Gorillaz Accused of Plagiarism by Eddy Grant

Virtual band Gorillaz have found themselves in very real trouble after reggae star Eddy Grant accused the band's mastermind, Damon Albarn, of plagiarising his 1983 song, 'Time Warp,' for the cartoon band's recent hit, 'Stylo'.

The row centres around a keyboard section of Grant's record that, he claims, has been used without his permission by Albarn. 'Stylo' features vocal contributions from rapper Mos Def and soul legend Bobby Womack.

Speaking to NME, Grant said, "Damon Albarn knows in his heart of hearts -- it's unfortunate that we can't get into people's hearts -- he knows that this is a song that he's loved, in his club days ... I don't know the guy ... but he knows this is a song he loves."

Grant went on to highlight the irony of both artists sharing the same publisher who, he feels, should have alerted him to the alleged similarities with a view to negotiating a royalties split. Instead, claims Grant, label EMI consulted a musicologist to compare the two tracks to ascertain the degree of similarity.

"In a properly configured relationship I would have gotten a call from EMI to say, 'Damon wants to use 'Time Warp.' What arrangement can you guys come to? Would you claim 100% would you claim 60%, or 70% of whatever it is?'," Grant said.

"That phone call never came. Instead what happened is somebody went straight to a musicologist, implying that there was some kind of pre-knowledge of some kind of infringement."

EMI Publishing have refused to be drawn into the row, simply saying, "This is a private matter between Eddy Grant and Gorillaz, and we're not intending to make any further comment."

Eddy Grant scored massive hits in the early 1980s with tracks such as 'I Don't Wanna Dance' and 'Electric Avenue' as well as writing Rockers Revenge's 'Walking on Sunshine'.