Credit: Far Out / Alamy / Tony Barnard / Los Angeles Times / UCLA Library
Sat 16 May 2026 11:41, UK
The music world has always loved rewriting history regarding The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Although both bands may have carved out a place in music history as part of the British Invasion, it was only natural for the press to pin them against one another, with The Stones being heralded as the nastier version of what The Beatles wanted to be. While the bands themselves were typically cordial with each other, Keith Richards remembered John Lennon not mincing words about what he thought of their music.
Then again, The Stones would most likely not be in their current position if not for The Beatles. Throughout their musical upbringing in the London clubs, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were content playing other people’s songs before they witnessed Lennon and Paul McCartney complete the song ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ right before them.
Immediately inspired, Jagger and Richards quickly became a songwriting tour de force, delivering the nastiest rock and roll that the 1960s had to offer, like ‘Satisfaction’. Although the girls may have latched onto the massive hooks and the stage persona of Jagger and Richards, Lennon was not impressed by one of the guitar breaks Richards laid down on one of their early classics.
Outside of the blues-infused hits that The Stones were known for, their first ballad attempts would be hit-and-miss by the Fab Four’s standards. Although Lennon would like the basis of The Stones’ material, Richards remembers that he was furious when listening to the song ‘It’s All Over Now’.
Credit: Bent Rej
When discussing the song in his book Life, Richards recalled how cutthroat Lennon was regarding his solo break, explaining, “John could be quite direct. The only rude thing I remember him saying to me was about my solo in the middle of ‘It’s All Over Now’. He thought it was crap. Maybe he got out the wrong side of the bed that day.”
Lennon’s criticism may have stung, but it also reflected the strange competitive respect that existed between the two bands throughout the 1960s. Even as journalists framed The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as polar opposites, the musicians themselves were constantly observing and influencing one another. The Beatles pushed pop music into increasingly ambitious territory, while The Stones responded by sharpening their raw blues attack and cultivating a more dangerous image.
Further reading: From The Vault
That rivalry ultimately helped elevate both groups creatively. The Stones may have bristled at comparisons to their Liverpool contemporaries, but Richards understood that Lennon’s bluntness came from someone who genuinely cared about music.
Behind the occasional insults and public jabs was a mutual recognition that both bands were reshaping popular culture in real time, each challenging the other to evolve faster with every new release.
That wouldn’t be the last time Lennon would tear the band through the mud. When talking about the massive similarities between the two bands’ changes in style, Lennon was frustrated with how well the band seemed to mirror the group, remarking that the only thing they were interested in was listening to The Beatles and then copying them with their unique twist.
Once The Beatles went kaput, though, The Stones would quickly pick up the mantle as rock’s longest-lasting band, including a string of albums that showed them getting back in touch with their bluesy roots like Beggars Banquet. Even with his wicked tongue, Richards knew that Lennon still had a deep love for what the band did.
Elsewhere in his biography, Richards felt a subtle kinship with Lennon throughout the years, explaining, “He was so open. In anybody else, this could be embarrassing. But John had this honesty in his eyes that made you go for him. Had an intensity too. He was a one-off. Like me. We were attracted to each other in a strange way. Definitely a two-alpha clash to start with.”
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