12 Controversial Songs That Were Stolen

1. 'Blurred Lines' - Robin Thicke

Where It Was Stolen From:

Given how notorious this case was, you'd be forgiven for wondering how Robin Thicke and his musical cohorts thought they'd get away with it.

I mean, you listen to 'Blurred Lines' and all you hear is the iconic opening of Marvin Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up'. It's so blatant you'd suspect permission was sought and given. But the fact that it wasn't was the reason Thicke's side were ordered to pay $7.3m (£4.8m) to Gaye’s family by a US Jury following a ruling at the US District Court in Los Angeles.

Somewhat ironically, the ruling came about when collaborators Pharrell Williams and Thicke pre-emptively brought a lawsuit pre-emptively fearing that Gaye's family would be litigious. Their intent was to affirm that ‘Blurred Lines’ is “strikingly different” to ‘Got to Give It Up’. That backfired when Williams' claim that he was just "channelling that late 1970s feel" was thrown out.

Thicke, meanwhile washed his hands of any involvement, saying he was “high on Vicodin and alcohol when [he] showed up at the studio.” He went on:

"I started kind of convincing myself that I was a little more part of it than I was and I – because I didn’t want him – I wanted some credit for this big hit. But the reality is, is that Pharrell had the beat and he wrote almost every single part of the song.”