Guitarist Joe Satriani has said he tried everything to avoid taking legal action against Coldplay over claims they plagiarised one of his songs.

Satriani, 52, believes the melody in Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida' resembles the guitar riff in his instrumental song, 'If I Could Fly'.

In a lawsuit filed at Los Angeles Federal court last week, he alleged the band had used “substantial original portions” of his song.

The guitarist told MusicRadar that he hadn't taken legal action “with malice”, adding: “I'm just doing what I need to do as an artist, to protect what's mine, to protect those feelings I put down in song."

Satriani said he had tried “everything” to prevent the case going to court, “but Coldplay didn't want to talk about it”.

He said: “They just wanted this whole thing to go away. Maybe they figured this little guitar player guy will leave them alone after a while, I don't know.

“But we're talking about a piece of art that I created, and that's something I feel is important. I think everybody should feel that way."

The guitarist added that the first time he heard Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida' he saw a resemblance to his own composition.

"I felt like a dagger went right through my heart. It hurt so much."

He added: "Almost immediately, from the minute their song came out, my e-mail box flooded with people going, 'Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off man.' I mean, I couldn't tell you how many e-mails I received. Everybody noticed the similarities between the songs. It's pretty obvious."

The copyright infringement lawsuit seeks jury trial, damages and “any and all profits” linked to the track.

Coldplay have not responded to the allegation.

(by Jason Gregory)