Nandi Bushell pays tribute to Meg White with screaming Seven Nation Army cover

Nandi Bushell has shown her support and admiration for Meg White with a cover of The White Stripes’ 2003 classic, Seven Nation Army, following last week’s debate about The White Stripes’ former drummer’s abilities.

The young drummer posted the video - which features a clip of her playing along to the song’s chorus while screaming over the top - to her social media channels.

Her snare drum and toms are adorned with ‘Meg’ and a heart, and the video is accompanied by Nandi’s account of her first exposure to Meg White and The White Stripes. 

“The first day I got drums my dad showed me the video of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. I saw Meg playing the drums and thought she was the coolest person in the world. I still do. 

“The more I learn about music, the more I realise that songs, and art, are created to wake emotions deep inside the soul. No matter how fast my fills get or the number of rudiments I learn. 

"If I can’t write a song that moves people, then can’t call myself an artist. Meg and Jack White wrote some of the best songs in rock history. They moved me at 5 years old to want to play the drums and still move me today! My screams are for you Meg! You are and always will be my role model and hero! Nandi x.”

The social media storm surrounding Meg White started after journalist Lachlan Markay posted a now-deleted, scathing tweet about the drummer. “The tragedy of the White Stripes is how great they would've been with a half decent drummer.” Markay wrote. 

“Yeah, yeah I've heard all the 'but it's a carefully crafted sound mannnn!' takes. I'm sorry Meg White was terrible and no band is better for having shitty percussion." 

A number of musicians, including former bandmate, Jack White stepped in to defend Meg White, and Markay has now retracted his original comments, offering an apology.  

“By now you’ve probably seen an ill-advised (and since-deleted) tweet I sent out yesterday about the White Stripes and Meg White,” he wrote. “It was an over-the-top take on TWS and White as a drummer, and was, let’s face it, just truly awful in every way. Petty, obnoxious, just plain wrong.

“A lot of people have now weighed in, both on my nasty and totally unjustified tone, and on the merits, pointing out it’s simply untrue. Guess what: they’re right! It was a terrible, mean thing to say—and also just, you know, wrong—and I deeply regret saying it.”

"I don’t know if Meg White herself saw that tweet. I hope not, because I imagine it wouldn’t feel great to see a stranger dumping on you like that. So to Meg White: I am sorry. Really. And to women in the music business generally, who I think are disproportionately subject to this sort of shit, I am sorry to have fed that as well. I’m really going to try to be more thoughtful in the future, both on here and off.”