Sampling and accidental plagiarism in U2 songs

I just listened to T-Rex's classic song "20th century boy" and it strikes me that "Return of the Stingray Guitar" blatantly rips off the opening riff. I'm sure Edge didn't do this on purpose. Allegedly this riff has been around since it went unused on Unforgettable Fire.

Any other U2 riffs, lyrics or song-bits sound like they were pilfered - probably accidentally - from other songs?

I know - every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief - and all that.

Edge says he’s looking for riffs that sound like they’ve been there forever.

Sometimes they have.

Scott McKenzie - San Francisco - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQHb4z0prjo

U2 - Wild Honey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnAMW2aizw

"Dublin man suing U2 over song wants Supreme Court to hear failed pretrial motion
"Maurice Kiely suing U2 Ltd alleging the song A Man and A Woman was written by him in 1998"
https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2023/04/19/dublin-man-suing-u2-over-song-wants-supreme-court-to-hear-failed-pre-trial-motion/
The guy is representing himself in court, which means either he hasn't got the money to retain counsel or no one was prepared to take on the case. Having lost the pretrial motion, he now faces the prospect of having to pay U2's legal bill for that hearing. He is now hoping to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court, which is, to put it mildly, a stretch.

If they did steal music for that track, at least it's one no one ever listened to so they won't owe anyone money.

The spectrum between « influence », « borrowing », « tribute » and « plagiarism » is wide and sometimes confusing.

But honestly, I think U2 have been very fair as to how and when then did it and what they actually did.

I mean it would be foolish to think artists come out of nowhere. They’ve all learned their craft being inspired by other artists in the first place.

Imagine this thread on an Oasis fans forum… the horror.

Scott McKenzie - San Francisco - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQHb4z0prjo

U2 - Wild Honey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnAMW2aizw

You mean it’s a ballad. Wow. Uncanny.

Quote from: wons on April 19, 2023, 02:03:31 PM

Scott McKenzie - San Francisco - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQHb4z0prjo

U2 - Wild Honey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnAMW2aizw

You mean it’s a ballad. Wow. Uncanny.

I don't think either is a ballad. They both have melodic similarities.

"Dublin man suing U2 over song wants Supreme Court to hear failed pretrial motion
"Maurice Kiely suing U2 Ltd alleging the song A Man and A Woman was written by him in 1998"
https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2023/04/19/dublin-man-suing-u2-over-song-wants-supreme-court-to-hear-failed-pre-trial-motion/
The guy is representing himself in court, which means either he hasn't got the money to retain counsel or no one was prepared to take on the case. Having lost the pretrial motion, he now faces the prospect of having to pay U2's legal bill for that hearing. He is now hoping to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court, which is, to put it mildly, a stretch.

Yeah this one is ridiculous.

The spectrum between « influence », « borrowing », « tribute » and « plagiarism » is wide and sometimes confusing.

But honestly, I think U2 have been very fair as to how and when then did it and what they actually did.

I mean it would be foolish to think artists come out of nowhere. They’ve all learned their craft being inspired by other artists in the first place.

Imagine this thread on an Oasis fans forum… the horror.

I'd imagine most of them aren't intelligent enough to type out a few cogent sentences on a computer or phone/tablet....

The spectrum between « influence », « borrowing », « tribute » and « plagiarism » is wide and sometimes confusing.

But honestly, I think U2 have been very fair as to how and when then did it and what they actually did.

I mean it would be foolish to think artists come out of nowhere. They’ve all learned their craft being inspired by other artists in the first place.

Imagine this thread on an Oasis fans forum… the horror.

When Oasis' Don't Believe the Truth came out I read an article that goes through each of the tracks and reveals what song they lifted it from.

I like what George Harrison did when he was sued for stealing a song.  He just bought the rights to the original song.

Quote from: Soloyan on April 19, 2023, 05:52:06 PM

The spectrum between « influence », « borrowing », « tribute » and « plagiarism » is wide and sometimes confusing.

But honestly, I think U2 have been very fair as to how and when then did it and what they actually did.

I mean it would be foolish to think artists come out of nowhere. They’ve all learned their craft being inspired by other artists in the first place.

Imagine this thread on an Oasis fans forum… the horror.

I'd imagine most of them aren't intelligent enough to type out a few cogent sentences on a computer or phone/tablet....

https://youtu.be/3_n0hLRAIeQ


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I forgot Return of the Stingray Guitar existed


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Sometimes, other artists rip off U2… Stuck in a Moment à la française (although the singer is Swiss).

https://youtu.be/VdzviplK4gc