Did Guns N’ Roses Steal "Sweet Child O’ Mine" From An Obscure Australian Band? [View all]

[Electric Monk]

Nearly 30 years after it became a global smash, Guns N’ Roses‘ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” could be facing a lawsuit for plagiarism. It reportedly resembles “Unpublished Critics,” a 1981 song by the Australian Crawl, an Australian band from the early-to-mid-’80s.

MAX brings this to our attention, saying that it came from one of their commenters. You can listen to “Unpublished Critics” above and you’ll likely arrive at the same conclusion they did, “Christ does it sound similar: the same chugging chord progression, a similarly-sweeping lead break, the verse melody and the elongated one-syllable vocal in the chorus.”

But there are a couple of differences between the two. “Unpublished Critics” lacks Slash‘s defining riff, the chord progression is not the same in the chorus and it does not have the “Where do we go” section that comprises the song’s second half.

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http://ultimateclassicrock.com/sweet-child-o-mine-australian-crawl/

I can sure hear some similarities, but I don't think I'd call it plagiarism. Perhaps "partially inspired by" would be more accurate.