McCartney: 'I politicised Beatles'

Sir Paul McCartney has claimed that he was reponsible for The Beatles writing political songs.

The musician revealed that he persuaded the band to consider wider issues after a meeting with philosopher Bertrand Russell in the mid-1960s.

"He was fabulous. He told me about the Vietnam War. Most of us didn't know about it, it wasn't yet in the papers, and also that it was a very bad war," he told Prospect.

"I remember going back to the studio either that evening or the next day and telling the guys, particularly John [Lennon], about this meeting and saying what a bad war this was."

McCartney added that he has since handed the political "megaphone" to younger singers such as Bono and Bob Geldof.