Manic Street Preachers have hit back at claims by The Stranglers' publishers that the band's current single, You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next', borrows substantially from The Stranglers' 1979 single 'Duchess'.
The Manics said that while they admitted a "similarity" existed between the two songs, any resemblance was purely coincidental and that as a band they didn't even own any Stranglers records.
This week, a Manics spokeswoman confirmed that The Stranglers' publishing company, Complete Music, has sent a legal letter to Epic pointing out the resemblance. Complete Music refused to
comment ether than to say it is still considering its position on the matter.
However, the Manics spokeswoman said that they've had a musicologist look at the two songs and
would fight any action launched. The Manics said they weren't aware of any similarity until it was pointed out to them.
Sean Moore said: "When we actually heard it we thought,'Bloody hell, it does sound similar', but nothing was intentional."
Nicky Wire added: "It's not something we'd sit and do, like nick something from The Stranglers - it's the most bizarre thing!"
The Manics are marking the release of their new album, 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours' with a "truth box" that will be travelling around the country giving people the chance to air their opinions on any subject and in any form. The best submissions will be broadcast on MTV and the overall winner will be invited to meet the band when they play live in Barcelona in October. The truth box will be sited in Virgin Megastores the week following the LPs release.
Virgin Megastores participating are: Cardiff (September 14, 10am-12pm), Bristol (14, 3-5pm), Leeds (15, 12-2pm) and London (18, 12-2pm).
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