December 8, 2008 14:58
Joe Satriani claims Coldplay plagiarism was a 'dagger through my heart' Coldplay Tickets
Guitarist breaks silence after announcing lawsuit against Chris Martin and co
Photo Gallery: Coldplay
Joe Satriani has broken his silence for the first time after it was announced he is suing Coldplay for plagiarism.
The guitarist claims the British band copied elements of his 2004 song 'If I Could Fly' for their track 'Viva La Vida'.
However, speaking for the first time about the case, the guitarist insists he did not want his claims to come to court, but that Coldplay ignored him.
"Everybody assumes I'm trying to go after these guys in Coldplay, as if I'm doing this with malice, that's the furthest thing from my mind. I'm just doing what I need to do as an artist, to protect what's mine, to protect those feelings I put down in song," he told Musicradar.com.
"I did everything I could to avoid a court case with this situation. But Coldplay didn't want to talk about it. They just wanted this whole thing to go away. Maybe they figured this little guitar player guy will leave them alone after a while, I don't know. But we're talking about a piece of art that I created, and that's something I feel is important. I think everybody should feel that way."
Satriani said he recognised his work in Coldplay's single the moment he first heard the song.
"I felt like a dagger went right through my heart. It hurt so much," he said. "The second I heard it, I knew it was [my own] 'If I Could Fly'.
"Almost immediately, from the minute their song came out, my e-mail box flooded with people going, 'Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off man.' I mean, I couldn't tell you how many e-mails I received. Everybody noticed the similarities between the songs. It's pretty obvious."
Coldplay have yet to respond to the guitarist's allegations.
See what you think listen to Joe Satriani and Coldplay's songs back to back now on the NME.COM Video Blog.
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