Are you, like very few people, strangely captivated by the copyright saga currently surrounding Alex Lloyd's massive hit 'Amazing'? Yesterday Clem talked about how truck driver/musician Mark O'Keefe, the fellow who is suing Lloyd, has his updated recollection of how things went down and revealed he now believes he wrote the song with Lloyd up to two years later than he originally stated when he launched legal action.

A mysterious commenter named Sam contacted us and gave us a very, very lengthy version of events from "someone who was actually there".

It's just someone's opinion, and there's no way for us to verify it (thank GOD for the legal system, eh? Imagine if Defamer Australia was left in charge of running things!) but it may prove to be an interesting read.

Please get your facts right before you crucify a brilliant songwriter and singer. Mark was not a truck driver at the time, he had only started driving a truck in the last couple of years to support his family. Maybe if Alex had of come clean with the copyright, he would not have needed to. Mark O'keefe has always been, and still is, a professional musician. You make him sound like a truck driver leaning on the bar getting drunk. Mark O'keefe wrote the song "Amazing" and this was witnessed by many people at the Bridge hotel in 1991. At the time in question Mark O'keefe and his band "What's Next" were performing to a packed hotel. When the band had finished to a standing ovation, Mark was approached by Alex Lloyd, then (Slim La Beef) or (Slim) from his Band "Slim La Beef and the Spare Ribs" as he was known.

What's Next was not just your average mediocre pub band either, and had many guest artists, including Stevie Wright (Easybeats) Paul Day (Iron Maiden) and Laurie Marlow (Heaven), to name a few.

Back then there were about a dozen local bands doing the Balmain circuit which "What's Next" and "The Beefs" were part of; they all knew each other well. Alex was astounded, that of all the local blues bands, his included, Mark O'keefe and his band "What's Next" were playing over thirty original songs at the time, and they were good. After congratulating Mark on a great night, Alex asked him, "how did you write all those great songs". Mark then spent a couple of hours in deep conversation with Alex, including discussing the art of song writing, before Slim again asked the question, "but how do you write a song?", to which Mark replied, "I'll show you, we will write one now". After a while there were words written on coasters all over their table, with no input from Slim whatsoever, and then it was time to go home.

As Slim had not yet contributed to the song, and as a bit of a lesson, it was agreed that Slim should take the coasters home with him and finish off the lyrics, so that he could have his input into the song and return it to Mark for further input and approval, which never eventuated, and Alex avoided Mark thereafter, whereby the two of them lost touch with each other.

As for Mark changing his story, as far as I know, this is not the case. Mark has always affirmed that he knew Alex from around 1989 onwards, and had other indepth discussions with Alex apart from the night in question. Alex was a local kid, who everybody knew, who spent many a day busking around Balmain, and Mark knew he had a great future ahead of him due to his brilliant vocal ability. Otherwise, Mark would not have put in so much of his own creative energy into helping him on the night in question.

People go their own ways and by the time Alex Lloyd, alias (Slim La Beef) released "Amazing", Mark was moving to New Zealand, so he and his wife could look after his sick mother-in-law. Can you imagine what it feels like for an average person, with average income, to go up against a giant like Sony Music. That was Marks dilemma, and with that in mind, I think anyone could understand the delay in taking action.

Mark felt ripped off and betrayed and this has been brewing in Mark for long time and he has finally built up the courage to have a go and bring the truth to the surface, so please don't crucify a brilliant song writer and singer, that I hope will continue to write wonderful and beautiful writings. By the way, Mark has 30 years of musical experience behind him to back up his case. How are you going to back up yours? By jumping through the nearest time portal and transporting yourself back to 1955 when Velcro was first patented? Your not very good at research are you??? I believe I have made my point. From someone who was actually there!

And there you have... something. We anxiously await the court's verdict.

Tags: alex lloyd | amazing stories | au | legal