Paul McCartney is baffled by influencers: "I just don't really get it."

21 May 2026, 09:45

Paul McCartney performs at The O2 Arena, London in 2024. Picture: Jim Dyson/Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The Beatles legend has revealed he doesn't understand the phenomenon, which he admits makes him "sound very old fashioned".

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Sir Paul McCartney doesn't understand influencers.

The Beatles icon sat down with The Rest Is Entertainment's Richard Osman and Marina Hyde last week, who asked him questions on behalf of fans.

When quizzed if there's any behaviour he sees in the 21st Century that still baffles him, the 83-year-old musician responded: "I think a lot of this influencer stuff. 'Cause I'm not that generation, I just don't really get it."

"But I see it," he went on. "You can't help but see it. It's all on Instagram or my wife [Lady Nancy McCartney] will be looking and she'll be showing me something else and then one of those will come on."

"I just think it's funny. I suppose it always happened, but people who don't seem to be particularly talented are like very famous. Only [now they're] very famous. Billions of hits and views and all that."

"You've got to be careful about that," he added cautiously. "Because it makes you sound very old fashioned... which I am!"

Sir Paul McCartney Answers YOUR Questions

The interview also saw the Hey Jude legend explain why he declines selfies with fans when they come across him, revealing it makes him feel like he's not himself.

"I don't like to do that," he maintained. "It's a bit like your question about innocence or normalness. I feel that's very important to me. The minute I get above myself and start thinking something else, I won't like me.

"So it's very important to me and I'll say to people, 'I don't want to do the photos,' and they say 'Why?' and [I say] 'I tell you what,' and I go into this very long-winded explanation of: 'Down on the south coast of France, Saint-Tropez, there's a guy on the beachfront who's got a monkey and you pay to have your photo taken with the monkey.'

"So I say, 'And I really do not want to feel like that monkey and I really feel like that. When I take a picture with you, I do feel like him.' I'm not me. I'm suddenly something else. "

Paul Mccartney press photo — Paul Mccartney is releasing a new album this year. Picture: Mary McCartney

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Meanwhile, McCartney is preparing to release his 20th solo studio album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, on 29th May.

The record is preceded by lead single, Days We Left Behind, plus Home to Us- his first ever duet with his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr.

Listen to the single, which also features Chrissie Hynde and Sharleen Spiteri, below:

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr - Home to Us (Lyric Video)

Speaking about Home to Us McCartney said: “Ringo went round to the studio and drummed a bit. I said to Andrew, we should make a track and send it to him. So this song is done totally with Ringo in mind. In writing the song I’m talking about where we came from. In common with a lot of people, you come from nothing and you build yourself up. Ringo was from the Dingle, and that was well hard. He said he used to get mugged coming home, because he worked.

"Even though it was crazy, it was home to us. I made the song around that idea and sent it to Ringo. He sent me back a version where he just added some lines to the chorus, so I thought, maybe he doesn’t like it. I rang him and he said he thought I only wanted him to sing one or two lines, and I said I’d love to hear him sing the whole thing. So we took my first line, Ringo’s second line, and then we had a duet. We’d never done that before. Then we wanted some backing vocals and I had the idea it would be nice to hear girls. Chrissie Hynde said she’d do it, and Sharleen Spiteri, they’re mates. So they did it.”

Paul McCartney's The Boys of Dungeon Lane is available to pre-order now. See its artwork and tracklisting below...