Rail company stole my soundtrack idea

A musician has accused a rail company of plagiarism, claiming it “stole” his idea of creating a soundtrack for commuters and replaced him with younger, more fashionable acts.

Steve Spiro spent a year writing and recording a concept album as a real-time soundtrack to his commute home from Victoria to East Grinstead before approaching Southern Railway.

He held several meetings with Southern but was eventually told the company’s PR company Good Relations and advertising agency VCCP had decided his idea would be of “little value”.

Nine months on, he said, he saw posters for “his” idea for Gatwick Express, which is operated by Southern. The advert offers a 30-minute track “inspired by the journey from London to Gatwick” created by dubstep DJ and producer Benga, R & B group The Milk and composer Philip Sheppard.

Mr Spiro, 51, a creative director for a Soho-based music firm, who has worked with The Pet Shop Boys and MC Hammer, said he was “bitter”. “It was exactly the same campaign idea I had taken to VCCP/Southern nine months earlier. They even used my tagline Soundtrack to Your Journey,” Mr Spiro alleged.

Southern denied plagiarism, claiming he was not the first person to combine train journeys with music.

Liam Ludlow, customer service manager of Southern & Gatwick Express, added in a letter: “Views out of a train window coupled with music are not an ownable intellectual property and never will be.

"Creating music inspired by a train journey is not new and dates back to Benjamin Britten or before.” Britten wrote the music for the 1936 documentary Night Mail.

Southern said: “Mr Spiro’s idea of promoting his album for passengers was considered and rejected as it was not considered to have a useful shelf-life for a busy commuter service.

The idea of composing and/or recording music on board a train is not a new one, nor is the concept of listening to music which synchronises with a journey.”