If you’re lucky, you won’t have heard One Direction’s latest
tune, Midnight Memories. That said, you probably will have by the time you get
to the end of this article, because you’ll no doubt want to check for yourself.
That’s why I have to live with the fact I’ve heard it three times now.
For those of you with better taste in music than the One
Direction fanbase (I’m assuming that’s all of you), here’s a different tune.
Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me.
You’ve almost certainly heard it before;
and why wouldn’t you, it’s a classic tune. It is pretty great. Have a listen
just to refresh your memory, and hey, while you’re there, pay particular
attention to the chorus.
More specific still? Listen to the chord sequence in the
chorus. Now listen to the One Direction chorus (I know, I’m sorry, but it is
only the chorus you have to listen to). Notice anything familiar in there?
Def Leppard certainly did which is why they are looking to
sue. So far it’s only at the stage of consulting with their legal team to
determine if they have much of a case. But after listening to both choruses, I’m
pretty certain it’s fair to say that this will be going further.
This isn’t the first time One Direction have come up for “borrowing”
parts of classic rock tunes to put into their own “music”. Their ironically
titled “Best Song Ever” contains part of The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly”, although
Peter Townsend did grant them his approval.
A lot of music does borrow from other pieces, but rarely as
blatantly as Midnight Memories appears to. But don’t take my word for it, have
a listen, form your own opinion. Do you think they’ve got a case?
Ari Carrington