Noel Gallagher was embarrassed when Oasis were compared to The Beatles.
The ‘Wonderwall’ songwriter’s former group – which was fronted by his estranged brother Liam Gallagher – became the biggest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world in the mid-90s and the pair always publicly stated what a huge influence The Fab Four were on their own music.
However, Noel insists the constant comparisons were unjustified because The Beatles – comprised of Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr and the late John Lennon and George Harrison – were so much better than Oasis.
He said: “When Oasis started, we were so big we were compared to them size-wise and musically, embarrassingly, compared to them as well.
“(It’s embarrassing) because we weren’t as good as them.”
Noel was speaking at an exclusive preview screening of Peter Jackson’s new Disney+ docuseries ‘The Beatles: Get Back’, which has been created from 120 hours of unheard audio and 50 hours of unseen footage leftover from director Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s ‘Let It Be’ 1970 documentary movie, which focused on the recording of the band’s final album.
The High Flying Birds frontman also revealed that The Beatles songs still dominate his listening and remain the biggest influence on his own tracks.
Noel shared: “They mean everything to me.
“They’ve definitely got the best tunes … hands down. In my record collection they’ve got the greatest tunes by far.
“They influenced everybody who influenced everybody else, who influenced everybody that came and went.
“Their influence is absolute. I don’t know a single guy playing the guitar or writing songs that wouldn’t cite the Beatles as an influence.”
Noel was joined at the special screening by an array of music icons, including Elvis Costello, James Bay, Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp, The Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant, Arctic Monkeys guitarist Jamie Cook and Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall.
Other famous guests included Martin Freeman, Stephen Merchant, Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, actor Sanjeev Bhaskar, director Paul Greengrass and physicist Brian Cox.
Beatles member McCartney, 79, was also in attendance with his family, including daughter Mary McCartney.
Each part of the documentary will air on the streaming service over three consecutive days – November 25, 26, and 27 – and is tipped to be the most authentic look at how the band created their impressive back catalogue of music – songs such as ‘Yesterday’, ‘Blackbird’, and ‘Yellow Submarine’.