Former Europe guitarist Kee Marcello was a recent guest on the White Line Fever podcast, where he discussed how his 1980s Swedish glam-rock band Easy Action has to file a lawsuit against the band Poison, for allegedly “stealing” the chorus from Esay Action’s song We Go Rocking, for their hit song, “I Want Action”. The suit was reported to have been awarded a financial settlement in the case.
Marcello said (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), “I got [in] contact with the producer of Poison’s album [‘Look What The Cat Dragged In’], Ric Browde, and he told me he brought the Easy Action album and the Hanoi Rocks album to the studio when he did the Poison album, and he put on We Go Rocking and suggested the band make a cover out of it. And they said, ‘It’s a fucking Swedish glam band. who’s gonna know?’ And they just ripped us off. And this is Ric Browde personally saying this. So it’s so f–king obvious that it happened.”
“If it would have been me doing such a mistake, I would say, ‘I’m so sorry. I f–ked up. man, I took your song. I’m so sorry. I’m gonna make it up to you.’ [But] to this day, believe it or not, they completely bluntly deny it,” he continued. “When Poison played at Sweden Rock Festival, they had a press conference, and somebody asked — a lot of people asked — ‘What about Kee Marcello? What about Easy Action? What about We Go Rocking? And they said, ‘[We] never heard of any of those.’ And that was the end of it. Then people tried to go on, but they just bluntly denied it. And it’s so ridiculous. At least agree you’re wrong sometimes.
So, I don’t know. I don’t wanna see those assholes.”
Discussing how Easy Action ended up receiving a financial settlement in the case, Marcello stated, “The publisher [for We Go Rocking] is Warner Chappell Music. I’m [listed as the] hundred percent [writer] of the music, and there’s three of us [who are credited for] the lyrics — the singer, the bass player and me — in We Go Rocking.”
The thing is I was so busy when this happened, I didn’t sue [Poison]; it was Warner Chappell Music that sued them and threatened to take them to court,” he explained. “It was really a dumb deal. I wonder why they didn’t do that. Instead they made a settlement out of court. But as you know, when you do a settlement, they don’t have to [publicly admit] that they [did anything wrong]. If we would have taken them to court, I would have been a co-writer on their song, which I think would have been fair. That’s how you admit you’ve been doing something wrong. Because [if I had been listed as a co-writer on I Want Action], every time they do a best-of Poison album and the song is on there, some money goes to me. It doesn’t now. We just got this sum of money, a settlement out of court. If I would have been more plugged into the whole thing… If there’s one regret I have, it’s not dragging their sorry asses to court.”
Easy Action was formed in the early 1980s and was a pioneering band on the Swedish and Scandinavian glam rock scene. When singer Tommy Nilsson joined the group in 1986, they moved towards a more adult radio friendly sound. The album That Makes One attracted global attention but its momentum came to a quick halt when Marcello left the band to gain worldwide success as the new guitar player in the band Europe. Nilsson went on to become one of Sweden’s biggest pop stars, scoring several huge domestic single hits. Following a number of successful years with Europw, Kee released solo albums and a biography as well as performed in the musical Rock Of Ages, among other projects.
Listen to a comparison of both songs below.
24 Responses
Please can we all refrain from ever saying taylor swift on this site again …. 🙂
LOL, Robert…
Who?
I know, I know…..but I really love her music. As Dana knows, my music tastes greatly vary…
I know Taylor Swift isn’t an artist discussed on this site, but if the RRHOF can induct non rock artists, then Taylor Swift can be mentioned on this site :o)
The sad thing is that “The Country-Pop Artist Who From This Point Forward Shall Never Be Named” will probably get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before Iron Maiden and Judas Priest!
UGH!! You’re probably right…
Tyler Swift, isn’t that the one that’s always getting busted for lip-synching? Like that other one, whatshername? Miley Circus? Or whatever. Today, all you have to do to be a “star” is graduate from auto-tuning school, perfect the art of lip-synching, and have absolutely no musical talent at all whatsoever!
The ” one that shall not be named ” is in my opinion very challenged vocally , but somehow resonated with young fans when she came out thanks to an off the charts media blitz to recruit young fans to country music which was sounding dated and tired at the time – personally my opinion only I think she got very very lucky in this business – I have never been able to listen to any of her songs all the way through ~
R,
I agree, her voice is awful (dare I say whiny, and almost off key, in You Belong To Me) and her songs seem to be quite petty, and immature. That being “said” I am still not completely convinced, despite their lack of finesse, that truly writes her own songs.
Most of these pop “artists,” do not write their own material. They get co-producing, or co-writing credits (if they write one line or change a word), as part of a deal. Most of these songs tend to be written by people like Maks Martin, or Dr. Luke, even Pink doesn’t write her own songs. It’s basically a sham, and the ”one that shall not be named,” came from a affluent home, where I am sure her parents help to fund her “career.”
Some of them even create fake back stories, like Jewel. Jewel claimed to be this struggling musician, who played coffee houses, and lived out of her car, but her family, the Kilchers, own TONS of land in Alaska and are very rich.
Many artists get co-writing credits as part of the deal…Ozzy, Lars Ulrich, etc….If that occurs with Taylor Swift, as it does with rock artists, that’s just business….
And her looks may have helped contribute to her success, but that is exactly what happened with many of the glam, or hair, bands of the 80’s. MTV further aided that effort.
As far as her songs being immature. I agree….but so are many of the songs by Poison.
I agree the plan was to make her a pop star. She never was a ‘true’ Country artist.
Yes, she was never a struggling artist who found fame and fortune. And while there are many talented artists who, unfortunately, didn’t “make it” in the music business, I don’t begrudge Taylor Swift for the success she’s enjoyed. I enjoy her music, even if it is a genre contrary to this site.
That being “said”, I still prefer any Slayer music \m/ \m/ over Taylor Swift’s music, but I do enjoy both….heck, I have occasionally worn a Taylor Swift concert t-shirt while simultaneously wearing a Slayer ball cap.
Yes, I know you’re a big fan, and that’s okay, she’s just not my cup of tea. I am partial to Pop stars of the 80s, like Madonna, whom I see as a trailblazer.
Dana,
I thought there were songwriting teams in Nashville thanks for confirming:) I have heard her parents have money and helped , but I would help my kids too , so she doesn’t get a black mark from me on having parents who love her , I also don’t really begrudge her taking advantage of her situation and running with it , what bothers me is her awful music and voice , she should have gotten better at everything by now , and it’s getting worse , also I think about the tremendous artists and songwriters who got passed over for a pretty face with long legs and a stupid glitter guitar who was signed because she would cultivate the youth market and sell a gazillion albums ~
Robert,
I am not begrudging that her parents helped her, but she didn’t exactly struggle for her art (let’s put it that way). Additionally, because of her fortunate station in life, she moved far past those with actual talent, who were not fortunate enough to have her resources and connections.
Also, she might have had songwriters in Nashville help her, but I know that Martin, and Dr. Luke, are the two biggest, when it comes to the Pop genre.
Finally, I don’t believe she was ever really a Country star. She used that route as a means to become a Pop star, which is what she really wanted to be, in the first place.