Keith Richards has said that Paul McCartney sent The Rolling Stones a note following the publication of an interview in The New Yorker, in which McCartney labelled them “a blues cover band”.

The musician was reflecting on The Beatles’ legacy when he made the remark about the Stones. He said: “I’m not sure I should say it, but they’re a blues cover band, that’s sort of what the Stones are. I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs.”

Speaking on the latest episode of the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Richards said that McCartney sent the band a note explaining that his comments were taken out of context.

“I got a note from Paul about that, saying ‘I was taken totally out of context’. He said, ‘That’s what I thought when I first heard them.’ Paul and I know each other pretty well, and when I first read it I said, there’s been a lot of deleting and editing going on here.

“The next day I got a message from Paul saying, ‘If you’ve read this shit, it’s all out of context, believe me, boys’… Paul’s a great guy, man. I mean, Jesus Christ, look at the songs he’s written.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Richards spoke about the band’s 60th anniversary. “Who can wrap their head around 60 fucking years?” He said. “It all seems impossible, that it’s been that long.”

He also confirmed that touring drummer Steve Jordan would be on hand to help the long-running band finish their forthcoming new album.

Jordan has been filling in on drums for the Stones following the death of their longtime drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away in August last year.

Richards’ comments follow on from a recent interview he gave to CBS Sunday Morning, where he revealed that he and frontman Mick Jagger have “eight or nine new pieces of material” which they are working on with Jordan.

The Rolling Stones will perform in London and Liverpool this summer to celebrate their 60th anniversary – you can find tickets to the shows here.