At the end of 2014 and into 2015, not one but two songs referencing the actor Michelle Pfeiffer were charting on the Billboard Hot 100: Vance Joy‘s “Riptide,” and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars‘ “Uptown Funk.” A decade later, Vance reminds ABC Audio that his song was released first, but he bears no ill will toward the “Uptown Funk” guys.
“That’s a good song, and it’s proved to be a good song ’cause it’s so popular,” Vance, born James Keogh, says.
On the off chance that Ronson and Mars did hear “Riptide” while they were working on “Uptown Funk,” Keogh doesn’t think they purposefully copied his song.
“I think it would’ve come out in a really subliminal way,” Keogh says. “Then it’s like, ‘OK, well, it’s perfect, we can’t beat it, we’re not gonna say another person’s name,’ ’cause it won’t have the same power.'”
In remembering how he first came up with the Pfeiffer reference for “Riptide,” Keogh shares he was “obsessed with the Batman Returns movie” as a kid.
“She was an amazing Catwoman,” Keogh says. “I watched that film so many times, I got it for Christmas when I was, like, 7 or 8.”
In addition to knowing that his song came first, Keogh is comforted by the fact that Pfeiffer is aware of her shout-out in “Riptide” and even sent him a gift.
“I guess we follow each other on Instagram,” Keogh says. “She has a fragrance that she’s created, and she sent me a sampler kit to my house in Melbourne.”
“Riptide” appears on the debut Vance Joy album, 2014’s Dream Your Life Away. Vance is celebrating its 10th anniversary on a U.S. tour, which continues Thursday in New York City.
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