Elvis Costello has no plans to sue Olivia Rodrigo over her Sour track Brutal.
The 71-year-old singer/songwriter admits he can hear similarities between the guitar rift in Olivia’s song and one featured in his 1978 track Pump It Up but he’s happy to laugh it off rather than take it to court.
He told The Times newspaper: “That’s too silly to talk about … Well, I met Olivia and she was lovely. I said: ‘Look, this is just a riff and how could I be arrogant enough to sue on the basis of originality when my song is based on [Bob Dylan track] Subterranean Homesick Blues?’
“Did Bob Dylan sue me? He teased me about it but didn’t sue. And did Chuck Berry sue Bob because his song was like Too Much Monkey Business?”
Costello previously addressed the plagiarism claims back in 2021 when he replied to a post on X which suggested Olivia’s song Brutal was “pretty much a direct lift from Elvis Costello”.
Costello replied to the message by writing: “This is fine by me. It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did.”
Olivia, 23, previously defended her work and insisted most artists take inspiration from the work of others.
She told Teen Vogue magazine: “I think it’s disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman’s work.
“All music is inspired by each other. Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first. I came up with the lyrics and the melody for Good 4 U one morning in the shower …
“Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them. It’s sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process. Nothing in music is ever new. There’s four chords in every song. That’s the fun part – trying to make that your own.”
It comes after Olivia – who released her third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, on Friday (12.06.26) – opened up about performing at the fabled Glastonbury Festival last year admitting she had a “near anxiety attack” before stepping onto the Pyramid Stage.
She told the BBC: “I remember having like a near anxiety attack in the bathroom, like, ‘How am I going to do this? I don’t know if I’m ready.’
“But something overcame me the second I stepped on stage and started singing. I felt, like, totally calm and so in my element.
“I’m not very spiritual or religious, but it’s moments like that where I feel music is just so magical that you just can’t really describe it.”