Nile Rodgers condemns right-wing Swiss party for using ‘We Are Family’ ‘soundalike’

Rodgers said he wrote 1979 hit to be ‘the ultimate song about inclusion and diversity’

Nile Rodgers has asked the Swiss Peoples’ Party (SVP) to desist from using a “soundalike” version of “We Are Family”, which he wrote and produced for Sister Sledge in 1979.

The right-wing political party released a campaign video on Monday titled “Das Isch d’SVP” (”That’s the SVP”), which allegedly uses the same melody for its chorus as Rodgers’s Seventies hit.

The music video, which featured several SVP members dancing along to the tune, was quickly removed from YouTube after Sony Music claimed it violated copyright.

On X (formerly Twitter), Rodgers said: “I wrote ‘We Are Family’ to be the ultimate song about inclusion and diversity at all levels, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

“I condemn its use by the SVP (Swiss People’s party) or anyone else not keeping with the values of the song and all decent people. The purpose of the song is to bring joy to all with no exclusions!”

The Independent has contacted the SVP for comment.

Thomas Matter, an SVP delegate who is the credited artist behind the song under the moniker DJ Tommy, told the Swiss tabloid Blick that the campaign anthem was not related to “We Are Family.”

“I know the song by Sister Sledge, that’s also a super song”, said Matter. “But ‘Das Isch d’SVP’ was written especially for this project and has nothing to do with ‘We Are Family.’

“Of course, in pop music, there are a million songs that sound alike, there’s nothing surprising or new about that”, he added.

The Guardian reports that in a previous profile about the politician, a Swiss magazine notes that “We Are Family” is the ringtone on his mobile phone.

The SVP, which is the country’s largest political party, emphasises policies on Euroscepticism and anti-immigration and has been repeatedly accused of demonising Islam.

In 2017, Switzerland's highest court ruled that the SVP had violated anti-racism laws in a controversial campaign slogan that read: “Kosovars cut up the Swiss.”

Rodgers, meanwhile, is known for his political activism as well as his music; he was a subsection leader of the New York Black Panther Party as a teenager.

In a similar order, the production company behind Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s recent film Aircondemned the Trump campaign for using their work in fundraising videos earlier this year.