Sir Paul McCartney has revealed the ten songs that define his life, including John Lennon's iconic track 'Imagine'. The 83-year-old Beatles legend described the song as having a 'beautiful vision' that remains relevant today amid global conflicts.
McCartney on Lennon's Masterpiece
Speaking to Vernon Kay on Radio 2, McCartney said: 'It's just one of John's great songs. There's so many tracks you can choose. You start getting John, well, what about George? George has got some incredible ones. But you've got to slim it down for the programme. I just think that song of John's is magical.'
He added: 'And a lot of other people do. It's one that people like to sing. And I can just, in my mind, having worked with John so often, I can kind of see him writing it. To see him doing that piano part. And I just think it's a beautiful vision of how the world could be. Unfortunately, when I hear that, the back of my mind thinks it's not going to happen. Or wouldn't it be great? How lucky would we be if all those things happened? You know, but never mind.'
'It's a beautiful dream. It's a beautiful ambition. And I think a lot of people love to think about that, love to imagine that kind of reality, particularly with a lot of stuff going on these days.'
Vinyl Enthusiasm and Studio Sessions
McCartney also expressed his preference for vinyl records, explaining that an engineer told him vinyl captures all frequencies, unlike CDs. He noted that his daughter gave him a Cat Stevens LP that very morning.
On working with the Rolling Stones, McCartney revealed he played bass on their forthcoming album 'Foreign Tongues'. He said: 'The producer I did my new album with is Andrew Watt. I was having dinner. Me and my wife, with Ronnie Wood and Sally, his wife, and we'd be talking about, “What are you doing, what's going on?”.'
'He said, we're going to make a new record, but we're not sure about who's going to produce it. I said well, this guy Andrew's really good, you know, you should maybe try him out.'
'So Ronnie went back and mentioned it, and it turned out Mick was thinking about him anyway. So Andrew has done the last album and this one. And at one point, Andrew said, “do you want to play bass on it?” I said, “yeah, I'll do that. Why not?” So I showed up as a session player just with my bass.'
'It was really good feeling, you know, because I wasn't a star. I was just the bass player.'
'I learned the song, none of us were reading notes, and started rehearsing it with them and playing, and it's on their new album. But it was great.'
'I'm standing there and playing, and I'm thinking I'm playing with the Stones. I should be blasé and go, yeah, I've known them for years. But it was special, because now suddenly I'm playing with them.'
'You better believe when I got home that evening I was. “I just played with the Stones. It was great.” And it was great. I loved it. It was a really good session.'
Praise for Modern Female Artists
While McCartney did not include any modern female stars in his top ten, he praised artists like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sabrina Carpenter. He said: 'There's a lot of girl singers, there wasn't when we were kids. It was like all guys for a long time, so I’ve met a few of these girls and admired what they're doing. I think they're good singers. Taylor's very good. She’s, you know…clever.'
'The worldwide fame that Taylor Swift has and that we had….I don't think she needs any advice, to tell you the truth.'
He added: 'But, you know, I do meet them. We had a party. My wife and my daughter Stella are very good at getting cool people to a party. So a lot of those girls were at this party, and I ended up chatting to them all because, you know, there was Taylor, there was Billie Eilish, there was Olivia Rodrigo, there was Sabrina Carpenter, and they're really cool people. They're very good. So basically, answering your question, I like their voices. If they needed any advice, yeah, I would be happy to give it, but I don't think they do.'
New Album 'The Boys Of Dungeon Lane'
McCartney's new album, 'The Boys Of Dungeon Lane', is released at the end of this week. The title references Dungeon Lane, an area near the Mersey shoreline where he played as a child. He said: 'In truth, when I do an album, I don't really plan it. I write a lot of songs, and when I've got enough, I then start to think, this could be an album. So I select the ones that kind of seem I like best and seem to go together. But on this album, I did find myself, probably about half the album is nostalgic. I'm thinking of memories. I'm thinking of places that I remember. And I like that because it takes me back then and I'm sort of with those people again. You know, and I'm in those situations again. That's what memories and nostalgia can do for you.'
'Some people will sort of say, oh, nostalgia, I don't like it. But I never understand that. I think there's so many beautiful memories, if you're lucky.'
'I grew up in a very loving family in Liverpool. So I was very lucky to have these great uncles and aunties and cousins. And I thought everyone had that kind of family. A lot of people do, but not everyone. So, you know, when I met John and I'm talking to him, his dad left home when he was three years old. And Ringo's got the same kind of story. His dad left home. So I realised how lucky I was, you know, to have this great upbringing with these great people.'
McCartney's 10 Defining Tracks
- Gene Vincent - Be-bop-a-Lula
- Chuck Berry - Maybellene
- Buddy Holly - That’ll Be The Day
- Elvis Presley - All Shook Up
- The Kinks - You Really Got Me
- The Human League - Don’t You Want Me
- Prince - Kiss
- Bob Dylan - Mr Tambourine Man
- The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
- John Lennon - Imagine
Paul McCartney’s Tracks Of My Years airs at 6pm on Radio 2 and BBC Sounds on Bank Holiday Monday. 'The Boys Of Dungeon Lane' is out on Friday, May 29.
