1. Are any of lyrics about real people and events?

2. Is McCartney disappointed that none of the children are musician?

3. When did McCartney begin to write songs?

4. How did he feel becoming Sir?

5. When did he meet John Lennon?

6. What kinds of music does he like?

7. Why is he well known?

8. Why did he make his wife a member of the Wings?

A. Sir Paul McCartney is probably the most famous pop musician of the 20th century. Together with John Lennon he formed the Beatles, and since their break-up has had a long solo career. Altogether he has written over 500 songs including Yesterday, the most played pop song of all time. He has recently also written a classical piece called Standing Stone which was premiered in 1997. His wife Linda died of cancer in 1998. He has four children.

B. 'In 1957 when I was 15 and he was 16, and we were both still at school. We had a lot in common, we were both mad about music and we both lost our mothers when we were teenagers. My mother had died of cancer the year before and John’s mum was run over by a car a year after we’d met. So there was always that special bond between us.'

C. ’It was when I was still at school and John was at art college. We used to write at my house in the afternoon when my dad was working. We had about three hours before my dad got home. John had a secondhand guitar and I played a bit on the piano. We had an old school notebook and I used to write at the top of the page A Lennon and McCartney original. We always said to each other that we'd be the greatest songwriting team in the world, which is funny because that's exactly what we became. We formed the Beatles in I960.'

D. 'Usually the Beatles' songs which were my idea weren’t personal but there were some exceptions, for instance, I wrote Let it be about my mother, whose name was Mary. One night, when the Beatles were breaking up and I was feeling very depressed, I had a dream where I saw my mum. It was great to see her again and in the dream she said, 'Don’t worry. Everything'll be all right.' It was such a nice dream I woke up and I felt much better and I started to write Let it be. Later I formed Wings and I wrote a lot of songs to my wife Linda.'

E. 'I persuaded her to do it. I needed her there, we were a partnership and I wanted her with me on the stage. She wasn't very happy about being in the group at all in the beginning, I suppose because she felt she wasn't a musician. But for me it was really important. I know a lot of people didn't like it but that's their problem.’

F. 'It was one of the best days of my life. When I arrived at Buckingham Palace I realized that I’d forgotten my invitation but luckily it didn't matter. They recognized me. When the Queen touched me on the shoulder with the sword, my daughter Stella who was in the audience started crying. I felt incredibly proud that someone who started life in a poor street in Liverpool had come so far.'

G. 'Not at all. On the contrary, I’m incredibly proud of them all, because they’re all really creative and talented. Stella, who’s now a fashion designer, will probably end up being more famous than me. Who knows?'