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Paul McCartney's brother Mick has said that he feels "lucky" that a broken arm meant he couldn't be in The Beatles.

When Paul McCartney first started collaborating with John Lennon, it was his brother Mick, and not Ringo Starr, who acted as the band's drummer. However, following a broken arm that affected the nerves in his wrist, Mick was replaced by Starr, and the band went on to become, infamously, "bigger than Jesus."

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Mick McCartney said: "I was nearly in The Beatles. I was The Beatles' drummer, but I broke my arm in the Scouts."

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He added: "It was when John [Lennon] used to come to the house with The Quarrymen, before George [Harrison] was even there. I broke my arm at camp and it affected the nerves that control the wrist. They were dead. If I hadn't broken my arm, I'd have been a Beatle. But I did break my arm and I'm not a Beatle. You always have to deal in reality, not dreams."

Mick, who went on to achieve comparatively minor fame with the band The Scaffold, was quick to look on the bright side of his situation though, saying: "You could look at this another way. If I hadn't broken my arm, if I had joined The Beatles, maybe we'd have ended up fighting like Liam and Noel Gallagher in Oasis. So, it's fortuitous and lucky I didn't join. I have a nice, close, stable relationship with my brother."

Mick McCartney is currently touring his comedy one-man show 'Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll (I Wish!)'

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