27 pop songs you didn’t know you were inspired by classical pieces
In 27 cases of chicken and egg, we reveal the popular chart tunes that were inspired by classical pieces…
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1. Lana Del Rey - Old Money / Nino Rota - Romeo & Juliet
Gloomy fan of eye-shadow Lana Del Rey has nabbed the tune from Nino Rota's theme to the 1968 film version of Romeo & Juliet for her song 'Old Money', and not for the first time - she also stole it for a weird a cappella doodle on her debut album, cheerily entitled 'Methamphetamines'.
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2. Little Mix - Little Me / Fauré - Pavane
X Factor-winning girl band and general pop scamps Little Mix are also massive fans of Gabriel Fauré, apparently. Their 2013 single 'Little Me' nabs the tune of his Pavane and turns it into a bubblegum R&B workout.
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3. S Club 7 - Natural / Fauré - Pavane
Remember S Club 7? Rachel Stevens, the one who could do a backflip and… well, never mind. One thing we do remember is their cheeky reworking of Fauré's Pavane in their chart smash 'Natural'.
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4. Elvis Presley - I Can't Help Falling In Love With You / Martini - Plaisir D'Amour
When Berlioz orchestrated Martini's traditional song 'Plaisir D'Amour', he probably didn't think that Elvis, Andy Williams and even UB40 would end up borrowing the tune… but they did.
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5. Greg Lake - I Believe in Father Christmas / Prokofiev - Troika
Festive favourite 'I Believe In Father Christmas' by Greg Lake is notable for its rather dark Christmas message, but it's also got a storming quote of 'Troika' by Prokofiev right in the middle of it.
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6. Bright Eyes - Road To Joy / Beethoven - Ode To Joy
Only the best for indie-folk sensation Conor Oberst, AKA Bright Eyes, who channels The Master (and makes an awful pun) on 'Road To Joy'.
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7. William Orbit - Adagio for Strings / Barber - Adagio for Strings
William Orbit's radical reworking of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is literally a pop classic.
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8. Queen - It's A Hard Life / Leoncavallo - 'Vesti La Giubba'
If anyone in the pop world was going to take on opera, it was Freddie Mercury. Here, he nabs the melody from Leoncavallo's 'Vesti La Giubba' from his opera Pagliacci.
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9. Sky - Toccata / Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
This one's not really a theft, in that Sky (who featured classical guitarist John Williams in their line-up, pictured) freely admit that it's a prog version of Bach's most famous organ piece.
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10. Muse - Plug in Baby / Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
While we're on the subject of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, why not take a listen to the nifty guitar riff for Muse's 'Plug In Baby'? Heard it somewhere before?
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11. Procul Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale / Bach - Air on a G String
They may well skip the light fandango and turn cartwheels across the floor, but Procul Harum are also some of the cheekiest pop borrowers we can think of. Have a listen to that organ - anyone else hear Bach's Air On A G-String? And does anyone want a cigar?
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12. Barry Manilow - Could It Be Magic / Chopin - Prelude in C Minor
The great Barry Manilow, purveyor of soppy pop hits and producer of his own wine, also spends his time using the chords from Chopin preludes in his songs. 'Could It Be Magic' borrows heavily from his Prelude in C minor.
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13. Pet Shop Boys - Go West / Pachelbel - Canon in D
We could've picked dozens of different pop songs that use the chord structure of Pachelbel's Canon in D, but few make it as fun as the Pet Shop Boys.
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14. Elvis Presley - It's Now Or Never / Eduardo di Capua - O Sole Mio
Elvis takes on the greats of opera with this romantic little ditty, the melody of which is inspired by 'O Sole Mio' by Eduardo di Capua. Also known as the Cornetto song.
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15. Lady Gaga - Alejandro / Csárdás - Monti
Csárdás by Vittorio Monti is neatly nabbed by Lady Gaga for the intro of her single 'Alejandro'.
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16. Beyonce - Schubert - Ave Maria
Miss Sasha Fierce herself calms down a bit now that she finally put a ring on it, and chills out with this lovely version of Schubert's Ave Maria.
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17. Starship - Sara / Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
This is a subtle one - listen to the end of the chorus of Starship's 'Sara' and you'll just be able to make out a descending motif from Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
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18. Nas - I Can / Beethoven - Für Elise
The world of hip-hop and classical music might not seem like natural bedfellows, but Nas has turned a sample of Beethoven's Für Elise into a rap smash.
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19. Mika - Grace Kelly / Rossini - Largo Al Factotum
Pint-sized pop person Mika has admitted on several occasions that he half-inched the melody for Rossini's 'Largo Al Factotum' from The Barber Of Seville on his hit 'Grace Kelly'.
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20. Radiohead - Exit Music For A Film / Chopin - Prelude No. 4 in E Minor
Cheery pop upstarts Radiohead took things down a notch or two with this mournful little number from their OK Computer album. Oh, and it subtly weaves in the melody from Chopin's Prelude No. 4 in E Minor.
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21. Lady Gaga - Bad Romance / Bach - The Well Tempered Clavier
That Gaga's at it again - this time stealing a harpsichord intro from Bach's Well Tempered Clavier.
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22. David Shire - Night On Disco Mountain / Mussorgsky - Night On Bald Mountain
We apologise - this one is plainly ridiculous. Where could one take a dramatic classical work like Mussorgsky's A Night On Bare Mountain and turn it into a shimmering disco work-out? The soundtrack from Saturday Night Fever, that's where.
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23. Sting - Russians / Prokofiev - Romance from Lieutenant Kije
Sting has since re-invented himself as a lute-wielding classical music enthusiast, but the seeds for his love of all things classical were sowed with this song - it deftly uses the melody from Prokofiev's Romance from Lieutenant Kijé.
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24. Ella Fitzgerald - My Reverie / Debussy - Reverie
Jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald finds an unlikely inspiration in the king of impressionism, Claude Debussy. Her 'My Reverie' is a delicate version of Debussy's 'Reverie'.
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25. Janelle Monáe - Say You'll Go / Debussy - Clair de Lune
Time for another fan of French impressionism in the pop world - Janelle Monae was discovered by Big Boi of OutKast and mentored by P. Diddy, but on 'Say You'll Go' it sounds like her heart belongs to Debussy. She puts a quote of his 'Clair De Lune' at the very end.
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26. The Beach Boys - Lady Lynda / Bach - Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
The symphonic ambitions of Brian Wilson are well-documented, but here The Beach Boys take it back to baroque with this pop restyling of JS Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring'.
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27. Take That - Never Forget / Verdi - Tuba Mirum from Requiem
Unlikely as it seems, Gary Barlow nabbed a trumpet fanfare from Verdi's Requiem to kick off one of Take That's most popular songs.
