I FEAR I was one of those who failed to give the necessary inspiration to Pete Townshend when he embarked on his 28-year quest to compose Lifehouse.

A NEW chapter is about to be written in the history of rock. The Who's Pete Townshend has written the sequel to Tommy, the massively successful Sixties rock opera. It has taken him just under 30 years to write.

Sean (left, with John) and Julian Lennon: You can hear the four- year-old Sean gurgling on some versions of "With a Little Help from my Friends" as his dad thrashes an electric guitar. Nineteen years on, Sean is energetically pursuing a career in avant-garde pop, though reception has been muted. His half-brother, Julian, enjoyed chart success, though the excitement surrounding his early career was never matched by musical credibility.

In the past 12 months there seem to have been a lot of famous sons and daughters trying to make their way in the world of rock 'n' roll. One of the most successful was the emergence into the mainstream of Eliza Carthy, while Rufus Wainwright released an album that surely must have made his father proud. Then there were the John Lennon offspring, Sean and Julian, who both had albums out, Pete Townshend's daughter Emma fronting a band, Eva Rice leading the Replicant Saints and Rolan Bolan (above) doing a few gigs in Britain.

PETE TOWNSHEND AND FRIENDS

What is it about old stars that keeps them hanging on and on and on?

Who shone at Reading? A teenage shelf-stacker from Doncaster making his first falsetto attempt at karaoke, says Ryan Gilbey

It's become a staple of the modern star's career that he, she or they will, once impregnably established on their own merits, start working backwards to the songs and to the people themselves that inspired them in the first place. Most artists are happy enough to appear on tribute albums to their faded heroes, but Nanci Griffith is going the whole hog, turning her very career into a living memorial to Texas icons from Townes Van Zandt to Buddy Holly, old pals from school and pretty much anyone she used to listen to on the radio.

Screen gem: San Francisco, hero of Hitchcock's re-released `Vertigo'. Muthena Paul Alkazraji checks out the town-turned-movie star

A professional musician whose career with top pop bands was wrecked by the Marchioness riverboat disaster yesterday accepted pounds 150,000 damages.

Elton John is 50. It's not too old to keep rocking. David Lister reports

Pete Townshend of the Who told a High Court judge in London yesterday of the "exceptional" style and virtuosity of a saxophonist whose career was destroyed by the Marchioness disaster.

A gifted saxophonist whose ability to control her breath helped her survive the Marchioness disaster will describe to the High Court in London today how her career with top rock bands was wrecked when she was plunged into the Thames.

Tonight, what's left of The Who play `Quadrophenia' at Earls Court. It's enough to make you weep - or smile.