Music News

Men At Work guilty of plagiarism

A little melody from a children's song written 70 years ago could cost the Australian group Men At Work millions of dollars. A judge has concluded that there are enough similarities between this song and the song Down Under to find Colin Hay and Ron Strykert guilty of plagiarism. Down Under powered the group to the top of the charts in the 1980s.

The song Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree was written by teacher Marion Sinclair to help the Girl Guides. The latter died in 1988, but Larrikin Music, which owns the rights to the song, decided to charge the group with plagiarism, 29 years after the song's release.

After listening to both songs and getting expert advice, the judge ruled in favour of Larrikin Music and asked the two parties to try to come to an agreement on compensation. According to sources, the music company could ask for up to 60% of the money the group received for this song.

Men At Work is the only Australian group to have had both a song (Down Under) and an album (Business As Usual) at the top of U.S. charts. The song also won them a Grammy for Best New Artist. Formed in 1979, the group disbanded in 1986 before reforming in 1996 with only two of the original five members.