Suffolk star Ed Sheeran is being sued for £76.4million for allegedly ripping off parts of a classic 70s hit.

The singer-songwriter has been accused of copying parts of Marvin Gaye’s classic Let’s Get It On while working on his chart-topper Thinking Out Loud.

According to legal documents lodged in New York, the Suffolk star’s 2014 track copies the “melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping” of Gaye’s 1973 song.

The claim has been brought by Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which owns part of the copyright of Gaye’s song.

Gaye, who was shot dead by his father in 1984, co-wrote the track alongside Edward Townsend in 1973. Townsend died in 2003 but SAS bought one-third of the copyright.

Ed previously faced legal action after the heirs of Townsend also alleged Thinking Out Loud copied Gaye’s hit – but the star denied the allegations.

The album X, which features Sheeran’s song, sold more than 15million copies.

It was also nominated for a Grammy for Song Of The Year in 2015.

Other defendants listed in the claim include Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the Atlantic record label and Amy Padge, Sheeran’s co-writer on the song.

SAS is owned by David Pullman, the creator of the so-called Bowie Bonds, which saw David Bowie sell off bonds for £42 million backed by royalties from his catalogue.