Paul McCartney: 'Oasis’ biggest mistake was saying they were bigger than The Beatles’

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Paul McCartney: 'Oasis’ biggest mistake was saying they were bigger than The Beatles’
Beatles singer says the claim was ‘the kiss of death’.
JOHN EARLS
31ST MAY 2016


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Paul McCartney says Oasis’ claim that they were bigger than The Beatles was the biggest mistake of Oasis’ career.

Oasis made the claim in a 1996 MTV interview, saying that their albums ‘Definitely Maybe’ and ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’ meant that they were bigger than The Beatles.

In 2015, Noel Gallagher admitted that he was “high” when he made the claim. And in a new interview, Paul McCartney has said that the claim was the biggest mistake of Oasis’ career.


MICHAEL SPENCER JONES

“Oasis were young, fresh and writing good tunes,” McCartney told Q. “I thought the biggest mistake they made was when they said ‘We’re going to be bigger than The Beatles’. I thought ‘So many people have said that, and it’s the kiss of death.’ Be bigger than The Beatles, but don’t say it. The minute you say it, everything you do from then on is going to be looked at in the light of that statement.”

In the same interview, McCartney says that he regularly travels on the Tube and doesn’t bother disguising himself.

McCartney – who releases new solo compilation album ‘Pure McCartney’ on June 10 – said: “The thing about the Underground is that nobody looks at anyone. If I do get somebody saying ‘Are you Paul McCartney?’, I say ‘Are you kidding? Do you think he’d get the Underground?’ And then they go ‘Oh yeah, I suppose you’re right.’”





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It was 30 years ago today that Paul McCartney told the band to play… well maybe not to the day, but this month we celebrate three decades since the Beatle graced the cover of Q1 with a special 30th Birthday Issue.

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Kicking off with an exclusive interview with this month’s cover star and avid reader (so avid he’s reading Q in the sea!) U2 frontman Bono takes stock of the last 30 years, while Paul McCartney (of course) is back to provide the introduction to this special the issue.