The silly story of Men At Work being sued for grabbing the melody of their hit Down Under got a bit series today when a Sydney judge ruled there may be a case for plagiarism.
It is alleged that Down Under sounds a lot like the 1934 song Kookaburra Sits In An Old Gum Tree.In 1990, Sydney music company bough the 1931 song written by Marion Sinclair for the Girl Guides.
A federal court judge has ruled that Larrikan has a case to seek compensation for the Men At Work song from publishers Sonny and EMI and songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert.
Down Under globally is one of the biggest selling Australian songs of all time.
Down Under was released in 1981 in Australia and 1982 in the USA. It was a number one hit in Australia, the USA and the UK.
It featured in Paul Hogan’s Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, a trailer for Finding Nemo and was the anthem of Australia II, the winning yacht from the 1983 America’s Cup.
Larrikan started the legal action in 2007.
Here is watch a Kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree really sounds like:
