Pop stars Eliza Doolittle and Sam Smith are being sued by an unknown songwriter who claims she wrote the lyrics they wrote on chart hits.
Katie Farrah Sopher alleges that her songbook was stolen by her 'violent' ex-boyfriend Sean Sawyers, who sold her work on to music industry contacts.
In legal documents seen by The Mail on Sunday, Sopher is claiming more than £200,000 in damages over four songs.
Three of them are from the Surrey-based duo Disclosure: Latch, which reached number 11 in the charts and featured Smith on vocals; the number two hit White Noise; and You and Me, which featured Doolittle.
Stolen: Kate Farrah Sopher claims that Eliza Doolittle's (pictured) collaboration with Disclosure - You and Me - uses the words from lyrics she wrote
Compensation: Sopher is now claiming over £200,000 in damages after alleging that four of her songs was stolen - one of which went on become a hit for Sam Smith (pictured)
Sopher, from East London, is also seeking damages from dance duo AlunaGeorge, both for their contribution to White Noise and because she claims she wrote the lyrics to their top 20 success Attracting Flies.
In her testimony Sopher said the lyrics of all four songs sprang from the suffering she endured during a toxic five-year relationship, including references to domestic violence leaving her 'black and blue' in 2013's White Noise.
The statement alleges Sawyers 'attempted to control [Sopher], was jealous and possessive and... believed she was cheating on him, which made him violent and reluctant to allow [her] to speak to other men.'
Sawyers denies all the allegations against him.
Sopher claims she wrote the lyrics in a songbook which went missing shortly after she split from Sawyers in 2009.
She subsequently discovered they had been set to music and had become major hits. But in a defence filed with the High Court, Sawyers strongly rejected Sopher's claims.
He states: 'I am denying all the allegations... There is zero truth to the claims made against me. I never saw the book the claimant mentions... [so] I could not have committed the alleged damages, theft, copyright infringement.'
Sawyers declined to comment further last night, while Sopher and all the musicians involved did not respond to requests for comment.
As she gears up for the March 9 release of her album, Rebel Heart, Madonna appears to be intent on peppering her fans with an onslaught of images to satiate their appetites.
And on Saturday morning, the 56-year-old pop superstar stayed true to her newly embraced ethos as she took to Instagram to share a pair of selfies where her cleavage took centre stage.
Captioned 'I'm not gonna stop' and 'I deserve the best', the filtered images showed the mother-of-four glaring into the lens in come-hither poses as she wore a striped tank top.
Grin and bare it: Madonna shared a pair of cleavage-baring shots on her Instagram account on Saturday
Within four hours of being unveiled, the pictures attracted a total of 45,000 likes and a seemingly endless stream of comments both praising and criticising the star.
The photographs mark something of a change of pace for the star, who was last week accused by by many of social media of using the recent terrorist attack in Paris to promote her upcoming album.
She posted a series of photos to her Instagram to offer support after 12 people were killed in the gun attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices.
Pout-rageous: The star gave her followers her best come-hither poses in the filtered shots
But as Madonna offered encouraging words in the captions for her social media images, she also provided some hashtags which were in promotion of her new album.
The controversy comes on the heels of the pop icon likening the recent leak of her album to a 'form of terrorism' - her comments coming just after the world was left in shock following the Sydney Siege.
Madonna posted a viral image 'Je suis Charlie' (I am Charlie) with the caption: 'These are very scary times we are living in. Ignorance breeds Intolerance and fear. We can only fight darkness with light! We are all Charlie! #revolutionoflove [heart] #rebelhearts.'
Controversy: Madonna is being accused by many online commentators of using the recent terrorist attack in Paris to promote her album Rebel Heart, pictured arriving in New York on Wednesday
Revolution Of Love is a track off her album Rebel Hearts, both of which she used as hashtags at the end of her post.
Another image on her Instagram is of Parisians taking to the streets in solidarity following the Paris attack.
She captioned the photo: 'We must respect all religions!' she wrote. 'we must also RESPECT human life!! Killing in the name of G*D is man's idea not G*D's!!!!#livingforlove #rebelheart'.
Respect: The star uploaded a shot of the protests, urging her followers to respect all religions and lives
Many celebrity blogs and online fans have found the posts to be in poor taste, including Bustle's Maitri Mehta, who wrote: 'Madonna has been aggressive in the promotion for her new album, but I am surprised that she didn’t realize — or no one advised her — that in the wake of such a senseless attack, self-promotion is definitely prohibited.'
Madonna has most recently been in the press for posting Instagram photos of Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela that were altered to look like her own image on her new album.
The images sparked furore online as many believed she was comparing herself to these revolutionaries and civil rights leaders.
'Ignorance breeds intolerance and fear': She became one of many to embrace the 'Je Suis Charlie' snap
In a statement on her official Facebook page, Madonna said: 'I'm sorry. I'm not comparing my self to anyone. I'm admiring and acknowledging there Rebel Hearts (sic)'.
The Queen of Pop's cover for the album Rebel Heart is a close-up of her face with black string on it, which has been the subject of countless Internet memes, with other iconic artists Photoshopped into the same template.
She added: 'This is niether a crime or an insult or racist! I also did it with Michael jaclson and frida khalo and marilyn monroe (sic).'
New album: Madonna has aggressively been promoting Rebel Heart
'Am I saying I am them NO I'm saying they are Rebel Hearts too. And I didn't do it My fans did And I just re posted those photos My fans aren't racist either If they put me in the same category as these other people Thank you.'
And it has been a busy and very controversial past few weeks for the star.
When Madonna, in December, likened her album leak to terrorism it came during the horrific week when the deadly hostage crisis in Sydney and the devastating Taliban school massacre in Pakistan occurred.
So it seemed particularly insensitive when Madonna likened the leak of her upcoming album to a 'form of terrorism.'
Livid: After her new album leaked online, Madonna lashed out calling the incident 'artistic rape'
When the skeletal remains of Hollywood screenwriter Gary Devore were found strapped into his Ford Explorer submerged beneath the California Aqueduct in 1998 it brought an end to one of America's most high profile missing person cases.
The fact that Devore was on his way to deliver a film script that promised to explain the 'real reason' why the US invaded Panama, has long given rise to a slew of conspiracies surrounding the nature of his 'accidental' death.
It didn't help that Devore's hands were missing from the crash scene, along with the script, and that investigators could offer no plausible explanation as to how a car could leave the highway and end up in the position it was found a year after he disappeared.
Now the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal that Devore was working with the CIA in Panama and even a White House source concedes his mysterious death bears all the hallmarks of a cover-up.
The findings, published in a new documentary The Writer With No Hands, are the first testimonies ever aired that give credence to the theories that surrounded the case in the late 90s.
Mystery: Gary Devore was a revered writer before he mysteriously disappeared on June 28, 1997, on his way to deliver a controversial script about the US invasion of Panama alleging there was an ulterior motive
Accident? Devore, a former truck driver, was found dead in the California Aqueduct a year later but his Toshiba laptop contained the finished script was missing from his Ford Explorer, as were his hands
Chillingly, the British research team - which was warned to drop the investigation by a Department of Defense contractor - has also secured testimony from the coroner which reveals the human hands said to be recovered from Devore's car were in fact around 200 years old.
'Someone in authority lied. Or made a shocking error,' producer Dr Matthew Alford tells DailyMail.com.
'There could be an innocent explanation for the ahnds but it is as extraordinary as the conspiracy theory and very suspicious.'
Devore, who wrote Dogs Of War, Raw Deal and Time Cop, had been working on his directorial debut: The Big Steal.
Once a truck driver, he had made a successful career shift into Hollywood. He was a friend to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tommy Lee Jones's best man, and ex-boyfriend of Janet Jackson.
The Big Steal, he told friends, would be 'the hardest hitting film studios have ever seen', featuring 'disturbing details' about the US invasion of Panama.
The first draft of the script, shown exclusively to the Daily Mail, tells the story of American operatives robbing a Panamanian bank to cover up for 'something much more serious'.
His widow, Wendy Devore (pictured with Devore) has since discovered he spent time in Panama with the CIA
Hollywood: Devore (left) became a screenwriter, working with actors and friends like Kurt Russell (right)
Revered: He wrote the script for Raw Deal, which starred his close friend Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1986
Discrepancies? These are the bones that were sent to a coroner for Devore's autopsy. The coroner told British producer Dr Matthew Alford he believes the bones to be around 200 years old
Revelations? General Manuel Noriega (pictured being detained by the US Marine Corps) allegedly had a stash of sex tapes featuring senior CIA officials which he recorded during parties thrown at his home in Panama
One line reads: 'With good natured suspicion, Romos speculates on US intent. All this to pick up Noriega?'
Another: 'It sounds like the Pentagon planned the bank robbery and the war is just a diversion.'
Devore's research for the end product included an article from London's now defunct Sunday Correspondent alleging dictator General Manuel Noriega had compiled a stash of sex tapes featuring top-ranking US officials.
Noriega, the article explains, ran a well-known 'honey trap': inviting diplomats to his home filled with alcohol, drugs, beautiful women, and beautiful men - and covertly filming their antics.
After years of research, Dr Alford suggests the film may have implied the invasion was nothing more than a diversion that would allow the US into Panama to steal back incriminating photos of senior US officials that Noriega could have used as blackmail.
According to Devore's widow Wendy, there was a constant stream of phone calls from CIA officials in the month leading up to Devore's death.
She told DailyMail.com: 'When we first married he told me he got a lot of calls from government agencies. He told me to ignore it, so I did. If the phone rang, I could take a message or say he was out, but not to speak to them really.
'We had a few at first, then not very many. Then in the last month one man was calling all the time.
'He was dealing in things that you're not necessarily supposed to deal in.
'I found out a lot of people in Hollywood had these connections with the CIA and knew things that will never be made public.
'After he disappeared, things just didn't add up.
'It's very easy to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but when you're married to someone you know little things about them that seem insignificant but are actually crucial. I know there are things that don't add up.'
The CIA declined to comment.
However, a former White House official from the Regan/George HW Bush era has now confirmed to documentary producer Dr Matthew Alford, that Devore harbored a deep-rooted relationship with the agency and traveled with officials to Central American companies including Panama. Documents also reveal the relationship was investigated by the FBI.
Speaking on camera, he concedes the case has the hallmarks of a cover-up.
Relationships: Devore dated Janet Jackson (left) and was briefly married to actress Claudia Christian (right)
Ex-wife: Nat King Cole's widow Maria Cole married Devore in 1969. They divorced in 1978
Other girlfriends: He also went out with actresses Season Hubley (left) and Patricia Barnes (right)
Devore's widow, who has since looked into the allegations, said she has discovered Gary traveled to Panama with a senior CIA official when he had said he was going to a location with his production team.
Wendy told DailyMail.com: 'I think the information that I have learned since he disappeared has pointed very strongly to the fact that he had another life and it points to the intelligence community certainly.
'I was never told about it beforehand because I think it was another method of keeping me safe and keeping me from asking questions.
'He told me he was going on location 'reckies'. I think sometimes he was but I have since found out he often wasn't with the crews he said he was.
'He went away a lot with members of the CIA special ops. They went to Panama together.'
On the night of his disappearance, Devore, aged 55, had gone to the Santa Fe home of his friend and long-time collaborator, actress Marsha Mason, on June 27, 1997, to finish the final draft of the script, carrying all his research on his Toshiba laptop.
He called Wendy late that night to say he had finished and was driving home with the finished piece.
At 1.15am, he said he was around four hours away and might stop at a motel to polish the script. Wendy told him to come home because he had a party planned for the next day to watch Mike Tyson's notorious fight against Evan Holyfield. That was the last contact anybody had with Devore.
Within a week of his disappearance, men from the FBI, CIA, NSA and DOD arrived at the couple's Santa Barbara home.
He went away a lot with members of the CIA special ops when I thought he was filming. They went to Panama together
Devore's widow, Wendy
After an official went into his office, the computer was wiped of information. Devore's remaining research material disappeared during this period.
A search team spent a year tracking Devore's gas station stops and cell phone signal. They pinpointed his route on the Highway 14 south of the Mojave desert, and all the land around that route.
Finally, an amateur detective Douglas Crawford had a 'hunch' that he could be under the California Aqueduct, as that was the location of another recent death.
Although it had already been searched by helicopters and people on the ground, he was right: Devore was there.
When Devore's car was found, his Toshiba laptop was not in the car, nor was his gun or ammunition which had been under the seat.
Crawford refused DailyMail.com's request for a comment on this investigation.
A police report stated Devore had evidently driven off the aqueduct, which Dr Alford disputes.
'Newspapers speculated that Gary stopped for a break and then got back on the freeway travelling the wrong direction. However, to do this, Gary would have needed to have ignored 'Do Not Enter' signs and driven over two miles the wrong way on the freeway without realizing.
'Despite the crash happening at night and there being no lighting on the freeway, Gary's car headlights were found in the "OFF" position. I consequently tried driving like this and it's horrific and impossible.
'Gary had worked as a professional long haul driver, so friends and family do not believe he would have done anything daft on the road, even if he was tired.'
Wendy, whose request to read the confidential police files was refused, agrees.
'There are things that don't add up,' she said. 'When he called me the last time he sounded strange and agitated.
'When they found him in that aqueduct, which had been searched already by the way, he was wearing a seat belt with his wallet in his back pocket.
Crime scene: Police said Devore accidentally drove on the wrong side of the aqueduct and drove off the side into the water. British producer, Dr Matthew Alford, simulated the route and claims it is near-impossible
Search: Devore's widow says she had hired a team to search the area a year before he was discovered
Pulled out: The case was signed off and the CIA and Santa Barbara police state it was an accidental death
'Ask anyone who knew Gary: he never wore seat belts, and truck drivers never drive with their wallet in their back pocket.'
For 18 years Wendy has been calling to see the confidential reports done on her husband's disappearance, and broadcasting her belief that the CIA had a hand in it.
The agency is openly cooperative with Hollywood: in 1996, the role of Entertainment Liaison Officer was created to provide filmmakers with factual advice and authentic props.
Chase Brandon, a CIA operative who was a special operative in Panama for 25 years (and Tommy Lee Jones's cousin), was appointed.
The agency does not deny that, before Brandon's appointment, filmmakers gathered research on CIA language, style, systems, and even operations on an unofficial basis.
Indeed, Tricia Jenkins, author of The CIA In Hollywood, told DailyMail.com she has recently acquired new evidence showing how the CIA worked off-the-books to influence Hollywood scripts to an extent never previously known.
She said: 'In this documentation, concerning one major Hollywood movie, it is clear that the CIA functioned as the principle partner in shaping the original script and its influence exceeded that which would have been filled by an aggressive producer or studio executive.'
Devore's meetings however were 'beyond anything that could be considered normal for a screenwriter,' Alford says.
One of Hollywood's top private investigators Don Crutchfield, hired by Wendy Devore in 1997, attributes immense importance to the script.
'If I had that script in my hand, I could tell you what happened to Gary Devore,' said Crutchfield, who has worked for Michael Jackson and The Beatles after working as a bodyguard for Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.
The Writer With No Hands and an accompanying book by Dr Matthew Alford will be released in September 2015.
Change: The girl's family say she wasn't deeply religious and used to wear mini skirts until she met Abu Aluevitsj Edelbijev, above right
The family of a pregnant teenager who killed a police officer in a suicide bomb attack have described her as a normal teenager who wore mini-skirts and make-up.
Diana Ramazanova, from Russia's Muslim region of Dagestan, detonated grenades in front of the Istanbul tourism police station in Turkey last week.
Family say the teen had totally changed after meeting Abu Aluevitsj Edelbijev online.
She married the Norwegian citizen of Chechen origin, in a religious ceremony last year, either in Istanbul or in Syria, according to Turkish media.
Her uncle, Magomed Ramazanov said she had previously not shown an interest in Islam and her actions were totally out of character.
He said: “Before leaving for Turkey, she was not deeply religious.
“On the contrary, she was even depraved. In Moscow, Diana worked in the restaurant at the Kursk station. I always scolded her for wearing short skirts.”
News site lifenews.ru also quoted a Moscow teacher as saying: “I even rebuked her for wearing unsuitable clothes at school.”
Pictures have emerged of Ramazanova before she was married, showing a normal teenager who took good care of her appearance.
But she has now been dubbed a black widow - the label given to female suicide bombers from the Caucasus who carried out attacks after their husbands were killed by Russian security forces.
Following the attack her mother Raizanat recognised pictures of her daughter and gave a blood sample for a DNA test.
It is believed she entered Turkey on a tourist visa in May 2014, but her husband may have entered the country illegally.
From their, the pair crossed the border from Turkey into Syria in July to join IS fighters.
He reportedly took the name of Idris while she became known as Sumeyra.
After her new husband was killed in December, she went back to Turkey and stayed for 11 days at the Kadikoy Bade Hotel.
After a tough 2014 dominated by her on-off romance with dodgy muscleman David McIntosh, glamorous Kelly Brook leapt at the chance to reinvent herself by landing a major American sitcom role.
And as you can see from these pictures, the pin-up has dived into the serious acting world with enthusiasm... well I suppose it was never going to be Hamlet, was it?
Yesterday US network NBC launched the first trailer for One Big Happy, which sees her playing British barmaid Prudence, who is shocked to find her new husband is expecting a baby with his lesbian friend.
Full frontal: Kelly bares her boobs - and more - in One Big Happy
It’s a full one minute and 14 seconds into the trailer before Kelly strips naked – but I suppose sometimes it’s best to stick to what you know.
Standing in the buff – with a little helpful pixelation to preserve her modesty – Kelly’s character asks her co-stars: “How would I do on the lesbian market? I don’t think I’ve ever been appraised.”
The 90-second trailer sees her grin her way through a series of cliched one-liners, all backed up with a dose of over-the-top laughter – the show is filmed in front of a live audience. I’m sure there was more than One Big Happy bloke watching on...
See snaps from Kelly's night out with David McIntosh in Manchester:
But while it seems unlikely the Golden Globes will come calling, TV executives are already convinced that the March series – produced by chat show supremo Ellen DeGeneres – will be a huge hit.
Kelly is eager to shake off her lads’ mag image but has admitted in the past: “I’ve often wondered where I’d be without my boobs.”
She last stripped off in horror comedy Piranha 3D, which proved a huge box office success despite being described as “trash” in reviews. Say what you like about Kelly, she knows her strengths...
