Twisted Sister's 'We're Not Gonna Take It' feud with Australian politician intensifies
Twisted Sister’s feud with United Australia Party leader Clive Palmer has intensified with the politician now accusing the band of ‘swindling’ their hit song ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’.
As reported last week, Snider and and Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French vowed to take legal action against the right-wing politician for “rewriting” ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ for United Australia Party’s made-for-television advertisements.
Seemingly echoing the words and music of ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’, the song features the lyrics: “Australia ain't gonna cop it, no Australia's not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it anymore.”
Brushing off Twisted Sister’s complaints, Palmer last week threatened to countersue the band claiming he holds the copyright for the words, before adding: “As foreigners, they should stay out of Australian domestic politics and stay where they are.”
He also mocked Snider by alleging that ticket sales to his upcoming Australian tour were selling slowly, saying: "This is understandable given how long ago (Twisted Sister) had any influence in the world of music."
In an update, Dee Snider took to Twitter yesterday afternoon (7th January) to lambast Palmer as a ‘loathsome toad’ and confirm that he is ignoring their legal proceedings.
The singer wrote: “Woke up this morning to find out that ass @CliveFPalmer and @PalmerUtdParty are ignoring cease & desist order (not really surprised - the man is an entitled prat). Not to worry. Lawyers have been officially engaged (remember @Eminem NZ case?) & that loathsome toad will pay!”
> Woke up this morning to find out that ass @CliveFPalmer and @PalmerUtdParty are ignoring cease & desist order (not really surprised - the man is an entitled prat). Not to worry. Lawyers have been officially engaged (remember @Eminem NZ case?) & that loathsome toad will pay! > > — Dee Snider (@deesnider) January 7, 2019
US rapper Eminem successfully won £315,000 in damages in October 2017 when he sued New Zealand’s National party for using a version of his song ‘Lose Yourself’ in a 2014 election campaign advertisement.
In a fresh statement, United Australia Party accused Twisted Sister of “swindling” their “hit song from a famous Christmas carol.”
As Music Feeds reports, Palmer said: “The song ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as an alleged musical work was not written by Dee Snider. The music was originally arranged as a cappella piece from the hymn ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ first composed in the mid 1700s.
“Others may have documented the instrumentation, but the melody was already present.
“As Twisted Sister never remunerated the original arranger, we do not understand how they have ever had any claim to its copyright. It seems Universal Music Group may have been misled at the time of paying the group’s front man Dee Snider money for something he never owned.
“Maybe Universal should consider commencement of proceedings against Dee Snider or seek a refund of any money they have paid to him.”
The saga continues…