WHITE STRIPES - WHITE DENIES KNIFE THREAT

LATEST: THE WHITE STRIPES star JACK WHITE has hit out at claims he threatened a rival in an obscenity-filled note and speared it to his door with a knife. The allegations surfaced in the guitarist's ongoing court battle with producer JIM DIAMOND, who worked on the band's first two albums and claims he deserves a share of their royalties. In an aside on Tuesday (13JUN06), White defended himself against allegations in the US District Court in Detroit, Michigan, that he had threatened his former friend and frontman in THE VON BONDIES, JASON STOLLSTEIMER, in 2001 after the musician allegedly minimised his role in the creation of one of the band's albums. White maintained claims of a knifed note stating, "That's the last time I help you out", were "a laughable lie". The incident made up part of a character profile of the musician, ahead of Diamond's allegations that he is owed money. MEG WHITE later told the court Diamond has been paid fairly for his work on The White Stripes' self-titled debut LP and the follow-up DE STIJL, stipulating it was Jack who had produced the first record. The trial, which began on Monday (12JUN06), is expected to last a week.