Coldplay drummer Will Champion has denied that the band have ripped off any other artists for their music, following Yusuf Islam's (formerly known as Cat Stevens) suggestion that they ripped off his song 'Foreigner Suite' for their own hit 'Viva La Vida'.

Furthermore, Chris Martin and co are being sued by guitarist Joe Satriani, who has accused them of plagiarising his song 'If I Could Fly' for the song.

However, Champion has insisted that the band are innocent, telling Hamptonroads.com that the band "haven't done anything wrong".

He said: "It's tough when people accuse you of stealing something when you know that you didn't. We accept that it's part of the territory and know it is only for some reason the successful songs that seem to be the ones that are accused of being stolen. So you go figure it out."

The drummer added that he believed some kind of musical crossover between artists was inevitable.

"There are elements of our music that I've heard in other people's music," he said, "but a very difficult thing to define. There are only eight notes in an octave and no-one owns them. There are probably about 12,000 songs that feature the exact same chord progression. I think it [plagiarism] lies on an intent to steal, which we certainly have never done and never would.

"It's unfortunate but it's the way people are. That's that. We're confident we haven't done anything wrong."

Source NME

Nine Inch Nails' frontman Trent Reznor announced today (May 7) that Apple has approved an update of the Nine Inch Nails iPhone application.

Earlier this week, Apple rejected the update, saying it was in violation of a policy that bans "obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind", as previously reported.

Reznor responded with a rant on his website lambasting the makers of the popular personal device. However, in a Twitter posting earlier today, Reznor said the company has resolved its issues with the application.

He wrote: "The NIN iPhone app is unchanged, the 'issues' seem to have been resolved."

Meanwhile, Nine Inch Nails are about to embark on a co-headlining tour of North America with Jane's Addiction, which kicks off tomorrow (May 8) in Florida.

Source NME

Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Ean Evans died yesterday (May 6) in Mississippi following a long battle with cancer.

Evans joined the veteran Southern rock band in 2001, following the death of former bassist Leon Wilkeson.

In a posting yesterday on Lynyrd Skynyrd's website, the band wrote: "It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of longtime Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Ean Evans. Ean put up a valiant battle with an aggressive form of cancer and he will be sorely missed by family, friends and fans."

Evans was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He began playing music at the age of five and was a member of several southeastern rock bands throughout his career including Five Miles High! and The Outlaws. He was also a renowned studio musician.

Evans is survived by his wife, Eva, and their two daughters. Lynyrd Skynyrd will reportedly continue their ongoing world tour with a replacement bassist.

.Source NME

Think you've seen every picture of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones? Think again. The Not Fade Away Gallery in New York City is hosting an exhibit called The British Are Coming, and the previously unseen shots of The Fab Four and Five are truly astounding.

The photographs were taken by the late Bob Bonis, who served as a road manager for both bands during their tours of the United States from 1964 to 1966.

Bonis's son, Alex, found the negatives in a duffel bag that also included candid shots of other music icons such as Simon & Garfunkel, Cream, Frank Sinatra, Buddy Rich and The Hollies.

"I grew up with these photographs in my family's living room and in my Dad's office," Alex said recently. "They were part of my everyday life and now they're out there for the whole world to see."

Many of the images capture The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in casual, lighthearted moments on tour in America. There's Ringo and Beatles road manager Mal Evans goofing around with a toy pistol (eerie now, considering Evans was tragically gunned down in 1974); then there's Brian Jones and Keith Richards sipping drinks poolside on the day Richards was said to have written the riff to (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - no wonder Keith is partying!

The British Are Coming exhibit will run at the Not Fade Away Gallery until 17 May. Can't make it? Well, you can visit the official Not Fade Away website to browse through the photos, many of which are available for purchase in a limited edition run of museum-quality prints on vintage paper.

"Rare Beatles photos show up all the time," Beatles expert and former music journalist Steve Marinucci told Newsweek, "but not usually in this quality."

See more photos at music-radar

Last week we told you that Blink-182's Mark Hoppus had denied reports that the band had recorded a comeback single called Reborn. Turns out, it might be a while till they churn out any new music at all.

Frontman Mark Hoppus told Billboard that he has already written several new songs with bandmates Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge, but rehearsals for the band's upcoming 2009 summer reunion tour have caused the band to shelve a new album...for now.

Rehearsals...not recording

"We started writing a few months ago and got well into the writing process," Hoppus said. "But now we've kind of put the recording of the next album on hold and are doing rehearsals for the upcoming tour."

In addition to his Blink plans, Hoppus has been logging studio time with the band Motion City Soundtrack, who are working on their fourth studio effort - and major label debut - for Columbia Records. Hoppus, who helmed MCS's second record, Commit This To Memory, hinted that the Minnesota-based punk-popsters could tour with Blink-182 this summer.

"We're still booking the Blink tour, so we'll see how that all ends up working out," he said. "I would love to tour with Motion City. They're a really cool band to tour with, and they're great live, so I wouldn't be angry at that."

Source music-radar

Boston mastermind and leader Tom Scholz has taken to the band's website to warn fans of a band called Cosmo and what he deems as fake 'Boston' concerts.

In his blog, Scholz writes:"In spite of recent misleading ads claimng BOSTON appearances and even reunions of original members, BOSTON is not touring or performing this year."

Beware of the Cosmo

Says Scholz, "As many of you know, numerous dates have been announced for the band Cosmo, but have been promoted using the name, logo, or even the recorded music of BOSTON, which may have confused some as to whether BOSTON would be performing.

"Fran Cosmo has explained that he was unaware that BOSTON's name, logo, or music were being used by his agent to promote Cosmo as BOSTON. While most of it has stopped, there are still some problems with unauthorized use of the name BOSTON in connection with some scheduled Cosmo performances.

"Cosmo's extensive covers of older BOSTON songs recorded prior to Fran's involvement raised some eyebrows, but as long as these shows are not promoted in a misleading way using BOSTON, we see no problem with their performance of a few BOSTON songs, and wish them luck with their summer tour.

"But I'm telling you it's not Boston!"

Source music-radar