'Down Under' shines again

Down Under Riddim!

Ooof...

The Australian band Men at Work are facing a big legal bill after a court ruled it had plagiarised a Girl Guides' song in its 1983 hit, Down Under.
Larrikin Music had claimed the flute riff from the 1981 hit was stolen from Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree, written by Marion Sinclair in 1934.
The federal court in Sydney ordered compensation to be paid.

That amount has yet to be determined but Larrikin's lawyer said it could reach 60% of income from the song.

"It's a big win for the underdog," said Larrikin's lawyer Adam Simpson after the judgment.

Sinclair, who died in 1988, wrote the song for performance at a Girl Guides Jamboree in 1935.

Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree has since been sung by generations of Australian schoolchildren.

A costs hearing will take place in late February, with Larrikin seeking 40%-60% of earnings from songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert and record companies Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Songs Australia.

heh I had never noticed the similarity in the melodies before!? but yeah.

That just happened now? Almost 30 years after its release?

"It's a big win for the underdog," said Larrikin's lawyer Adam Simpson after the judgment.

Yeah, suck on that Men At Work - you corporate overlords, and leave our poor little global scouting movement in peace.

"Sinclair, who died in 1988, wrote the song for performance at a Girl Guides Jamboree in 1935"

just in time for this to be a completely meaningless payoff to a bunch of lawyers! take that men at work! who no doubt are wealthy beyond their most fabulous dreams due to having 1 hit back in the 80's.

First it's Paul Hogan getting in trouble in the tax office and now this.

I hope Yahoo Serious, Warwick Capper and Mark "Jacko" Jackson watch out, there's a hex these days on Aussie one-hit wonders from the eighties.

there's a hex these days on Aussie one-hit wonders from the eighties.

they weren't one-hit wonders: Land Down Under; Who Can It Be Now?; Johnny Be Good; Overkill; It's A Mistake; Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive.

i don't get the similiarities here. seems kinda inbred.

I think it's just that long second phrase in the flute part that's the steal.

ok. one hit album, 2 top 40 hits in a short length of time wonders? i'm sure they can still draw an aussie crowd, land down under is an ironic classic with the youth of australia if my wedding dj experiences are anything to go by but suing them now over this, for the estate of a dead person, just seems kinda cruel.

Johnny Be Good; Overkill; It's A Mistake; Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive. - not sure these tunes ever hit the top 40, at least in the usa -i know they're hometown heros back in australia though, so maybe there...

'Overkill' and 'It's A Mistake' were both pretty major hits in the US iirc, I was bombarded with those songs by the American Forces Network all the fucken time.

it's only that bit of flute phrase. it's a terrible decision really.

Did 40-60% of the people who bought the single only do so because of the flute riff?

fuckin lawyers, that's all i got to say. i honestly feel sorry for those goofy, loveable MAW blokes

This decision doesn't make any sense. There are millions of songs that quote other songs, and as far as I know, no legal repurcussions. Does anyone know of similar cases?

I hear only the vaguest similarity between the two songs. If MAW were sued by The Police for plagiarising their entire sound, that I could see.

This decision doesn't make any sense. There are millions of songs that quote other songs, and as far as I know, no legal repurcussions. Does anyone know of similar cases?

Anything ever happen with this one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=selfqEH-JnY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p7jMXnLewY