`Rolling Stones` envied `The Beatles`: Sir Paul

London: `The Rolling Stones` envied `The Beatles` as all four band members could sing whereas they were solely reliant on Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney has claimed. In an interview published in the `Radio Times`, the 68-year-old Beatle musician said the Stones, formed in 1962, were jealous of his band, formed in 1960, and used to call it a "Four-headed Monster". Sir Paul said: "The four of us were unusual. I talked to Keith Richards recently... well, a couple of years ago, and his take on it was: "Man, you were lucky, you guys, you had four lead singers", whereas the Rolling Stones only had one. "I could sing, John could sing, George could sing and Ringo did numbers that he could sing. So it wasn`t just the front man and the back-up band. We were an entity. Mick used to call us the Four-headed Monster." Sir Paul said The Beatles were also lucky in their timing in that they formed in the same year as national service was abandoned in Britain. "One of the most amazing things for the Beatles is that we just missed it. A couple of years earlier, we would have been in the Army, and it`s very doubtful that The Beatles would`ve formed," `The Daily Telegraph` quoted him as saying. Sir Paul said The Beatles had seen other successful British pop bands go to the US and fail, but were determined not to do so. They did not tour in America until they had a number one hit in 1963 with `I Want to Hold Your Hand`. "We saw a lot of British acts go to America, and come back not having had the great success we thought they would have. Because someone like Cliff Richard was really big over here so we thought, `He`ll kill them`." "But he didn`t, and the explanation was: `No, they have that, they have plenty of sort of Elvis-type singers`. We were a bit surprised by that. But I remember my reaction: OK we have got to think about this. We cannot go there until we have cracked it with a record," Sir Paul said. PTI