Oasis were arguably the biggest British band to emerge after The Beatles but Noel Gallagher really didn’t like when his band were compared to Paul McCartney and co..

The Beatles were a major inspiration for the Gallagher brothers, particularly Noel, not only for their music but also their style.

There was a great joke about their similarity in the 2019 film Yesterday: in a world where The Beatles don’t exist, the main character is shocked to discover that no one has heard ‘Wonderwall’, because, as Richard Curtis’ film implies, no Beatles equals no Oasis.

Noel cheekily claimed that Oasis was “bigger” than The Beatles at the height of their success in the 90s. Even Liam then got in on the act, insisting in 2016 that “what Oasis did in three years took the Beatles eight.” 

Fast forward a few years, though, and Noel has drastically changed his tune. He discussed the Oasis and Beatles comparisons during a recent preview screening for Peter Jackson’s new documentary, The Beatles: Get Back.

“When Oasis started, we were so big we were compared to (The Beatles) size-wise and musically, embarrassingly, compared to them as well,” he said, as per Music-News. “(It’s embarrassing) because we weren’t as good as them.”

Oasis might not have been as good as them but The Beatles still meant everything to Noel. “They’ve definitely got the best tunes, hands down,” he added. “In my record collection, they’ve got the greatest tunes by far.

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They influenced everybody who influenced everybody else, who influenced everybody that came and went. Their influence is absolute. I don’t know a single guy playing the guitar or writing songs that wouldn’t cite the Beatles as an influence.”

I’m sure Noel will be watching Get Back again when it becomes available for streaming: the doc will premiere on Disney+ in three parts next week on November 25th, 26th, and 27th.

For more on this topic, follow the Indie Observer.

Check out what makes Oasis sound like The Beatles:

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