Sir Paul McCartney's friends have insisted that tapes of revelations made by his first wife Linda contain "no dark secrets".

The former Beatle threatened legal action to prevent the tapes from being made public, leading to speculation that the "dynamite" audio diary would destroy the perception of their marriage as one of the strongest in showbiz.

However close friends of Paul's have pointed out that all couples row and believe that Linda simply made the tapes to let off steam. They have also rejected claims that the recordings could be used in Paul's divorce battle with Heather Mills.

One source told the Daily Star: "It's no surprise that Paul doesn't want these tapes getting out, because he's an extremely private person. Of course his marriage to Linda wasn't perfect and they had their fair share of arguments. Linda would simply have wanted to vent her spleen on the tapes.

"But Paul knows there are no dark secrets to come out and the tapes should have absolutely no bearing on his current situation with Heather."