MARK RONSON, BRUNO MARS: Sued Over “Uptown Funk”

Is “Uptown Funk” about to become the next “Blurred Lines”?

What happened to Robin Thicke and his producer Pharrell Williams after their mega-sucessful 2013 single is being repeated with Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars‘ worldwide smash from one year later — they’re being sued by the writers of a much earlier song. In the case of “Blurred Lines,” it was Marvin Gaye‘s “Got to Give It Up.”

TMZ reports that the 1980’s Minneapolis electro-funk band Collage has filed papers claiming “Uptown Funk” is “almost indistinguishable” from its 1983 hit “Young Girls.” They also say that both Ronson and Mars have admitted to drawing from their specific musical style, so they feel it’s reasonable to assume that they’ve “heard and been influenced by ‘Young Girls.'”

With sales of over six million copies, a stake in “Uptown Funk” could be a bonanza for Collage if they can convince a jury of their claim. The group reportedly has only one living member.

In what now seems like a bizarre coincidence, the title of the last single Mars released before his feature on Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” just happens to be “Young Girls.”