Clearly relishing his 15 minutes of fame, British rocker Billy Childish responded to Jack White's churlish charges of plagiarism in an open letter to the White Stripes frontman.

"Though I have undoubtedly angered Jack White, I think it's a bit nasty of him to accuse me of plagiarism merely because his former admiration of my work was not reciprocated. It all smacks of jealousy to me. I have a bigger collection of hats, a better moustache, a more blistering guitar sound and a fully developed sense of humour. The only thing I can't understand is why I'm not rich. Yours sincerely, Billy Childish."

Childish addressed the plagiarism charge in a post script, "I always stay well within the music industries recommended guidelines of never plagiarising more than 50% of my material. But no matter who my influences may be, I would never stoop so low as to rip off Led Zeppelin."

In conclusion, Childish added, "P.P.S I hope I've gone and offended Led Zeppelin."

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones have yet to comment on the issue.

Labels: Jack White