The rather startling news has emerged that a British songwriter and guitarist, Paul Rose, is claiming that U2 ‘stole' one of his ‘songs' for their 1991 album Achtung Baby.

Rose is a self-styled “virtuoso guitarist/ composer/ producer.” He recently released the “lost album” White Mountain Road, which features former Rory Gallagher sidekick, Ted McKenna, on drums.

Rose, who now lives in New York, has filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court against the band and against Island Records. In a $5 million legal action, he has alleged that U2 lifted multiple elements of his song 'Nae Slappin' for the Achtung Baby track, ’The Fly’.

In fact ’Nae Slappin’ is an instrumental. Unless Hot Press' ears are badly mistaken, it is written in a minor key, whereas ’The Fly’ is in a major. And ’Nae Slappin’ is based entirely around the repetition of three or four chords, over which the guitarist improvises (not unimpressively). On a couple of listens, one might observe that the end of it owes a significant debt to Jimi Hendrix’s version of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’. But that might be nit-picking.

Nonetheless, in papers filed with the court, Rose makes the claim that, “An ordinary lay observer would reasonably find that the songs are substantially similar and that an infringement has occurred.”

Plagiarism claims have become more popular in relation to music in recent years, with Ed Sheeran among those who has been targeted: the songwriters behind former X-Factor winner Matt Cardle’s ‘Amazing’ claim that Sheeran's ‘Photograph’ was based substantially on their song.

As to why Rose has waited 26 years to go public with his claim, Rose's lawyer, Thomas Mullaney, insists that the British musician is only coming forward now as he did not want to jeopardise his career.

Rose pleads that U2 were in search of a new sound at the time, adding that the “dance beats, distorted vocals and hard industrial edge” of ’The Fly' sounded "nothing like typical U2.”

“Although perhaps the most popular rock band in the world in the 1980s, by that decade’s end the band felt in need of re-invigoration,” the extraordinary law suit adds.

Rose claims that he provided a demo tape to executives of Island Records, who listened to it often in their offices. The lawsuit apparently alleges that U2 heard Rose's 'song' after they joined Island Record in 1989 – though the band were originally signed by Island Records in London, in 1980.

Rose is seeking a songwriting credit for ’The Fly’ and $5 million dollars in damages and legal fees.

In 2006, the New York Post suggested that there were multiple similarities between Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘Dani California’ and Tom Petty’s ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’. When it was suggested to Petty that he might take a legal action, he had this to say…

“If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe. But I don’t believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs.”

As yet, U2 have not issued any official response to the claims.