“From the minute their song came out, my email flooded with people going, ‘Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off, man’”: When Joe Satriani took Coldplay to court – and sued them over one of their biggest hits

Joe Satriani performs at The Warfield on November 15, 2008 in San Francisco, California AND O2 ARENA Photo of COLDPLAY and Chris MARTIN, Chris Martin performing on stage.

The musical worlds of Joe Satriani and Coldplay couldn’t be further removed. Yet there are two songs that bind the guitar virtuoso and stadium-conquering pop-rockers together.

In May 2008, Coldplay dropped Viva La Vida. The title track from their fourth studio record, it has since become the UK band’s defining anthem, underpinned by a catchy verse melody that helped the track on its way to two Grammy nominations.