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Did Uptown Funk rip off this 1970s funk classic? Looks like it

The Gap Band are now listed as co-writers on Uptown Funk.

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UPTOWN FUNK IS an undisputed anthem and one of the biggest songs of the year.

The Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars duet topped the charts here in Ireland and spent a whopping 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.

But now it has been decided that the song is just a little too similar to The Gap Band’s 1979 classic Oops Upside Your Head.

1mistaGROOVE / YouTube

The members of The Gap Band will now receive a 17% share of the song’s royalties going forward. Billboard reports that the decision was made after a claim was brought by The Gap Band’s UK publisher Minder Music.

The five members of the band have also received songwriting credit on the song.

The case calls to mind the recent lawsuit that saw the estate of Marvin Gaye awarded $7.4 million after it was ruled that Blurred Lines copied Got To Give It Up.

Earlier this year, Sam Smith was also forced to award partial songwriting credit to Tom Petty after Stay With Me was deemed to be a little too much like I Won’t Back Down.

9 songs that might be total rip offs of other songs >

Author
Amy O'Connor
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