The Jean Genie - DAVID BOWIE
Released on 24 November 1972
Written by David Bowie

Block Buster - THE SWEET
Released in January 1973
Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman

Some controversy arose in the UK when fellow RCA act Sweet issued "Block Buster!", utilising a riff very similar to "The Jean Genie". Sweet's single, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, and recorded and released slightly later than Bowie's song, made No. 1 in the UK charts while "The Jean Genie" was still in the Top 10. All parties maintained that the similarity was, in Nicky Chinn's words, "absolute coincidence". Chinn described a meeting with Bowie at which the latter "looked at me completely deadpan and said 'Cunt!' And then he got up and gave me a hug and said, 'Congratulations...'"
"The Jean Genie" spent 13 weeks in the UK charts. It peaked at No. 2, making it Bowie's biggest hit to date. In the US, it reached No. 71 (this time beating "Block Buster!", which made #73).
(Wikipedia)

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