Turks debate Adele song over similarity to Kurdish hit

British singer Adele has sparked a debate among Turkish music fans over a song on her latest album and a tune composed by an exiled Kurdish musician.

Some Turks said the melody in "Million Years Ago", track nine on her album "25", resembles that on Ahmet Kaya's "Acilara Tutunmak" (Clinging to Pain), which was recorded in 1985. 

Kaya died in exile 15 years ago.

"Adele has stolen a song from us," said one Twitter user named Esra Nur Aydogan on Twitter, sharing a picture of a man hanging a Turkish flag on his balcony in protest. 

However, Naim Dilmener, a Turkish music critic, told the Anadolu news agency that there were some similarities between the two songs but "not too much".

"I don't think Adele listened to Ahmet Kaya's song and copied it deliberately," Dilmener said, adding that he tought it was "an easy tune to figure out". 

Kaya's wife, Gulten Kaya, said it was unlikely for a global star like Adele to copy her husband's music.

Adele's third studio album has sold millions of copies in both Britain and the US, smashing records on either side of the Atlantic.