Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is stirring up an old feud between his band and the Beatles star Paul McCartney. 

The iconic groups both made waves in the 60s for being revolutionary in the music industry. The Beatles officially formed in 1960, and the Rolling Stones hit the scene two years later. The former went on to win one Oscar and 29 Grammy and Grammy Hall of Fame awards before breaking up in 1970. Rolling Stones, who are still together, won four Grammys and were inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame seven times. 

Of course, awards don’t say it all. Both groups released dozens of chart toppers and have legions of devout fans. So it’s no surprise that there is a little rivalry between The Rolling Stones and one of the two Beatles’ surviving bandmates, Paul McCartney. 

McCartney added fuel to the fire during a 2020 interview with Howard Stern when he simply said his band was better than the Stones. He followed up that sentiment during a chat with The New Yorker.

“I’m not sure I should say it. But they’re a blues cover band, that’s sort of what the Stones are,” he shared. “I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs.”

Jagger had a chance to snap back at the comments in a feature in The Times UK, which was published on October 14. 

“[McCartney] said The Beatles were better than The Stones because The Stones were really just a blues cover band,” he began. “Well, The Beatles were also really just a blues cover band when they started out. Every band is a cover band at the beginning because that’s how it goes.”

Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger Teamed Up For an Upcoming Release

In the past, Mick Jagger has also noted that The Rolling Stones is better at live performances than the Beatles ever were. However, he acknowledged that his competitors broke up before touring really took off. 

Despite all the smack talk, there is no bad blood between Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney, though. The two are actually friends. They just like to poke fun at each other. They even collaborated on a song titled Bite My Head Off that will be released on The Rolling Stones’ upcoming album, Hackney Diamonds. 

And Jagger may continue making his old pal the butt of jokes during live performances. 

“When we’re on tour I like to say that someone is in the audience when they’re actually not, to create a big moment,” he told the publications. “So I said one time, ‘Paul McCartney is here tonight. He’s going to come up on stage and play some of our blues cover tunes.’”