April 19, 2024

Stereobuzz Music Magazine

Music Blog News Stereobuzz

U2 Sued for song off Achtung Baby

Achtung_Baby

U2 has been sued by British songwriter Paul Rose for allegedly stealing music from one of his songs for their 1991 album Achtung Baby.

Rose filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on Monday (27Feb17) against the Irish band – Bono and bandmates the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. – and Island Records, claiming the group never acknowledged his part in creating The Fly or gave him a writer’s credit.

“Defendants have knowingly been exploiting The Fly without crediting Rose as a writer for more than 25 years,” the papers allege.

Rose, who is a successful musician in his own right with 12 records to his name, claims in the suit that he penned the tune, which he called Nae Slappin, in 1989 while living in England, and copyrighted it two years later.

He allegedly recorded the song as a demo in 1989 and then passed it to several senior executives at Island Records, where U2 were also signed in 1989.

Read more about the case here