Will I be thrown out of the club if I admit I'm much more familliar with "Battlefield" than "Kayleigh"? I know the Benatar tune by heart (which I know for a fact now that you've put into my head, you SOB
) but I had to do something somewhat shady to get Marillion's song to remind me....
On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being a passing resemblance and 5 being out and out plagiarism) they're at least a 3.
The verse structure is identical ( i - vii - v - vi or something like that) which wouldn't be such a big deal (how many I - IV - V songs are there?) except that it's significantly more uncommon. Additionally, the clean clipped chording and side-stick rhythm of the verse is similar, as is the guitar solo (tone as well as style) and it certainly doesn't help that they both have the characteristic 80's style production.
On the other hand, "Battlefield" lacks a distinct chorus section, using a variation of the verse instead, and generally doesn't change much from start to finish; "Kayleigh" has a more traditional, almost anthemic major-key chorus. So I couldn't put it in the 'obvious rip-off' realm, but it's definitely approaching the 'My Sweet Lord/ He's So Fine' category.
But most importantly, Pat used to be a hottie...whereas I never felt any attraction for Fish.