Iron Maiden plagiarism lawsuit

It seems to me that this might be the only valid case here - apparently Iron Maiden thought they'd settled this in good faith with Barton, so I don't know if Quinn can sue them seeing as it was Barton who screwed him over by misrepresenting himself as the primary songwriter.

 

I grew up hearing Wishbone Ash. My Dad's a fan and played Argus and Pilgrimage a lot. I also had a listen to Beckett's original of Rainbows Gold. It's better, with a good drum break intro, but still not wonderful. They had a weak singer.

 

It's clear that the Beckett song was clearly an inspiration for Hallowed and if it was just that it wouldn't be a problem. But for Steve to lift 6 lines verbatim from the Beckett song...sheesh. I'm not speaking legally here, but as a musician and fan...a couple of lines, sure, it's a tribute/reference. Copying 6 lines of a critical part of the song...man, c'mon 'Arry. Pay them what they're due. How were the original credits stated? Did it say that Barton wrote the lyrics and Quinn the music? Or just the typical Barton-Quinn for the whole thing? Still, Steve knows that his song has lyrics copied. Pay them and give them credit, it's the right thing to do.

I actually liked the Beckett song. Will have to check out more from them.

 

Will be seeing them in a couple of weeks and I thought it was strange that this was not on the set list, now I know. Wrathchild is a poor replacement.

 

Wrathchild is ALWAYS a poor replacement. Wish they'd just put it back in the vault, never to be seen again. Switching out a 7 minute song for a 2 minute one is lame.

 

Wrathchild is my favourite Iron Maiden song! Lol

 

An update:

Iron Maiden Advised To Settle Copyright Claim Before High Court Date Is Set

 

I've seen both these bands! (and seeing Maiden tomorrow)

It's a shame no Hallowed Be Thy Name, it's one of my faves.

 

18 years later?

 

This Barry McKay fellow sure dishes out a lot of attitude at Steve Harris for someone who's ostensibly looking to reach an out of court settlement.

 

It's obvious Iron Maiden have got the lyrics from Life's Shadow by Beckett, but because they've slightly changed each line they've took, will this still be considered theft as the lyrics are different, if only very slightly.

 

I still feel like this is more of an issue between Barton and Quinn. Barton settled a long time ago...did he not mention Quinn at that time? Did he take Quinn's share for himself? I would assume that Steve thought this was solved a long time ago.

 

Pet peeve when people describe copyright infringement as plagiarism. They are completely different. Plagiarism involves ideas, while something being an idea means it cannot be infringed.

 

Iron Maiden clearly took those lyrics, but "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is still a great achievement all its own

 

They also used the 2nd part of that Beckett song 'Life's Shadow' for the instrumental part in 'The Nomad', hence my comment

 

Personally, I think Wrathchild is a great song, but it cannot compete with Hallowed Be Thy Name. None of their songs can, really.

 

In the article he mentions being called at the time to be part of the lawsuit but he refused because he didn't trust them. But instead of looking into it himself he doesn't bother doing anything about it for a years until he finds out that Barton settled with Maiden. Quite bizarre. If you don't trust them wouldn't you actually look into what they are up to since you're already thinking they're going to rip me off again?

These stories always leave me shacking my head though. For example, in the original article Quinn said when Barton asked if he could record his song with some changes he said yes on the proviso that he got credit because back then "song-writers weren't always credited for their work" and he wanted to make sure that didn't happen to him. If that's the case why did he actually make sure it didn't happen to him? I want to make sure no one eats the salad I brought for lunch and I lock that down like the tupperware contains the nuclear launch codes and this guy says "Yeah just make sure you give me credit" but doesn't take it any further? Musicians are, at times, their own worst enemy.

The articles aren't going to tell the whole story so maybe I got the wrong end of the stick here.

(Note: I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be paid here, he does. Not sure who is legally liable considering what happened but I do believe he is owed money since he did the writing)

 

It sounds like McKay thinks Maiden hired the Three Stooges LLP to represent them and is worried about their predicament and just wants to help them out. Hey just call me or my lawyers and we'll sort this all out for you...why punish your fans...

I do agree with him that Maiden, or rather their lawyers, should've done some due diligence at the time of the Barton lawsuit to make sure he was the only one they had to pay. I expect more details will come out when Maiden files papers in defence (assuming they don't settle).

I also agree with him that Barton ripped off Quinn. But I suspect that going after Barton is pointless since the real money is with Maiden.

 

They should have replaced Hallowed with the Nomad!

 

Sadly, I'm seeing Maiden in Brooklyn with my son, and they won't play this song. It's my favorite Maiden song also.

 

Be interesting to see how this has progressed over the months past and will progress over the months to come.....

 

I would have liked to have Hallowed on "Book Of Souls: Live Chapter".

 

Paul Mario Day maintains he wrote the majority of Strange World from the debut album. Paul was Maiden's very first singer.

 

I couldn`t find anything recent online.Anybody hear if this has all been resolved?

 

Settled but another one might be pending.

Iron Maiden Songwriting Dispute Settled, But New Lawsuit Looms

The legal battle to determine who deserves credit for writing Iron Maiden's "Hallowed Be Thy Name" appears to have been settled — but it also looks like bandleader and chief songwriter Steve Harris can expect to deal with another claim in the not-too-distant future.

"Hallowed Be Thy Name" — a Maiden fan favorite since its release as part of 1982's The Number of the Beast — was dropped from the set list while lawyers worked out the conflict, which stems from similarities shared with "Life's Shadow," a song recorded by the band Beckett in 1974.

The Beckett track is credited to Bob Barton and Brian Quinn; according to Quinn, Barton made a deal with the members of Iron Maiden and cut him out of his fair share — leading Quinn's lawyer, Barry McKay, to seek redress. Now, according to McKay, the matter has been settled to his and Quinn's satisfaction without a trial.

"Iron Maiden’s management failed to produce any accurate earnings figures for the two songs which contained stolen lyrics and music until both parties had already spent well over half a million pounds on legal costs. Once the lower-than-expected figures had been examined, both parties agreed to settle the claim," said McKay. "The defendants [Steve Harris and Dave Murray] have paid all of the plaintiffs considerable legal costs as well as their own legal costs and six figure damages."

Meanwhile, Iron Maiden is holding firm, despite the settlement. "We do not believe that Brian Quinn was the one who wrote these six lines in question over 40 years ago as was claimed by Barry McKay," the band said in an official statement. "However, due to escalating legal fees and the potential huge costs of a court case it was pragmatic to reluctantly settle this action with McKay for £100,000, a fraction of what he brought the action for. A serial litigator like Mr. McKay would have foreseen this."

In fact, these court proceedings may not be the last. While outlining Harris' defense, McKay made it clear that he sees a pattern of dishonest behavior, and he's already made it clear that "Hallowed Be Thy Name" may be only one of numerous cases of copyright theft that he's willing to litigate.

"Harris admitted that 'the lyrics of 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' reproduce a substantial part of the lyrics of 'Life's Shadow," however, Harris' lame excuse for this was that he composed the lyrics for 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' while recording the album in early 1982, only using the words from 'Life's Shadow' as 'guide lyrics' and intending to replace them before the final recording," reads a portion of McKay's comments. "This excuse is untrue because Harris could not have written the lyrics in 1982 while in the studio because Iron Maiden performed the song live during at least one gig in 1981, with the lyrics as they are now and always have been."

While seemingly satisfied with the outcome of the "Hallowed Be Thy Name" case, McKay adds that "papers are currently being prepared to commence a brand new legal action for copyright infringement" against Harris, Murray, and Iron Maiden's publishing company — and he anticipates needing to take potentially extreme measures to have the defendants served.

"If Harris and Murray continue to avoid service, they well be served with papers during their forthcoming tour," said McKay. "One way or another, papers will be served on Harris and Murray ... and that is the 'legacy' resulting from copyright theft, deceiving fans and profiteering."