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Another song theft claim made against Uptown Funk
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 25 February 2016
The Sequence, a hip hop trio signed to Sugarhill Records in the late 1970s and early 1980s, are reportedly threatening to sue Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars over the allegation the duo lifted elements of the group’s 1979 standout single ‘Funk You Up’ for their 2014 hit ‘Uptown Funk’.
Following the Ronson/Mars track’s Record Of The Year win at the Grammys earlier this month, a rep for The Sequence, Kali Bowyer, has reportedly claimed that the hook to both songs is the same, and that there are other similarities too. Spin notes that The Sequence’s track has the lyrics “Funk you, Right on up, We’re gonna funk you right on up”, while Mars warbles in ‘Uptown Funk’: “Up, Town, Funk you up, Uptown funk you up”.
TMZ, which spoke to Bowyer, says no legal action has been filed as yet over the song theft allegations, though litigation is being considered. Members of The Sequence, including Angie Stone, co-wrote ‘Funk You Up’, so would presumably claim infringement of the song (rather than recording) rights if they felt there was a case worth pursuing against Ronson, Mars and their business partners.
As previously reported, writers of The Gap Band’s 1979 hit ‘Oops Upside Your Head’ have already been added as extra songwriters on ‘Uptown Funk’ after it was agreed the former had been rather influential on the latter.
