THE OX FEUD

THE three women in the life of dead rock legend John Entwistle are locked in a vicious feud.

The Who bassist's first wife Alison and long-term girlfriend Lisa Pritchard-Johnson banned his second wife Maxine from attending his funeral on Wednesday.

As mourners gathered to pay their respects to the musician - nicknamed Ox for his silent strength - Maxine was sitting at home in the US after being ordered to stay away.

On the surface, it was an occasion for rock's finest to mourn one of their own.

Who singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend hugged each other and wept for their friend, found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room last month aged 57, apparently from natural causes.

But behind the scenes, a bitter row was raging over Maxine's absence.

Alison, the mother of Entwistle's son Chris, has long blamed Maxine for the break-up of her marriage.

Little love has been lost between them since Maxine met Entwistle back-stage at a Who gig in Los Angeles in 1986, where Alison claims she "stole" him from her.

Now Alison has joined forces with Lisa, 46, Entwistle's girlfriend for the past six years, who is said to loathe Maxine because of the amount of money she demanded when she and John divorced.

London-born Entwistle's funeral was held in the 12th-Century church of St Edward in Stow-on-the-Wold, the Cotswold village where he lived for 27 years.

Alison told a mourner at the ceremony: "I don't want that woman here - not today. She doesn't have any right to be here. She stole my darling.""

Lisa confided to another mourner: "There was no way I was going to let her be here." The mourner said: "Both Lisa and Alison were trying to lay claim to his memory. It was all a little undignified."

Last night a family friend said: "Maxine has been in a terrible state.

"Every day in the run-up to the funeral she was calling John's house to speak to Lisa and his mum Queenie to find out what the arrangements were. But Lisa refused to speak to her and told Queenie not to talk to her either. It was made totally clear to Maxine that she would not be welcome.

"Alison was in on it too - telling people that she didn't deserve a place at the funeral. Maxine's absence was a major talking point at the funeral, which was a shame because it cast a shadow over it all. Maxine and John were together for nine years and she was a major part of his life."

The friend said veteran rock-chick Lisa, 46, and mumsy Alison, now remarried, had little contact with each other.

But the source added: "On the issue of Maxine they are totally united - it's like a bit of an unholy alliance."

Lisa is believed to have been left nothing in Entwistle's will. He is understood to have bequeathed all his assets to Chris and Queenie, setting the stage for a messy legal battle if Lisa decides to enter a claim on the estate.

Yesterday Mrs Entwistle denied Maxine was not welcome and said she could have come if she wanted.

Copyright 2002 MGN LTD
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