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Paul McCartney calls The Rolling Stones 'a blues cover band': 'I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs'

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 10/13/21

The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?

Paul McCartney's loyalty is plainly predictable, as the immortal heart of The Beatles alongside the late John Lennon, but the 18-time solo Grammy winner—plus seven more with The Beatles—made sure we also know how he feels about the Stones.

"I’m not sure I should say it, but they’re a blues cover band, that’s sort of what the Stones are," McCartney, 79, told The New Yorker. "I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs."

This is far from the first time McCartney has expressed feeling The Beatles were (are?) superior to the Stones, telling Howard Stern in April 2020 that "the Stones are a fantastic group," but ultimately, "the Beatles were better":

Stones frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards then responded while visiting Zane Lowe on Apple Music, quipping, "One band is unbelievably luckily still playing in stadiums, and then the other band doesn't exist" (h/t People).

To that point, the Stones are currently on their U.S. No Filter Tour. The run began in St. Louis on Sept. 26 and marks the first time the legendary band has toured without drummer Charlie Watts, who died Aug. 24 at 80 years old.

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