Grocery clerk sues Green Day

11/01/2006 1:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dotmusic

A grocery store clerk is suing Green Day, claiming he wrote the song "American Idiot" almost 15 years ago.

Paul McPike filed the copyright infringement suit against the band in the U.S. District Court, insisting he penned both the music and lyrics to the global hit in 1992.

He alleges the band ripped him off after he played the song at high school and a tape was then, somehow, passed onto the punk-pop stars.

McPike, from Oregon, cites the fact that words on the lyric sheet to the track on the band's American Idiot album sleeve are different to those sang by Billie Joe Armstrong on the actual song.

McPike, who is seeking a share of the album's profits, told Oregon's Mail Tribune paper: "It was just disbelief every time I heard it on the radio."

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Cooney attempted to dismiss the case last week, but is expected to allow McPike to file an amended lawsuit, with additional evidence.

"The Saints Are Coming," Green Day's forthcoming charity single with U2, is released on November 6.