This revelation will probably prompt many of us to quip about The Beatles' song Come Together. But Paul McCartney has confessed that he enjoyed group masturbation sessions on a couple of occasions with his ex-Beatles bandmates.

"What it was was over at John's house, and it was just a group of us," Paul McCartney explains in a new interview wth GQ magazine. "And instead of just getting roaring drunk and partying - I don't even know if we were staying over or anything - we were all just in these chairs, and the lights were out, and somebody started masturbating, so we all did."

To make it even more exciting they would shout out the name of someone they fancied while pleasuring themselves. "We were just, 'Brigitte Bardot!' 'Whoo!'" McCartney reveals, "and then everyone would thrash a bit more."

But John Lennon, who was known for being a practical joker, spoiled the mood. "I think it was John sort of said, 'Winston Churchill!'" Paul McCartney says.

Looking back, Paul McCartney insists that these masturbation sessions were no big deal, even thought it was "quite raunchy".

"I think it was a one-off. Or maybe it was like a two-off. It wasn't a big thing. But, you know, it was just the kind of thing you didn't think much of. It was just a group," Paul says.

"Yeah, it's quite raunchy when you think about it. There's so many things like that from when you're a kid that you look back on and you're, 'Did we do that?' But it was good harmless fun. It didn't hurt anyone. Not even Brigitte Bardot."

Paul McCartney also revealed that, while he was never involved in an orgy, he did enjoy a threesome with two prostitutes, which was a "wonderful experience".

Paul confesses, "I don't want anyone else there, personally. It ruins it! I would think -- I've never actually done it. There was once when we were in Vegas where the tour guy, a fixer, said, 'You're going to Vegas, guys—you want a hooker?' We were all, 'Yeah!' And I requested two. And I had them, and it was a wonderful experience. But that's the closest I ever came to an orgy."

Paul also says it's a true story that the other Beatles stood outside listening while a then 17-year-old George Harrison lost his virginity, and that they then offered him a round of applause when he finished.

"I think that's true. The thing is, these stories, particularly Beatles stories, they get to be legendary, and I do have to check: Wait a minute. I know we had one bed and two sets of bunks, and if one of the guys brought a girl back, they could just be in the bed with a blanket over them, and you wouldn't really notice much except a little bit of movement," Paul says.

"I don't know whether that was George losing his virginity -- it might have been. I mean, I think in the end this was one of the strengths of the Beatles, this enforced closeness which I always liken to army buddies," added Paul. "Because you're all in the same barracks. We were always very close and on top of each other, which meant you could totally read each other."

Sex is a big topic on Paul McCartney's mind at the moment with it featuring prominently as a theme on his brilliant new album, Egypt Station with songs such as Fuh You and Come On To Me.