Beatles and Rolling Stones reportedly collaborating on new album

Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are reported to be collaborating with the Rolling Stones on a new album, putting aside a decades-long rivalry between the two legendary bands.

Recording sessions took place in Los Angeles in recent weeks, showbiz website Variety reported on Tuesday.

McCartney is said to have recorded bass parts for the forthcoming Rolling Stones project, while Ringo is due to record in the studio soon.

The publication reports that the album is getting close to its mixing phase, but it is not clear when it will be released.

Despite their long – though mostly friendly – competition, members of the Beatles and Rolling Stones have rarely collaborated musically.

In 1967, McCartney and bandmate John Lennon sang backing vocals on the Stones’ single We Love You. That same year, the Stones’ Brian Jones played saxophone on a Beatles track that ultimately became the B-side You Know My Name (Look Up the Number).

The supposed rivalry between the two biggest bands of the Sixties was, by most accounts, largely fictional — cooked up as a way of pitting the groups against each other, riling up their fan bases and pushing album sales.

In 2021 McCartney did however jokingly say of the Stones, “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.” Just a few weeks later, Mick Jagger, 79, shot back at the group’s Los Angeles concert that McCartney was in the audience and would “join us in a blues cover.”

The Stones have not issued a new album of original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. Jagger and the gang are set for a 2023 tour, with dates across Europe and America.

Any new release will likely include songs recorded with the group’s founding drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 80.

The album’s producer is said to be Grammy Award-winning Andrew Watt, who has worked with stars including Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop and Dua Lipa.

McCartney and Watt have collaborated in the past.

The 80-year-old rocker was asked in a Q&A posted on his official website what he was looking forward to in 2023: “I’ve been recording with a couple of people, so I’m looking forward to doing even more. I’ve started working with this producer called Andrew Watt, and he’s very interesting — we’ve had some fun,” he said. “Beyond that, I don’t have anything massive planned … at the moment!”

Fans reacted with delight at the reports of the possible union.

“Holy moly!” tweeted fan Millie Burgos. “Imagine if they toured or appeared together? One can dream…”

The Telegraph has contacted representatives for the Stones, McCartney, Starr and Watt for comment.