When Andrew Hoepfner, singer and songwriter with the little-known New York band Creaky Boards, thought he spotted Coldplay's Chris Martin in the audience at one of his gigs he was flattered.
But his satisfaction turned to indignation when Hoepfner heard Viva La Vida, the title track from the British supergroup's new album.
According to Hoepfner - who has posted a video on YouTube to argue his case - the Coldplay song is a rip-off of one of his compositions titled, ironically, The Songs I Didn't Write.
In his video, Hoepfner says he wrote The Songs I Didn't Write more than a year ago and provides a video clip of Creaky Boards performing it at a music festival in New York last October as proof.
It was there that several members of the band believe they saw Martin in the audience.
"He [Martin] seemed into it," says Hoepfner in his video. "Maybe too into it!"
Coldplay have been quick to deny the allegation, claiming that Viva La Vida - a song that has gained international exposure as part of an iPod commercial - was written and demoed in March last year, six months before the contentious concert.
In any case, says a spokesman for the band, Martin was holed up in London's AIR Studios last October so he could not have been at the Creaky Boards' New York gig.
Hoepfner is unwilling to take legal action. He wishes Coldplay "all the best" and offers to collaborate with them.
"I've got two microphones in my bedroom that we can use," he says.
While the melodies of Viva La Vida and The Songs I Didn't Write seem remarkably similar, the songs' lyrics are very different.
Hoepfner's are about listening to music in his bedroom, while Coldplay's tune tackles a less introspective topic: the crusades.
*Listen to The Songs I Didn't Write here.
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