LONDON - A songwriter went to court on Tuesday claiming Swedish pop group Roxette stole one of his songs, robbing him of potential earnings and causing him "seven years of emotional trauma".

  Stephan Malmstedt, a Swede living in London, told Britain's High Court his compatriot Per Gessle, Roxette's songwriter, copied the tune of the band's 1994 hit "Sleeping in my Car" from one of his own songs, "Jenny and I". He appeared in court without a lawyer, and cross-examined Per Gessle himself.

  Malmstedt says he sent a copy of "Jenny and I" to Roxette's record label EMI in 1991 and that it must have found its way into Gessle's hands.

  Gessle, who formed Roxette with fellow Swede Marie Fredriksson in the mid-1980s, denies the charges.

  The judge was treated to recordings of both songs in the normally austere courtroom in central London.

  The case continues.