LONDON:

Paul McCartney was 24 when The Beatles first recorded their hit track When I’m Sixty-Four. Forty years on, he finally found out the answers to the long list of questions contained in the song as he celebrated his landmark birthday on June 18.

James Paul McCartney was just 15 when he wrote the song, which was later included on the legendary Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album in 1967.

Today he and drummer Ringo Starr are the only living ex-Beatles.

But McCartney’s birthday celebrations are likely to be very different from the cosy but ordinary existence he imagined in the song, whose lyrics include the lines “we can rent a cottage on the Isle of Wight, if it’s not too dear” and “you can knit a sweater by the fireside, Sunday mornings go for a ride”.

The Sunday Mirror said McCartney planned to celebrate his birthday at his farmhouse in Sussex with his two elder daughters, fashion designer Stella, and photographer Mary. McCartney is expected to take his usual place in front of the barbecue, accompanied by his son James, adopted daughter Heather and brother Mike.

The Mirror said his grandchildren had prepared a special treat for him by recording their own version of When I’m Sixty-Four.