January 18, 2010 16:50

Paul McCartney: 'I nearly joined Them Crooked Vultures instead of John Paul Jones'

Dave Grohl turned the former Beatle down

Photo Gallery: Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney has revealed he asked about joining Them Crooked Vultures on bass, only to be told by Dave Grohl that John Paul Jones had already beaten him to it.

McCartney said he was first told about Them Crooked Vultures by Dave Grohl when the two went out to dinner together after playing together at last February's Grammys ceremony.

"We went out for a bite to eat afterwards and Dave told me he was starting this band with Josh [Homme]," he told the Daily Mail. "I asked him who was playing bass and he rather sheepishly told me he'd approached John. So you read it here first; Paul McCartney was nearly the bass player in Them Crooked Vultures."

McCartney also admitted that he was in two minds about whether to appear on The X Factor last year.

"When the offer came through it polarised a lot of people. Lots of my friends told me not to do it and it's not exactly [Later With…] Jools Holland. It's a pop show. But what turned me around - apart from the huge audience - was the fact that it's a family show, and so many kids I know are obsessed by it."

He went on to say that if the talent show was good enough for Beyonce, "it should be good enough for me".