15 November 2019
Newsdesk
The 'Yesterday' singer has always wanted to succeed, even before he became famous as part of The Beatles.
He shared: "I'm competitive with anything. We started off in my auntie's back parlour, banging away on three guitars - me, John [Lennon] and George [Harrison] - and we managed to get gigs in Liverpool, and then play the Cavern Club. We were always trying to succeed - I think everyone is."
And the 77-year-old singer refers to The Beatles as "they" as he insists he "wasn't the group".
Speaking about how the Beatles are the highest-charting act in Billboard history, he said: "That's fantastic. They were a great group ... You know, I wasn't the group.
"We were a great group, though. The more I listen, the more I'm amazed, because a lot of that stuff was live. You listen to the Ed Sullivan performances and you think, 'Wow.'"
And the Beatles legend believes the secret to their long term chart success was constantly reinventing their music.
He added to Billboard magazine: "You could have said when we got our first No. 1, 'Well, you've done it, boys,' or when we got our 10th. But those were like unexpected bonuses. They were the bonuses we wanted, but we were just trying to get better and develop. That was the force behind The Beatles: We'd do one song, and it'd be a hit, and instead of doing another with the same formula, we'd say, 'OK, we've done that.' You listen to The Beatles' output and no two songs are alike."
