Iron Maiden - Facing Lawsuit Over Songwriting Credits
Metal legends Iron Maiden are facing yet another lawsuit. According to The Sun, the band is being sued by their former singer Dennis Willcock, who sang for Maiden in 1976 and 1977, for allegedly stealing the lyrics to some of their classic early songs. Willcock claims to have written the lyrics to the tracks "Prowler", "Charlotte The Harlot", "Phantom Of The Opera", "Iron Maiden" and "Prodigal Son", which were recorded and released by Iron Maiden on their first two albums, Iron Maiden (1980) and Killers (1981). A spokesperson for the band called the allegations "outrageous" and "absolutely ridiculous" when asked for comment.
The lawyer Barry McKay has filed a new suit against bassist Steve Harris and guitarist Dave Murray, as well as the band's publishing company Imagem London Limited. He's acting on behalf of Maiden's early singer Dennis Willcock and Terry Wilson-Slesser of Beckett. They are suing over £2,000,000 in disputed lyric credits and resulting damages.
Willcock was replaced in the band by Paul Di'Anno. He claims never knew his lyrics were used because he never listened to the band's albums.
Wilson-Slesser alleges that Iron Maiden's "Hallowed By Thy Name" lifted lyrics from Beckett's track "Rainbow's Gold", in particular the line "Catch your soul he's willing to fly away", which similarly appeared in "Hallowed By Thy Name" as "Catch my soul 'cos it's willing to fly away".
Another lawsuit was filed by retired band manager and lawyer Barry McKay, who took Harris and Murray to court over "Hallowed Be Thy Name", claiming Maiden reproduced major parts of another song, "Life's Shadow", co-written nearly a decade earlier by musician Brian Quinn, under the name Brian Ingham. Iron Maiden reached an out-of-court settlement for £100,000 earlier this year.
Iron Maiden are currently touring on their Legacy Of The Beast European Tour 2018.
The lawyer Barry McKay has filed a new suit against bassist Steve Harris and guitarist Dave Murray, as well as the band's publishing company Imagem London Limited. He's acting on behalf of Maiden's early singer Dennis Willcock and Terry Wilson-Slesser of Beckett. They are suing over £2,000,000 in disputed lyric credits and resulting damages.
Willcock was replaced in the band by Paul Di'Anno. He claims never knew his lyrics were used because he never listened to the band's albums.
Wilson-Slesser alleges that Iron Maiden's "Hallowed By Thy Name" lifted lyrics from Beckett's track "Rainbow's Gold", in particular the line "Catch your soul he's willing to fly away", which similarly appeared in "Hallowed By Thy Name" as "Catch my soul 'cos it's willing to fly away".
Another lawsuit was filed by retired band manager and lawyer Barry McKay, who took Harris and Murray to court over "Hallowed Be Thy Name", claiming Maiden reproduced major parts of another song, "Life's Shadow", co-written nearly a decade earlier by musician Brian Quinn, under the name Brian Ingham. Iron Maiden reached an out-of-court settlement for £100,000 earlier this year.
Iron Maiden are currently touring on their Legacy Of The Beast European Tour 2018.
| thesun.co.uk | |
| Band profile: | Iron Maiden |
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| qlacs "The Quaker" Posts: 1537  |
Sure it sounds a like a good idea, coming up with this almost 40 years later... what a joke And a lawsuit over a frickin line? One single line? As if that made the whole song... ah
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| musclassia Staff Posts: 7041  |
You'd've thought he'd've noticed at some point in the past 40 years. Pathetic
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| K✞ulu Seeker of Truth Posts: 2570  |
Written by qlacs on 28.06.2018 at 13:52 And yet 100k out-of-court settlement.
---- Savor what you feel and what you see Things that may not seem important now But may be tomorrow R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 61010  |
Band can pay they hav sold wacken and get such money, but same time isn't it way to late to suit a band? there are no avidance. its way to late I think, and I don't believe he did not listen albums, well most metal artists don't listen other bands and genres ;(
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''  apos;'[image] I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Kuroboshi Posts: 1168  |
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| TuTku Posts: 6  |
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061  |
Written by qlacs on 28.06.2018 at 13:52 Who cares when it was. The last lawsuit saw Irons settle, so somehting was on. Maybe something is on this time too.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061 |
Written by TuTku on 28.06.2018 at 14:58 He was lead singer between 1976 and 1978. If he contributed to the lyrics, he should be credited, don't you think?
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| Aries Rising Posts: 560  |
Written by Daniell on 28.06.2018 at 15:09 Settling doesn't necessarily mean they were guilty. Sometimes it's quicker, easier, and cheaper to settle than to fight the issue in court. They could have won but it might have costed them more than 100K.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061 |
Written by Aries Rising on 28.06.2018 at 16:05 They WERE guilty in that case. Listen to this song: Now listen to "The Nomad". Plagiarism is blatantly obvious.
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| theFIST Posts: 1061  |
Copyright is a truly awful thing, especially with the cultural acceptance it received in recent years the greats of classical music all copied, reused, and modified existing music, without that they would have had much less to work with in fact, almost all of human progress is improved, or reused copies of earlier works restricting that is killing culture, and if left unchecked will kill the economy, and standard of life as well
---- http://metalstormmusicianscorner.bandcamp.com Written by Warman on 07.11.2007 at 22:39
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| Dedcalm1 Posts: 14 |
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| tominator At best deranged Contributor Posts: 1061  |
Suing your former band after 40 years... I've seen it all now... This is straight up ridiculous.
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| sbgmetal Posts: 820  |
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| midgetofdoom Posts: 3 |
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| andreosokin SOUNDERY Posts: 227  |
Quote: yeah, right...
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061 |
Written by midgetofdoom on 29.06.2018 at 08:06 1. Get your facts straight. They were wure for 2 things: some lyrics that they used in "Hallowed", and plagiarising a part of the song that I linked. Both things are in the same song. 2. It's not musically like "Nomad"? This claim can only be explained in two ways. Either you're deaf, which we need to rule out for now. The other way is that you listened to the beginning of the song only. Try skipping to around 4:40 and listening till the end. If you still don't hear any similarities, then indeed you ARE deaf.
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| SteTech Posts: 576  |
Written by Daniell on 29.06.2018 at 10:33 Wow that's uncanny!
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| qlacs "The Quaker" Posts: 1537 |
Written by Daniell on 28.06.2018 at 16:25 Honestly I wish this topic was binary, it would make this so much easier. Inspiration can come at any moment when you're writing and it's not always so obvious whether you heard something before or not. I remember like 10 years ago I thought I came up with the best riff ever, when a friend of mine just put me down cause he said this was already done by Metallica. I couldn't believe him. Then he showed it to me and it hit me for the first time how under-developed my musical taste is. And if you think Iron Maiden are "too big" for this to happen, you just have no idea how they are the same people as anybody else.
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| Cynic Metalhead Paisa Vich Nasha Posts: 6815  |
Drama of the year award?
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| Lokasenna Posts: 63 |
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061 |
Written by SteTech on 29.06.2018 at 12:38 What's uncanny?
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| Aries Rising Posts: 560 |
I do think this copyright crap is stupid. The old blues, jazz, and first two generations of rock n roll musicians all ripped their peers and heroes off left and right.
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| midgetofdoom Posts: 3 |
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| SlaveGoat Posts: 4  |
Written by qlacs on 28.06.2018 at 13:52
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| DeathSlyzer Posts: 250 |
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| FYA Destroyer Posts: 827  |
Written by andreosokin on 29.06.2018 at 08:36 I am in metal world for 15 years and haven't listen to any of their albums :V
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| andreosokin SOUNDERY Posts: 227 |
Written by FYA on 01.07.2018 at 17:16 Me either  Or maybe except for the Beast. But seriously, dude, when you leave the band and then sooner or later you hear about their success, the first thing a regular musician would do is check out what are they doing, listen to their songs. I can hardly believe he has never heard any of those songs in the last 40 years.
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| FYA Destroyer Posts: 827 |
Written by andreosokin on 02.07.2018 at 10:35 When the hate is real bro
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061 |
Written by Mad Mike on 01.07.2018 at 14:20 Since you used "it's" twice, let me use it once more, Yoda style: It's bullshit what you say.
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