Paul McCartney: 'I'm not retiring'

Sir Paul McCartney has denied recent claims that he is planning to retire after his forthcoming world tour.

Numerous tabloid reports last week suggested that the former Beatle and Wings star was going to announce details of what was to be publicised as his final tour, which would apparently include dates at several unusual venues including China's Tiananmen Square and Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie.

However, during an interview with the Boston Herald, McCartney laughed off the speculation, even comparing it to the notorious 'Paul is Dead' rumours that circulated in 1969.

"All I can say is that I'm not retiring," he confirmed. "It's like, 'Paul is dead'. 'No, I'm not', is all I could say. I did talk about retirement in one sentence in one story and only to say, 'No way, Jose'. But someone must have only read part of that one sentence."

McCartney, who dedicated a song to First Lady Michelle Obama during a recent concert in Washington DC, added that he wants to focus on continuing to play live for as long as possible.

He said: "As long as people want to come and hear me, I'll probably be doing this. It's just so easy to start rumours."