John Lennon called out Mick Jagger for 'imitating' The Beatles
John Lennon was never one to mince his words, and he certainly didn't hold back when it came to his feelings about The Beatles' professional rivals, The Rolling Stones
Once The Beatles achieved mainstream success, the majority of the music industry started attempting to copy them in some form or another.
Being the main songwriters for the Fab Four, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were contacted by numerous bands seeking assistance in creating chart-topping hits throughout the years.
However, Lennon observed that their professional competitors, The Rolling Stones, were attempting to match their success more than any other group. Eventually, he confronted the band's lead singer, Mick Jagger, for copying their material. Lennon told Rolling Stone magazine: "I would like to just list what we did and what the Stones did two months after on every f------ album.", reports the Express.
Lennon went on to add: "Every f------ thing we did, Mick does exactly the same - he imitates us." The Imagine vocalist wasn't the only Beatles member to recognize the obvious parallels between the two groups.
George Harrison once remarked: "Mick Jagger was also there. He was always lurking around in the background, trying to find out what was happening. Mick never wanted to miss out on what the Fabs were doing."
It's understandable why Jagger wanted to monitor The Beatles closely, particularly after they had assisted The Rolling Stones in discovering a new type of success.
During the early 1960s, Jagger became familiar with the Fab Four and ultimately received a major song from them: I Wanna Be Your Man. "We knew [the Beatles] by then," Jagger recalled.
"And we were rehearsing and Andrew brought Paul and John down to the rehearsal. They said they had this tune, they were really hustlers then. I mean, the way they used to hustle tunes was great."
Lennon and McCartney approached the frontman saying: "Hey Mick, we've got this great song."
Source: irishstar.com/Callum Crumlish, Hollie Beale
