By JACK KEATING -- Southam News

VANCOUVER - Sarah McLachlan thrilled a packed courtroom yesterday by singing and playing keyboards to an early version of Steaming from her first album Touch.

The superstar singer also broke down in tears as she explained the origin of Ben's Song, which she wrote in 1987 after learning a boy she used to babysit in Halifax had died of a brain tumor at age 11.

"I was very upset and, as usual, I turned to music as a solace," she told the court. "I started playing the piano and Ben's Song came out. All of the chorus came out in one evening."

McLachlan took the stand in B.C. Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed against her and Nettwerk Productions by musician Darryl Neudorf.

Wants co-producer credit

Neudorf, a Vancouver producer and former drummer with the band 54-40, claims he didn't receive sufficient financial compensation or credit for helping her develop four songs on Touch (Vox, Sad Clown, Steaming, and Strange World) and wants credit as co-producer of the album.

McLachlan answered questions about her songwriting process from her lawyer Jennifer Conkie, who called the singer as the defence's first witness after delivering a scathing opening statement that categorically denied Neudorf's claims.

"The defendants say that not only does the plaintiff have an exaggerated sense of his own importance in the Touch project, but that he has fabricated and taken undue credit in various parts of his testimony," Conkie told Justice Bruce Cohen, who is hearing the civil case without a jury.

Strong, clear evidence

McLachlan, Nettwerk co-founders Mark Jowett and Terry McBride, and Touch producer Greg Reely will provide strong, clear evidence contradicting Neudorf's version of what his contributions were in the recording of Touch, said Conkie. Bill Henderson, best known as the frontman for the band Chilliwack, will provide expert testimony on the process of songwriting, the process of assigning credit, and compensation in the music industry.

She said evidence will show Neudorf has "recast, forgotten, or made up conversations that never occurred, including discussions about his alleged songwriting credits."

McLachlan praised Neudorf at one point for helping keep her on track as she began working on Touch, the first album in a five-record deal with Nettwerk.

But she was also sharply critical, lashing out at his claim she once asked him the difference between a verse and chorus - part of a suggestion that she needed his guidance.

"I was quite insulted and indignant to hear the plaintiff saying I asked the difference," she said. "That's ridiculous. Of course I knew the difference. I had been studying music for years."