Ten Things You Might Not Know About Paul McCartney

• He had two of his post-Beatles singles – ‘Give Ireland Back To The Irish’ and ‘Hi Hi Higher’ – banned by the BBC.

• 1995 saw him recording an ambient techno album, strawberries oceans ships forest, with former Killing Joke man Youth. Their alias – The Fireman – was chosen in tribute to Paul’s firefighter dad, James.

• Although a big hit in Eastern Europe, his 1986 album of Russian covers, Choba B CCCP, was never released in the West.

• In 1980 he spent 10 days in a Japanese jail after being discovered with a small amount of marijuana in his baggage.

• He lost his virginity aged 15 but is too much of a gentleman to name names. Later he watched as George Harrison popped his cherry with a groupie in Hamburg.

• Having befriended the Super Furry Animals at the Q Awards, he was invited to eat celery on the Welshman’s Rings Around The World album track, ‘Receptacle For The Respectable’. Sir Paul didn’t bat an eyelid, having previously munched his way through the 1967 Beach Boys tune ‘Vegetables’.

• Before marrying the then Linda Eastman, he wanted her dad, Lee, to become the Beatles’ new business manager. The rest of the band weren’t keen and plumped instead for Allen Klein.

• An enduring conspiracy theory suggests that he was killed in a 1968 car crash and replaced by a doppelganger. Central to this is him appearing on the Abbey Road album cover barefoot – shoelessness being an ancient symbol of death.

• He got 90% in one of his year-end Latin exams and was considered something of a swat by his classmates.

• His first musical instrument was a trumpet, given to him by an uncle.

• Many an Asteroids arcade game has a “P. Mac” as its highest scorer – McCartney is a dab hand with the old joystick.