For All The Dogs is finally out and while plenty of Drake fans have been celebrating the release, some of his fellow stars are not so happy to hear the new LP — namely, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the English synth-pop duo known as Pet Shop Boys. On Twitter (because “X” is a dumb name) they have claimed that Drake’s album used a portion of one of their own songs uncredited and without permission.
“Surprising to hear @Drake singing the chorus of ‘West End Girls’ in the track ‘All The Parties’ on his new album,” they wrote. “No credit given or permission requested.” On Tidal, the listed lyricists include A. Graham (Drake himself), B. Saint Ford, H. Arsenault, M. Bidaye, and M. Samuels, with placeholders for producers Coleman, Fierce, and J Dolla (the list likely being submitted at the last minute without getting the producers’ legal names). Tennant and Lowe are not included.
Surprising to hear @Drake singing the chorus of “West End girls” in the track “All the Parties” on his new album. No credit given or permission requested.#PetText #kobaltmusic #WestEndgirls #Drake #PetShopBoys pic.twitter.com/P5siIccTw9
— Pet Shop Boys (@petshopboys) October 6, 2023
On “All The Parties,” which features Chief Keef and potentially disses fellow Toronto star The Weeknd according to fan speculation, Drake croons, “And it’s 6, our town a dead end world / East End boys and West End girls.” This is pretty much word for word the chorus of “West End Girls,” comprised of the refrain “In a West End town, a dead end world / The East End boys and West End girls.”
If it’s true that Drake went ahead and included the lyrics without permission, he could soon come to regret his habit of finishing up albums at the last minute and releasing this one without getting his ducks in a row.
For more on how songwriting credits work, check out our interview with recording industry veteran Naima Cochrane.
Source: https://uproxx.com/music/drake-pet-shop-boys-west-end-girls-no-permission-all-the-parties/