Coldplay baffled by plagiarism claims

Coldplay drummer Will Champion has fired back at allegations the band plagiarised music and melodies from guitar great Joe Satriani and Yusuf Islam, insisting no one owns musical notes.

The rocker admited he's upset and baffled by the claims his band stole music from others - and he can't believe both Satriani and Islam, aka Cat Stevens, are considering legal action against the group.

In an interview with HamptonRoads.com, the drummer said: "It’s tough when people accuse you of stealing something when you know that you didn’t.

"We accept that it’s part of the territory and know it is only for some reason, God only knows why, the successful songs that seem to be the ones that are accused of being stolen.

"There are elements of our music that I’ve heard in other people’s music. There are only eight notes in an octave and no one owns them. And there are probably about 12,000 songs that feature the exact same chord progression."

Satriani claims the band's 'Viva la Vida' hit rips off his 'If I Could Fly', while Yusuf Islam recently suggested Coldplay used his 1973 song 'Foreigner Suite' for inspiration.