The Who's Pete Townshend defends 1D over alleged track plagiarism

The Who's Pete Townshend has come out to defend One Direction after critics suggested that the boyband's latest single 'Best Song Ever' sounded similar to one of the legendary band's tracks.

The British/Irish five piece released the song last month and it drew online criticism from music fans who spotted comparisons between their track and The Who's 1971 anthem 'Baba O'Riley'.

But Townshend insists that the motifs used in their single are the same as those that have been used by musicians for many years, Contactmusic reported.

In response to reports that he had asked for One Direction's track to be pulled from the airwaves, Townshend released a statement, saying that he likes the single and the boy band.

He said that the chords he used and the chords they used are the same three chords everyone's been using in basic pop music since Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry.