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The lawsuit marks the second time Sheeran has been accused of stealing from Gaye’s 1973 hit. Photo: Reuters

Ed Sheeran accused of ripping off Marvin Gaye classic in US$100 million lawsuit

The suit accuses the British singer-songwriter of swiping parts from Gaye’s seminal track ‘Let’s Get It On’ and using them for his own song, ‘Thinking Out Loud’

Music

A huge song by Ed Sheeran is now at the centre of a huge lawsuit.

The British pop star was hit with a US$100 million complaint that accuses him of swiping major components from Marvin Gaye’s classic track Let’s Get It On and using them for his own song Thinking Out Loud, TMZ reported.

The suit, which was filed by Structured Asset Sales, which owns a third of the rights to Let’s Get It On, alleges Sheeran used identical elements of Gaye’s song, including its melody, bass line, harmonies and more.

A representative for Sheeran did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is the second time Sheeran, 27, has been accused of stealing from Gaye’s 1973 hit. He was also sued nearly two years ago by the heirs of the song’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, but the suit was thrown out by a judge in February 2017.

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Thinking Out Loud is one of Sheeran’s most popular songs, and it won him a pair of Grammys – song of the year and best pop solo performance – in 2016. The track was released in 2014 as part of Sheeran’s “X” album.

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In 2016, Sheeran was also accused of ripping off a song called Amazing for another one of his most notable works, Photograph. The writers of Amazing sued for US$20 million, and they reached an undisclosed settlement with Sheeran last year.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Sheeran ripped off Gaye song, US$100m suit says
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