Simon Cowell wants to set the record straight, and he’s coming to RadarOnline.com exclusively to do it.

Cowell -- who recently created an international firestorm by saying that if the Beatles had taken part in his British talent show The X Factor, he wouldn’t have pushed them through, not with drummer Ringo Starr in the picture -- now says he was only kidding!

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Cowell also wanted to clear the air regarding a report that  he wouldn’t sign the Spice Girls before they were famous.

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In a statement to RadarOnline.com, Simon says: “Regarding my comments on the Beatles, it was a joke. I have always said they were the group I have always wished I had signed. Also, to set the record straight it was recently reported that I turned down the Spice Girls. In fact, I offered the girls a recording contract before they were signed and actually offered to double the offer they had on the table.”

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Cowell’s exact quip about the Beatles was: “We'll take those three – Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison, but you'd probably have to lose the drummer. With Ringo around, I'm afraid we would have said 'bad news'.”

It just goes to show that when Simon talks – people listen!

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• TAGS
• Exclusives
• Ringo Starr
• Simon Cowell
• spice girls
• The Beatles
• The X Factor

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