Paul McCartney admits he must relearn his songs before performing

Cape Town - He has legions of fans who to this day can belt out his hits without missing a beat or a lyric.

Yet Sir Paul McCartney admits he often has to relearn some of his biggest songs before hitting the stage.

During an interview with CBS News’ 60 Seconds, the Beatles legend admitted there are “just too many”.

“When I’m doing shows I listen to a lot of music – Beatles music, Wings music – to see what ones we’re going to do. And to learn them.

“There’s too many. Too many words. Too many notes. They’re very hard. I mean, you know, it’s not like they’re all three chords.”

The 76-year-old, who has 25 studio albums to his name, also shared that his late bandmate John Lennon only ever complimented his song-writing ability once, Mail Online writes.

“It was Here, There and Everywhere. John says just as it finishes, ‘That’s a really good song, lad. I love that song.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes! He likes it!’”

Paul also spoke fondly of how competitive the two of them were.

“Not openly, but he later admitted, ‘Yeah, you know, so Paul’s written a good one there, I better get going.’ And I would similarly, ‘Hmm, that’s a bit good, right, here we go, come on.’

“If he’d have written Strawberry Fields, I would write Penny Lane, you know, and it’s . . . He’s remembering his old area in Liverpool, so I’ll remember mine.”

The singer released his latest studio album, Egyptian Station, last month.

“I’m proud of it . . . I like this one,” he says of his newest offering.

Sources: Mail Online, CBS News, The Metro