In a funk! Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson hit by lawsuit claiming their UpTown Funk rips off 1983 single

By Bobbie Whiteman For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:44 EST, 29 October 2016 | Updated: 20:45 EST, 29 October 2016

They've made millions from their chart-topping hit, UpTown Funk.

Now Bruno Mars and producer Mark Ronson may find themselves in court because of it.

They are among the names in a lawsuit filed by members of the band Collage, alleging the monster track rips off their 1983 single Young Girls, TMZ reported on Saturday.

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Music mess: Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson are among names in a lawsuit filed by the band Collage, alleging their UpTown funk rips off its 1983 single Young Girls

The suit claims Bruno's Billboard No.1 copies rhythm, harmony, melody and structure.

And it alleges there's reason to believe Bruno, 31,  and Mark, who is 10 years older,  could easily have heard and been influenced by Young Girls.

Both are fans of Minneapolis/1980s electro-funk soul, the trend that Collage and, later, Prince, and others were part of, according to the website.

Uptown Funk is the most successful song of Bruno's career so far.

Getting inspiration?: The suit claims producer Mark, seen in concert at The Savoy in London,  borrowed heavily from the rhythm, harmony, melody and structure of the 33-year-old single

On a winner: The catchy song gave Bruno, 31, his biggest hit so far, staying top of the Billboard chart for a stunning 14 weeks. Here the star is seen at SiriusXM's New York Studio Tuesday

It stayed in Billboard's top spot for a stunning 14 weeks in 2015 and had reportedly sold more than 6.1 million copies by June 2015.

That makes it the second-longest lasting No. 1 hit single in the history of the music bible.

Collage isn't the first band to accuse Bruno and Mars of lifting their song.  

Last year The Gap Band's five writers - brothers Robert, Ronnie and Charlie Wilson, keyboardist Rudolph Taylor and producer Lonnie Simmons - were added to the royalties list after claims that UpTown Funk sounded too similar to their 1979 hit, Oops Upside Your Head.

Meanwhile, back in February The Sequence, one of the first female rap groups, claimed Bruno and Mark used their 1979 hit, Funk You Up, as the inspiration for their song.

However Angie Stone, Cheryl the Pearl and Blondy didn't file a lawsuit.

 

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