Modern music beefs like Slipknot and Squirt Gun Smelly and Drake and Kanye are all well and good but what really hits is when an ageing rocker like Paul McCartney resurrects a decades-old feud. 

Thanks, then, to the music legend, who has comically mocked The Rolling Stones, old rivals to The Beatles. In a new interview with The New Yorker, the star hesitated before absolutely roasting Mick Jagger and co..

“I’m not sure I should say it, but they’re a blues cover band, that’s sort of what the Stones are,” McCartney said snidely. “I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs.”  “A blues cover band”. Ouch. That’s just one step away from being called “a wedding band”.

McCartney has previous with slagging the Stones. Back in April, 2020, he told Howard Stern that The Beatles were definitely superior to their rivals.

“They are rooted in the blues,” he said then. “When they are writing stuff, it has to do with the blues. We had a little more influences…There’s a lot of differences and I love the Stones, but I’m with you. The Beatles were better.” I think the phrase “I love the Stones” might be a tad facetious, Sir Paul.

Long before Oasis vs. Blur defined the Britpop era, Britain was divided between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. The boys next door vs. the bad boys of rock ‘n’ roll. The beloved pop songwriters vs. the blues rockers. In a poll conducted by Ultimate Classic Rock in 2013, it was The Beatles who triumphed with a massive 67.08% of the vote.

Paul McCartney has been on fire in the media recently. Only a few days ago, he claimed it was John Lennon that was to blame for the breakup of The Beatles. Someone just can’t ‘Let It Be’…

Love Classic Rock?

Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more

For more on this topic, follow the Classic Rock Observer.

Check out ‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles:

YouTube VideoPlay

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine