“From the minute their song came out, my email flooded with people going, ‘Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off, man’”: When Joe Satriani took Coldplay to court – and sued them over one of their biggest hits

The musical worlds of Joe Satriani and Coldplay couldn’t be further removed. Yet there are two songs that bind the guitar virtuoso and stadium-conquering pop-rockers together.

In May 2008, Coldplay dropped Viva La Vida. The title track from their fourth studio record, it has since become the UK band’s defining anthem, underpinned by a catchy verse melody that helped the track on its way to two Grammy nominations.

But when Joe Satriani heard the song, he did a double-take. To his ear, the verse melody from Viva La Vida sounded a lot like his guitar hook in 2004 track If I Could Fly. In fact, it was a bit too close for comfort.

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Satriani soon took Coldplay to court in a high-profile legal tangle that lasted almost a year. According to Satch, Chris Martin and co had plagiarized the hook from If I Could Fly, cribbing his instrumental lead line for their verse.

Coldplay denied the allegations, insisting that any similarities between the two songs were purely coincidental. Satriani wasn’t convinced, though, and during an interview with MusicRadar in 2008, said the situation “hurt so much”.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida (Official Video) - YouTube

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“I felt like a dagger went right through my heart,” Satriani said. "The second I heard it, I knew it was [my own] If I Could Fly.

“Almost immediately, from the minute their song came out, my email box flooded with people going, 'Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off man.' I mean, I couldn't tell you how many emails I received.

“Everybody noticed the similarities between the songs. It's pretty obvious. It's as simple as that – when you listen to a song and you say, 'Wow, that's a real rip-off.'”

Satriani sued the band, demanding damages and “any profits attributable to the alleged copyright infringement”. His lawyers then claimed the band had been avoiding the plagiarism lawsuit, and threatened to use a fleet of servers to follow Coldplay and serve them the papers at the Grammys.

For Satriani, the plagiarism was blatant. Martin, however, was just as surprised by the similarities between Viva La Vida and If I Could Fly. And as heat around the allegations began to intensify, Coldplay were forced to address the case publicly.

“With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations,” a statement on their website read.

“If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental and just as surprising to us as to him.

If I Could Fly - YouTube

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“Joe Satriani is a great musician but he did not write or have any influence on the song Viva La Vida. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours.”

Coldplay drummer Will Champion also waded in on the matter, telling Australian outlet Confidential (via The Guardian) “It's so far-fetched and ridiculous, but that's about all we can say at the moment. We're waiting to see what's happening but it's frustrating and annoying… and totally unfounded.”

Coldplay asked for the case to be heard in a jury trial, but in a filing posted September 14 2009, judge Dean D Pregerson dismissed the case. He ruled that the two would “bear [their] own cost” for the litigation, with the stipulation suggesting an out-of-court settlement was reached.

After the dust settled, neither Satriani nor Coldplay addressed the case. But Martin had been adamant that there had been no wrongdoing – the similarities were coincidental.

“When these things happen it’s a coincidence and we’re as surprised by it as anybody else,” he told NME Radio. “I do feel a bit upset about it because I wrote the song. But, you know, these things happen. Whatever will be will be.”

Viva La Vida continues to be one of Coldplay's most popular hits. At the time of writing, it has amassed more than three billion streams on Spotify, and the music video on YouTube has well over one billion views.

If I Could Fly, meanwhile, ranks among Joe Satriani's most popular tracks, with 12 million streams on Spotify, and makes regular appearances in his setlists to this day.

Song copyright disputes can often be hotly contested and drawn out. Last year, Jimmy Page and Jake Holmes settled their decades-long lawsuit of Dazed and Confused.