TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider has slammed the Australian politician accused of rewriting the band's song without permission as a "blowhard" who "clearly does not understand copyright law." Clive Palmer adopted the melody and rhythm of TWISTED SISTER's hit single "We're Not Gonna Take It" in his political advertisements for the United Australia Party. The advertisements feature a vocalist singing the TWISTED SISTER song's melody along with the lyrics: "Australia ain't gonna cop it, no Australia's not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it any more." In TWISTED SISTER's original, Snider sings: "Oh we're not gonna take it, no we ain't gonna take it, oh we're not gonna take it anymore." After TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French called Palmer's use of the song "unauthorized" and vowed to do his "best to stop it," Palmer fired back, claiming he "wrote the words personally that appear on our [UAP] promotion and hold the copyright for those words." He added: "If they attempt to use my lyrics in any of their songs, I'll not hesitate to take legal proceedings against them." Earlier today, Snider — who wrote "We're Not Gonna Take It" — posted the following message on his Facebook page: "Clive Palmer clearly does not understand copyright law; he thinks it's the right to copy. "I'm glad Clive likes my song, but TWISTED SISTER's 'We're Not Gonna Take It' is a protected work and he has received a legal notice form Universal Music to cease and desist from any further use. "I shouldn't be surprised by his failure to respond. From what I've seen, Clive seems to have little understanding of either the truth or the law. It appears he has caused hundreds of great Australian workers to lose their jobs and benefits by running his nickel business into the ground and, allegedly, fraudulently converted its assets to bolster his flagging political endeavors. Shame on him. "I gather he compares himself to Donald Trump? Well, at least Trump's clothes are tailored to fit and his golf resorts and hotels are prestigious. None of them are mosquito-infested, bankrupt rat havens. "I also note that Clive has yet to respond to my challenge to debate him. To be clear, this is not a debate about Australian politics; I have no place in such a discussion. I want to confront him on theft of services, misuse of creative property and his 'bull-in-a-china-shop' approach to copyright laws. If public opinion finds him to be the winner of such a debate, I will write Clive an entirely new song for his campaign. Which, sadly, may be the only way to get this scofflaw to stop using my song illegally. "Meanwhile, I hope Australians will vote against this blowhard and truly keep Australia great, as it always has been." This is not the first time "We're Not Gonna Take It" has been used for purposes that have made TWISTED SISTED displeased. Back in 2015, Dee gave then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump permission to use the song on his campaign trail because they were friends. However, as the campaign raged on, Snider began to develop a greater understanding of Trump's ideology and changed his mind.
Clive Palmer clearly does not understand copyright law; he thinks it's the right to copy. I'm glad Clive likes my...
Posted by Dee Snider on Monday, January 7, 2019
Continue reading...
Clive Palmer clearly does not understand copyright law; he thinks it's the right to copy. I'm glad Clive likes my...
Posted by Dee Snider on Monday, January 7, 2019
Continue reading...
