Coldplay have been accused of plagiarism by yet another musician. Last December guitarist Steve Vai claimed that Chris Martin co had ripped off his song, If I Could Fly, for the title track of their Viva la Vidaalbum. Vai filed a lawsuit against the band for copyright infringement, and Coldplay went to court last month to refute those claims.

Now Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, has declared the same song to be based on his 18-minute-long Foreigner Suite(1973). The singer, who has a new album out this week, said: "My son brought it to my attention and said: 'Doesnt that sound like Foreigner Suite?' It has such logical chords and the melody has to be what it is . . . There's been this argument about Coldplay stealing this melody from Joe Satriani, but if you listen to it, it's mine!"

Coldplay, who recently announced plans to give away a free live album to fans attending their forthcoming gigs, have not responded to Islam’s allegation.