“Down Under” was huge. This jokey ode to legendary Australian wanderlust helped Men at Work win a Grammy and was a key part of the band’s creative legacy. It had also been earning “Men At Work” a steady stream of royalties for nearly 30 years, when a game show pointed out the song’s subtle link with an Australian nursery rhyme…
Tim Harford examines one of the most controversial copyright battles in music history. Where does inspiration end and infringement begin?
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Further reading
On the Down Under plagiarism case
Kylie Northover and Chris Johnson “How the song turned sour for a ‘beautiful man’” Sydney Morning Herald 20 April 2012 How the song turned sour for a ‘beautiful man’
Steve Collins “Kookaburra v. Down Under: It’s just overkill” Scan: Journal of Media Arts Culture :: SCAN | journal of media arts culture ::
BBC News. “Men At Work’s Colin Hay hits out over plagiarism ruling.” 5 Feb 2010 BBC News – Men At Work’s Colin Hay hits out over plagiarism ruling
Ham, L., & Arlington, K. “Kookaburra case: publisher hits back at Colin Hay’s ‘greed’ claim.” The Age 5 Feb 2010 Publisher hits back at Colin Hay’s ‘greed’ claim
Hay, C. (2010, February 4). Colin Hay’s statement on Down Under ruling. Retrieved February 8, 2010, from The Age: Colin Hay’s statement on Down Under ruling
BBC News “Men and Work Lose Plagiarism Case in Australia” 4 Feb 2010 BBC News – Men At Work lose plagiarism case in Australia
Daily Mail “ABC Star Adam Hills reveals simple Spicks Specks Question destroyed friendship” Adam Hills reveals how Spicks & Specks question destroyed a friendship
NME Adam Hills of ‘Spicks and Specks’: “Anyone that managed to make a TV show during lockdown deserves a medal”
Cameron Adams “Men at Work’s Colin Hay says Down Under lawsuit ‘contributed’ to death of his dad and bandmate” 10 Aug 2015 News Corp Australia Network
On Marion Sinclair
The Australian Dictionary of Biography Biography – Marion Sinclair – Australian Dictionary of Biography
On copyright and plagiarism
Rebecca Tabrar “The Songwriters” Music Hall Memory Box https://rebeccatab.wixsite.com/musichallmemorybox/the-songwriters
Hansard 1902 MUSICAL COPYRIGHT BILL [H.L.] (Hansard, 17 April 1902)
Malcolm Gladwell “Something Borrowed” The New Yorker 22 November 2004 Should a Charge of Plagiarism Ruin Your Life?
Tim Harford Copyrights and wrongs Copyrights and wrongs and The Rights and Wrongs of Copying The rights and wrongs of copying
On the Rutles
Mark Blake “The Rutles: the strange and surreal story of the original Spinal Tap” Louder Sound 19 April 2023 The Rutles: the strange and surreal story of the original Spinal Tap
Dan Rys “A Brief History of the Ownership of the Beatles Catalog” Billboard 20 Jan 2017 A Brief History of the Ownership of the Beatles Catalog
Neil Innes interview on Radio 4, 13 Sep 2009.
