Yusuf 'accuses Coldplay of taking melody'

Yusuf Islam has reportedly claimed that Coldplay lifted part of their 'Viva La Vida' hit from one of his songs.

According to The Sun, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens has alleged that Chris Martin and his bandmates appeared to have sampled a melody from his 1970s track 'Foreigner Suite'.

"There’s been this argument about Coldplay stealing this melody from Joe Satriani, but, if you listen to it, it’s mine! It’s the 'Foreigner Suite', it is!" he is quoted as saying.

Earlier this month, the band denied in a US Federal Court that they had copied part of their song from Satriani's 2004 instrumental 'If I Could Fly'.

Satriani had suggested that Coldplay had incorporated "substantial original portions" of his track, but the band later countered this claim by saying that Satriani's track "lacks originality" and should not receive copyright protection.

New York based act Creaky Boards have also claimed that 'Viva La Vida' was influenced by one of their songs, an allegation later dismissed by Martin.