Sir Paul McCartney has described the current path to becoming famous as “scary”.

The former Beatle said he didn’t like how there was now less emphasis on talent and “working hard” than when the Liverpool band emerged in the 1960s.

"Now what's sold to them is they'll have security, a limo, it's this sort of modern package that I think is a little bit scary,” he said.

“I for one don't like all of that. I don't like limos."

Sir Paul admitted that he sometimes found his own fame “pretty annoying”, but that it was "a weight that I'm happy to carry”.

He also said he had developed ways to deal with it.

He told the BBC: “I'm happy to talk to people on a one to one human basis but the minute they turn me into this celebrity that I'm pretending not to be for that minute, I sort of say no, I'm not going to do that.

"I will just go shopping or go to the movies on my own, and I like that. It is very much a balancing part of my life."

(by Jason Gregory)