Paul McCartney: 'Oasis messed up with Beatles comparisons'

Paul McCartney believes Oasis harmed their careers by predicting they'd be "bigger" than The Beatles.

Noel Gallagher made the comments in a 1996 interview with MTV when Oasis were at the height of their popularity, having seen their first two albums top the U.K. charts.

Paul says the comments were damaging to the group, as it meant their music was judged against his band, who are revered as one of the greatest musical acts of all time.

"Oasis were young, fresh and writing good tunes," Paul told Britain's Q magazine. "I thought the biggest mistake they made was when they said 'We're going to be bigger than The Beatles'.

"I thought 'So many people have said that, and it's the kiss of death.' Be bigger than The Beatles, but don't say it. The minute you say it, everything you do from then on is going to be looked at in the light of that statement."

Noel has himself tentatively disavowed the comments, telling TMZ.com that he, "might have been high (on drugs)" when he made the remark.

The Oasis rocker's original comments deliberately echoed comments made by The Beatles' John Lennon in a 1966 interview that his group were "more popular" than Jesus Christ.

John's turn of phrase, which is often misquoted as him saying the band were, "bigger than Jesus", caused huge controversy in the U.S. where religious groups and even the white supremacist organisation the Ku Klux Klan protested outside the band's gigs.

The Beatles' 1966 tour of North America, proved to be their last, with members John, Paul, George Harrison and Ringo Starr opting out of touring in support of their future albums.

The band formally split in 1970, a parting of ways that Paul recently admitted caused him to become depressed and turn to drink.

"I was depressed. You would be," he told BBC Radio 4. "You were breaking from your lifelong friends. Not knowing whether I was going to continue in music was depressing.

"I took to the bevvies (drinks). I took to a wee dram. It was great at first (but) suddenly I wasn't having a good time. It wasn't working."

As for Oasis, they split in 2009 after a violent backstage altercation between Noel and his brother Liam.