‘We Love You’: The Rolling Stones song John Lennon called “the most fuckin’ bullshit”
Whilst many bands were part of the cultural tsunami known as the ‘British Invasion’, two standout groups were its vanguard. Whilst The Beatles led the charge, closely behind following was The Rolling Stones. Together, they kicked down the door for the mass of other bands that would also have a hand in making the 1960s the most artistically important of the century.
The stories of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are closely linked. Both outfits were good friends, seen running across ‘Swinging Sixties’ London from haunt to haunt together whilst also enjoying a healthy commercial and critical rivalry. Whilst this friendly rivalry was generally well-mannered, every now and again, relations could become a tad temperamental.
Whilst this tension came from both sides, one of the most damning critiques about The Rolling Stones came from former Beatles frontman John Lennon in the period immediately following the split of the Beatles in 1970. In one interview, Lennon decried one specific Rolling Stones song by claiming it’s “the most fuckin’ bullshit” rip off of The Beatles, despite him and Paul McCartney featuring on the track.
“I was always very respectful about Mick [Jagger] and the Stones, but he said a lot of sort of tarty things about the Beatles, which I am hurt by, because you know, I can knock the Beatles, but don’t let Mick Jagger knock them,” Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1970.
Adding: “I would like to just list what we did and what the Stones did two months after on every f***in’ album. Every f***in’ thing we did, Mick does exactly the same — he imitates us.”
Lennon then named 1967’s ‘We Love You’ as the most blatant rip-off of The Beatles. This was a strange comment, given that both he and McCartney provided backing vocals. The Liverpudlian continued: “I would like one of you fuckin’ underground people to point it out, you know Satanic Majesties is Pepper, ‘We Love You,’ it’s the most fuckin’ bullshit, that’s ‘All You Need Is Love’.”
Not leaving himself open to criticism, Lennon somewhat surprisingly maintained that he admired The Rolling Stones and explained how his friendship with Mick Jagger and the rest of his band led to the collaboration. “We were like kings of the jungle then, and we were very close to the Stones,” Lennon said in the same interview. “I don’t know how close the others were but I spent a lot of time with Brian [Jones] and Mick. I admire them, you know.”
Listen to ‘We Love You’ below.
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