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Men at Work Stole Most Famous Tune

`Down Under'

Judge says '80s Aussie band ripped off riff.

cheats/2010/02/04/men-at-work-stole-most-famous-tune/menatwork_b5crhk

Australian rock band Men at Work had a massive hit with their 1980s song "Down Under" about a vegemite sandwich and the world’s other temptations. It turns out they had some help as an Australian judge ruled Thursday that the group's famous flute riff was ripped off from a folk tune. The owner of the song, the entertainment group EMI, may have to pay up to 60 percent of the earnings they made from the international smash. "It's a big win for the underdog," said one lawyer.

Read it at Sydney Morning Herald

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