The Beatles are the most covered bands of all time. Even in the 1960s, bands and artists were already taking songs from The Beatles and putting their own spin on them. While the members of The Beatles didn’t love every cover, they did receive royalties, so they were mostly okay with them. However, George Harrison called one Beatles song cover “rubbish” and didn’t want to be associated with it.
The Hollies performed a cover of ‘If I Needed Someone’
George Harrison didn’t write many Beatles songs, as Paul McCartney and John Lennon shared most songwriting duties. However, Harrison did get a chance to shine every now and then, and his songs appeared more frequently in The Beatles’ later projects. His song, “If I Needed Someone”, was released in 1966 with Rubber Soul. It’s a love song Harrison dedicated to his then-wife, Pattie Boyd.
Before Rubber Soul’s release, another British rock group, The Hollies, was given a demo of “If I Needed Someone” by their producer. The band decided to record their version of the song and released it the same day as Rubber Soul. Their single was a minor hit, peaking at No. 20 on the U.K. charts. While Harrison received royalties for their cover, he wasn’t a fan.
George Harrison wanted to disassociate from The Hollies’ cover of his Beatles song
In Dec. 1965, New Musical Express reporter Alan Smith accompanied The Beatles during one of their final tours of the U.K. During his time with The Beatles, George Harrison commented on The Hollies’ version of “If I Needed Someone”. According to Smith’s report (shared by Far Out), the “Something” singer called their version “rubbish” and didn’t want people to know he wrote it.
“George was getting ready for the first house performance, and I asked him about songwriting. ‘I see you’ve written one for the Hollies.’ George turned sharply away from the mirror. ‘Tell people that I didn’t write it for the Hollies,’ he said bluntly. ‘It’s called ‘If I Needed Someone’ and they’ve done it as their new single, but their version is not my kind of music. I think it’s rubbish the way they’ve done it! They’ve spoilt it. The Hollies are all right musically, but the way they do their records, they sound like session men who’ve just got together in a studio without ever seeing each other before. Technically good, yes. But that’s all.’”
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A week after this story emerged, Graham Nash, lead singer of The Hollies’ responded to George Harrison’s comments. Nash said he was annoyed that everything The Beatles said was “law” and that if Harrison hated the track so much, he should donate all of his royalties to charity. He also took offense to Harrison calling them “rubbish.”
“We don’t profess to be a soul R&B-type group, and we never have,” Nash said. “My opinion of the Beatles hasn’t changed. I still think they’re great, and I’m not going to say anything stupid like, ‘I’m going to burn all their records in my collection’. No. I Like their music. But knocking comments like the one about us are a load of bollocks.”
The singer reflected on his response in his 2013 autobiography, Wild Tales: A Rock & Roll Life. He shared no regrets about what he said and felt it was time somebody stood up to the world’s biggest band.
“In those days, tweaking a Beatle was like blaspheming the pope,” Nash wrote. “Every English group owed them a huge debt, but I had no intention of kissing their a**** … Besides, last I looked, the Hollies were holding down places on the same top ten as the Beatles, so pardon me if you don’t like our f***ing record but keep it to yourself, if you please.”
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