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Roger Waters avenged himself in composer fashion.<BR>
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Please excuse the source--this is what Wikipedia has on it, plus other examples that might show useful for further research:<BR>
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<SPAN id=Accusations_of_Plagiarism class=mw-headline>Accusations of Plagiarism</SPAN><BR>
Andrew Lloyd Webber has been accused of plagiarism in his works. His biographer, <A class=new title="John Snelson (page does not exist)" href="/w/index.php?title=John_Snelson&action=edit&redlink=1">John Snelson</A>, has acknowledged the strong similarity between the opening melody of the slow movement of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto and the <I>Jesus Christ Superstar</I> song "I Don't Know How to Love Him", but claims that Lloyd Webber:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
"...brings a new dramatic tension to Mendelssohn's original melody through the confused emotions of Mary Magdalene. The opening theme may be Mendelssohn, but the rhythmic and harmonic treatment along with new lines of highly effective melodic development are Lloyd Webber's. The song works in its own right as its many performers and audiences can witness."<SUP id=cite_ref-26 class=reference><A href="#cite_note-26"><SPAN>[</SPAN>27<SPAN>]</SPAN></A></SUP><BR></BLOCKQUOTE>
In interviews promoting <I><A title="Amused to Death" href="/wiki/Amused_to_Death">Amused to Death</A></I>, <A title="Roger Waters" href="/wiki/Roger_Waters">Roger Waters</A>, formerly of <A title="Pink Floyd" href="/wiki/Pink_Floyd">Pink Floyd</A>, asserted that Andrew Lloyd Webber had plagiarized short chromatic riffs from the 1971 song "<A title="Echoes (Pink Floyd song)" href="/wiki/Echoes_(Pink_Floyd_song)">Echoes</A>" for sections of the <A title="Musical theatre" href="/wiki/Musical_theatre">musical</A> <I><A title="The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)" href="/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera_(1986_musical)">The Phantom of the Opera</A></I>, released in 1986; nevertheless, he decided not to file a <A title=Lawsuit href="/wiki/Lawsuit">lawsuit</A> regarding the matter.<SUP id=cite_ref-27 class=reference><A href="#cite_note-27"><SPAN>[</SPAN>28<SPAN>]</SPAN></A></SUP> Curiously, the songwriter <A title="Ray Repp" href="/wiki/Ray_Repp">Ray Repp</A> made a similar claim about the same song, but insisted that Lloyd Webber stole the idea from him. Unlike Roger Waters, Ray Repp did decide to file a lawsuit, but the court eventually cleared Lloyd Webber of plagiarism.<SUP id=cite_ref-28 class=reference><A href="#cite_note-28"><SPAN>[</SPAN>29<SPAN>]</SPAN></A></SUP> The riffs in question are also strikingly similar to the bass line in "I Mean It", a song recorded in 1980 by the American punk band <A title="Romeo Void" href="/wiki/Romeo_Void">Romeo Void</A>.<BR>
Nevertheless, Waters attacked Lloyd Webber in the song <I>It's a Miracle</I> on the <I>Amused to Death</I> album:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
"Lloyd Webber's awful stuff runs for years and years and years / An earthquake hits the theatre but the operetta lingers / Then the piano lid comes down and breaks his fucking fingers / It's a Miracle"<BR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Lloyd Webber has also been accused of cribbing off <A class=mw-redirect title=Puccini href="/wiki/Puccini">Puccini</A>, most notably in <I>Requiem</I><SUP id=cite_ref-29 class=reference><A href="#cite_note-29"><SPAN>[</SPAN>30<SPAN>]</SPAN></A></SUP> and <I>The Phantom of the Opera</I>. A claim regarding <I>Phantom</I> by the Puccini estate was settled out of court.<SUP id=cite_ref-30 class=reference><A href="#cite_note-30"><SPAN>[</SPAN>31<SPAN>]</SPAN></A></SUP><BR>
<BR>The opening theme of <I>Memory</I> from <I>Cats</I> resembles the opening theme in the flute solo of <I>California Dreaming</I> by <A class=mw-redirect title="The Mamas & The Papas" href="/wiki/The_Mamas_%26_The_Papas">The Mamas & The Papas</A>. It has also been compared to Ravel's <A title=Bolero href="/wiki/Bolero">Bolero</A>.<BR>
A British satire segment called <A class=new title="Honest Obituaries (page does not exist)" href="/w/index.php?title=Honest_Obituaries&action=edit&redlink=1">Honest Obituaries</A> performed a side-by-side critique of many of the accusations in question, playing first the original piece along with the sheet music then showing and playing the Lloyd Webber piece in question.<BR>
<BR>> Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:22:17 +0000<BR>> From: richardlewis@fastmail.co.uk<BR>> To: smt-talk@societymusictheory.org<BR>> Subject: [Smt-talk] Music Plagiarism Cases<BR>> <BR>> Dear SMT,<BR>> <BR>> This question may be better directed at law scholars, but a colleague<BR>> is interested in finding cases of music plagiarism which have been<BR>> heard in court (in any country, but English or German proceedings will<BR>> be easiest to read). Anyone know of any?<BR>> <BR>> Best,<BR>> Richard<BR>> -- <BR>> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-<BR>> Richard Lewis<BR>> ISMS, Computing<BR>> Goldsmiths, University of London<BR>> Tel: +44 (0)20 7078 5134<BR>> Skype: richardjlewis<BR>> JID: ironchicken@jabber.earth.li<BR>> http://www.richard-lewis.me.uk/<BR>> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-<BR>> +----------------------------------------------+<BR>> | Support open access to scholarship |<BR>> | http://freeculture.org/ http://www.doaj.org/ |<BR>> +----------------------------------------------+<BR>> _______________________________________________<BR>> Smt-talk mailing list<BR>> Smt-talk@societymusictheory.org<BR>> http://lists.societymusictheory.org/listinfo.cgi/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org<BR> <br /><hr />Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222984/direct/01/' target='_new'>Get it now.</a></body>
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