Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, didn’t hold back his excitement recently when he discovered that Coldplay allegedly plagiarized his song (not Joe Satriani’s), saying, “if you listen to [Viva La Vida] it’s mine! It’s the Foreigner Suite, it is!” Islam also insinuated that he would sue the band, but he wanted to let the dust settle a bit on the Satriani lawsuit before moving forward. Islam has now taken his time to make peace with the borrowed melody and he wants to hug it out (technically, tea it out):
“I stand by what I said,” Islam told the Daily Express. “They did copy my song but I don’t think they did it on purpose. I have even copied myself without even knowing I have done it… I don’t want them to think I am angry with them. I’d love to sit down and have a cup of tea with them and let them know it’s okay.”
It looks like Cat Stevens really is that man of peace he claims to be, but the Flaming Lips are going to be annoyed to hear that Coldplay get to settle their spat over tea while they had to split royalties for cribbing “Father and Son.” Tea must be a great mediator for UK-born artists.