Tame Impala 'joke' could lead to legal action

What started out as a "joke" could end up with Tame Impala begin sued for alleged plagiarism.

A story posted by Chilean website Rata this month accused the Australian band of ripping off Argentinian pop star Pablito Ruiz on their hit single Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.

The website claimed the song was similar to Ruiz’s 1989 track Oceano. However, the article’s authors insist it was only a joke and that they were taken aback when the story went viral.

The attention led Ruiz to tell ESPN Radio Argentina: “Obviously there is plagiarism. Not if you have done it on purpose or not, but there are seven bars that are equal to my song.” Ruiz added he was seeking legal guidance.

Rata site editors Raul Alvarez and Patricio Perez tell Rolling Stone: “It was a joke. We were at a party and had that idea. Curiously, it went viral pretty fast. We never thought we’d have this impact, and we’re very surprised about it.

“Things sometimes take an unexpected turn. What started as a joke went viral thanks to the magic of the internet.”

When asked to comment, Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker said: “This is a joke, right?”

A clip which compares the two tracks side-by-side has also surfaced.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.