full size One Direction at an autograph signing in Germany 9/22/12
Credit: WENN

Considering One Direction got their start singing covers on The X Factor UK, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that their sound is inspired by old classics. On the show, they got rave reviews singing songs from Brits like Elton John and The Beatles.

But have they taken it too far? When they released their single “What Makes You Beautiful” from debut album Up All Night, One Direction got called out for the song’s musical similarities to “Summer Nights” from Grease.

With their new single “Live While We’re Young,” they’ve taken it back across the pond to their native England. The song’s opening bars sure sound an awful lot like a seminal classic from another band — The Clash!

So, were the boys on the defensive about borrowing the bars from “Should I Stay or Should I Go”? Nope. “It’s kind of on purpose... it’s a great riff,” Harry Styles admitted to the AP.

Fair enough, we suppose, but let’s just hope they keep looking to smart, catchy songs for inspiration. In fact, we nominate that other British fivesome for their next “borrowing” act — a little Spice Girls perhaps? That’s what we want... (what we really really want...)

Source: MTV

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