Mick Jagger is amused whenever Paul McCartney insists The Beatles were better than the Rolling Stones because he is adamant there is no comparison.
The age-old question is one that has entertained music fans for decades, and McCartney recently reignited the debate by claiming the Fab Four’s wider appeal made them the superior group.
“(The Stones) are rooted in the blues,” the Hey Jude hit maker recently told U.S. shock jock Howard Stern. “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.”
Jagger was asked for his thoughts on his old pal’s remarks during a new appearance on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music show, and he couldn’t help but laugh off the comments.
“That’s so funny,” the singer responded. “He’s a sweetheart. There’s obviously no competition.”
Jagger went on to explain what he believes are the major differences between the two iconic brands: “The Rolling Stones is a big concert band in other decades and other areas, when the Beatles never even did an arena tour, (or) Madison Square Garden (in New York) with a decent sound system,” he said. “They broke up before that business started, the touring business for real.”
“We started doing stadium gigs in the Seventies and (are) still doing them now,” Jagger continued. “That’s the real big difference between these two bands: one band is unbelievably luckily still playing in stadiums, and then the other band doesn’t exist.”
The Beatles called it quits in 1970 as McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison all embarked on solo careers, while the Stones have continued to perform sold-out shows across the world.
Their current trek, the No Filter Tour, has been put on an indefinite hold amid the coronavirus crisis, but Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts have continued to stay busy while in isolation, debuting Living In A Ghost Town, their first original tune since 2012’s Doom and Gloom, on Thursday.
They also took part in last weekend’s One World: Together At Home broadcast, on which they performed You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
