Harry Styles has only just launched his solo career, but already things haven’t got off to a great start.
His debut single Sign Of The Times struggled to bump Ed Sheeran off the top spot, despite Ed’s The Shape of You having been there for three months, and it only reached number four in America.
And after performing his next new song Ever Since New York on TV this weekend, the former One Direction star has now been accused of ripping off an iconic 70s rock band.
Harry performed the new song on Saturday Night Live, and immediately viewers noticed the similarities between his track and Badfinger’s 1971 single Baby Blue.
Taking to Twitter, music aficionados criticised the Brit for stealing the guitar riff in the song – branding him a “rip-off artist”.
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“I wonder if Harry Styles has ever heard Badfinger’s Baby Blue, and if he will hear from their lawyer,” asked one, while another added: “So did Harry Styles get permission from Badfinger to use the Baby Blue riff for that song?”
One furious fan said: “Harry Styles. Rip-off artist. That riff is NOTE FOR NOTE lifted from Baby Blue by Badfinger.”
The song, originally released back in 1971, had a huge boost when it was used in the final scene of hit TV show Breaking Bad and downloads saw it climb the charts on Spotify and iTunes.
None of this is good news for the 23-year-old, who has announced he will release his self-title debut album on May 12th.
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“This is the last thing Harry needed,” a source told The Sun.
“His solo launch hasn’t quite gone to plan and this is another distraction.
“Harry takes real pride in his new material and to be accused of nicking a riff will really hurt.”