Ed Sheeran would be “done” if he’s found liable for ripping off Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” he said Monday — as he returned to the stand and again sang and strummed his guitar for a Manhattan jury.
The British singer-songwriter expressed the toll the copyright infringement case has had on him, as his attorney Ilene Farkas asked what would happen if the trial — which began last week in federal court — doesn’t go his way and the plaintiffs win ownership of the chord progression in his song.
“If that happens, I’m done — I’m stopping,” Sheeran, 32, responded.
“I find it really insulting to work my whole life as a singer-songwriter and diminish it.”
Earlier, Sheeran’s lawyer questioned the singer about live performances and the writing of his song “Thinking Out Loud” — parts of which he’s accused of lifting from Gaye’s 1973 R&B classic.
But the “Shape of You” singer denied that he’d ripped off Gaye’s song to write his own 2014 hit.
“Did you copy anything from ‘Let’s Get It On’ when you wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud’?” Farkas asked Sheeran.
“No,” he responded sharply.
Ed Sheeran said he would be “done” if he’s found liable for stealing Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” Alec TabakThe four-time Grammy Award-winning musician — who last week performed a snippet of “Thinking Out Loud” during his testimony — belted out various mashups of Van Morrison songs for the courtroom on Monday.
He strummed a four-chord sequence he’s accused of stealing from “Let’s Get It On” as he sang renditions of Morrison tracks, including “Tupelo Honey” and “Crazy Love,” on the stand.
Amy Wadge — who co-wrote “Thinking Out Loud” with Sheeran — later told jurors about the song’s creation, explaining that to her, the tune sounded more like Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately.”
The singer-songwriter whipped out a guitar on the witness stand during the trial. Elizabeth Williams via APGaye never entered her thoughts during the songwriting process, Wadge testified.
“Once we had written and Ed started playing it from the phone, we both said it was a Van (Morrison) song,” she said. “It had the same sort of feel as a Van Morrison song.”
Sheeran, in his testimony, also clapped back at the plaintiffs’ musicologist Alexander Stewart, who argued last week that the first 24 seconds of “Thinking Out Loud” were similar to the beginning of “Let’s Get It On.”
Several heirs to the Ed Townsend estate are suing Ed Sheeran over intellectual property. Ed Townsend was the principal songwriter with Marvin Gaye for the hit song “Let’s Get It On.” Gregory P. Mango
Gaye wrote “Let’s Get It On” and it instantly became an R&B classic in 1973. David Redfern/Redferns“If I have to be honest, what he’s doing here is criminal,” Sheeran said, before questioning Stewart’s credentials. “… I don’t know how he could be an expert. Obviously, just my opinion here.”
Sheeran grew irritated under cross-examination when he was grilled by plaintiff lawyer Robert Frank about his past writing collaborations with artists and how he plays his music.
“Me — personally, I know what I’m playing on guitar,” said Sheeran.
The “Shape of You” singer denied that he’d ripped off Gaye’s song to write his own 2014 hit. FilmMagicBefore he got on the stand, Sheeran embraced Kathryn Townsend Griffin — the daughter of the late Ed Townsend, co-writer of “Let’s Get It On” with Gaye — who is one of the plaintiffs suing him.
The two shared a handshake and lengthy hug before exchanging a few words following Townsend Griffin’s return to Justice Louis Stanton’s courtroom after she suddenly collapsed during proceedings last week.
If jurors rule against Sheeran, a second trial will determine what damages are owed to the Townsend family.
