THEIR reunion tour has only just begun, but The Who have quickly reverted to type, with Pete Townshend engaged in a cyber-feud with Roger Daltrey.

The guitarist’s blog reveals that the two surviving original band members have fallen out over Townshend’s plan to webcast each concert, with the proceeds going to charity. According to Townshend, the singer was unhappy that some songs on their lucrative tour would be broadcast free and was refusing to appear.

A sulky Townshend abandoned the plan, removed the link to The Who’s website from his blog and urged fans to bombard Daltrey with e-mails. Townshend writes that the only way fans will see The Who live on the web will be “if we can work out some way to pay Roger for exhibiting (or should I say exploiting) his magnificent image and vocals”.

He writes on www.petetownshend.co.uk: “Roger seems to think when I provide bandwidth for The Who website, and for live streaming, he is being exploited in some way and wants a piece of the future ‘profit’. Don’t think there is much chance of profit when it is all aimed at charity. Daltrey seems to be unconvinced that the web has any real contribution to make to our career, and I am not going to spend any more time or money mortgaging my half of the stage.”

Townshend calls on Daltrey to put his hand in his pocket if he wants a Who website because the guitarist will no longer fund web activities.

He tells Who fans: “If you believe Roger is wrong — and if 2.5 million minutes of Who clips viewed by fans on the web won’t convince him, we’ll need a lot of e-mails — please write and tell him at thegreatevilweb@hotmail.com”. Townshend will present the e-mails to Daltrey at a band meeting to resolve the “stalemate”.

The two have a month to settle the dispute before they are due to start a North American tour, which includes two nights at Madison Square Garden in New York.