Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider claims Clive Palmer knew he had to pay to use song

The frontman of a US band has revealed that Clive Palmer’s political team were advised they would have to pay a licence fee to use their song.

The Twisted Sister versus Clive Palmer stoush has revved up again.

The frontman for the legendary 80s rockers Dee Snider has now revealed the businessman turned politician was aware he had to pay a licence fee to use their 1984 smash We’re Not Gonna Take It for his television ads.

Palmer has incensed the band with his unauthorised use of their song, rewritten as Australia’s Not Gonna Cop It, on ads for his United Australia Party.

Snider and the band’s manager Jay Jay French were alerted to the song’s use by fans and revealed on social media they did not endorse Palmer’s party and had not given permission for the clunky reimagination of their anti-authority anthem.

More: Clive Palmer’s row with Twisted Sister, how it began

Twisted Sister rocked up the charts in the mid 1980s with We’re Not Gonna Take It. Picture: Supplied.

Tweet from Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider about Clive Palmer seeking licence before using a song without permissionon a TV ad.

“Twisted Sister does not endorse Australian politician Clive Palmer, never heard of him and was never informed of Clive Palmer’s use of a rewritten version of our song We’re Not Gonna Take It,” French tweeted on Wednesday.

“We receive no money from its use and we are investigating how we can stop it.”

Snider was back in the fray on Friday after an interview on Melbourne radio station 3AW with University of Canberra copyright lawyer Dr Baer Arnold who said: “I think Clive is toast.”

“He appears to just have gone ahead and ripped them off, and he’s not going to win in court on that basis,” Dr Arnold told the station.

Dee Snider isn’t happy with Clive Palmer. Picture: Getty

Clive Palmer claims copyright over his rewritten lyrics for his party ads. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Snider responded to the interview by revealing on Twitter that Palmer’s team made contact with the band’s publishing company Universal about licensing the track and alleged they ripped off the song anyway when informed they would have to pay a fee.

“Oh it’s worst than that! @CliveFPalmer @PalmerUtdParty contacted my publishing company @UMG about licensing the song (which means they were aware that they had to) were told the licensing fee … THEN WENT OFF AND RECORDED IT WITHOUT A LICENSE! They can’t even claim ignorance!” Snider posted.

Palmer went rogue with his defence of his version of the song and told the American band to stay out of Australian politics.

“If [Twisted Sister] attempt to use my lyrics in any of their songs, I’ll not hesitate to take legal proceedings against them,” he said.

“As foreigners, they should stay out of Australian domestic politics and stay where they are. Aussies are not going to cop it at all!”

While the lawyers do their thing to sort out the copyright mess, Snider will be looking to settle the matter when the rocker heads to Sydney and Melbourne for a series of spoken word gigs from January 31.