Noel Gallagher: Oasis and Beatles comparisons were embarrassing

17 November 2021, 15:08 | Updated: 17 November 2021, 15:14

By Jenny Mensah

The former Oasis rocker has talked about being compared to The Fab Four and admitted they were nowhere near as good as them.

Loading audio...

Noel Gallagher was embarrassed when Oasis were compared to The Beatles.

The former guitarist and chief songwriter of the Manchester band insists the comparisons between them and The Fab Four were "embarrassingly" unjust because they were so much better.

Speaking at the preview screening of Peter Jackson’s new Disney+ docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, he said: "When Oasis started, we were so big we were compared to them size-wise and musically, embarrassingly, compared to them as well.

"Because we weren’t as good as them."

The High Flying Birds singer also revealed that The Beatles back catalogue dominate his listening and still remain the biggest influence on his own tracks.

"They mean everything to me," said the Ballad of the Mighty I rocker.

"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."

Watch the official trailer for The Beatles: Get Back on Disney Plus

Gallagher was joined at the special screening by an array of artists, including Arctic Monkeys guitarist Jamie Cook, James Bay, Elvis Costello, Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp, The Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall.

Beatles legend Paul McCartney, 79, was also in attendance with his family, including daughter Mary McCartney.

Get Back, directed by Oscar winner Peter Jackson, has been created from almost 60 hours of previously unseen footage shot in January 1969, as well as more than 150 hours of unheard audio.

Much of the material had been locked away in a vault for more than 50 years, left untouched after The Beatles split up the following year.

The three-part documentary series, which will air on the Disney+ streaming service in November, follows John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Sir Ringo Starr during a time when they were writing and rehearsing 14 new songs in preparation for the band's first live show in more than two years.

Each part of the docuseries will air on the streaming service over three consecutive days - (25, 26, 27 November) and is tipped to be the most authentic look at how the band created their impressive back catalogue.