968
