Three British songwriters from Essex, are suing, Canadian superstar, The Weeknd, for allegedly copying one of their songs. The Weeknd faces a legal threat over a song off his 2016 album ‘Starboy’.

Brian Clover, Scott McCulloch, and Billy Smith, who were also known as Sonic Religion, back in 2004, are alleging that the R&B artist’s song ‘A Lonely Night’ has copied a major part of their 2004 song ‘I Need Love’. The Weeknd is being sued for a total of £15 million, by the trio of British songwriters.

The Weeknd, who is being legally represented by the UK law firm, Russells, has denied the charges so far. The BBC approached the law firm for comment yesterday (November 22), and have yet to receive a response.

Brian Clover, 47, who now works as an estate agent in Essex, said that he first came across a song while shopping in Topman in Colchester, Essex. The trio made an attempt to sell the song through the help of a record label but unfortunately failed to find a buyer.

Shortly after, two weeks later to be exact, The Weeknd went on to release his album ‘Star Boy’, which featured the song now being sued for copyright. The album was certified double platinum.

Speaking to the BBC about the situation, Clover said: “We have never had a hit, we have had songs on hold but never got over the line. It is frustrating because it has always been our goal to have our names on an album by an artist.”

The copying was supposedly incited by an in-house writer employed by the label, as he was also given the opportunity of working on the Candian singer’s album, ‘Starboy’. Therefore, it has been assumed that this is how the copying was able to take place.

As a music group who have never had a hit, this is truly some devastating news. Brian Clover initially took it upon himself to contact The Weeknd’s management team in order to try and resolve the issue with a cordial arrangement. However, the request was rejected and has now resulted in legal issues.

The three songwriters still hold the rights to their 2004 track, as it was never formally released. The song ‘A Lonely Night’ by the Canadian star can be streamed across all major platforms, including Spotify and Apple music.