Sir Paul McCartney has revealed he is often tempted to “join in” with tourists posing on the zebra crossing made famous by The Beatles’ Abbey Road album.
The 77-year-old was this morning reflecting on the 50-year anniversary of the band’s seventh album on Radio 2, which the musician said he had “beautiful memories” of.
He added: “Nowadays I drive past but you can’t get past — there’s people on it. I’ve often thought of just jumping out and joining in.”
He also admitted he did once stop there after a party.
“I was coming back from a Halloween party and the crossing was empty and I had a werewolf mask on so I just went across and did a pose.”
The BBC has set up a pop-up radio station to mark the anniversary, called Radio 2 Beatles.
His most recent studio album, 2018’s Egypt Station, was a hit around the world and Sir Paul said he still loves to perform after a hugely successful career spanning six decades.
The veteran was asked about his collaboration with the rapper Kanye West after the pair performed alongside Rihanna at the 2015 Grammy Awards.
The Liverpool-born rock star collaborated on the songs Four Five Seconds and Only One with West, with both becoming chart hits.
He told how he and West met up for secret recording sessions, which were a world away from how he used to write songs with Lennon.
While Sir Paul and Lennon would often sit nose-to-nose, each with a guitar in hand while working on a track, West’s method’s were “more cerebral”.
“It was just talking and thinking and me plonking away a little bit”, he said.
The Beatles – In pictures
1/42 1963
The Beatles on stage at the London Palladium
Getty Images
2/42 1963
A group shot of the Beatles, Ringo Starr (in the background), George Harrison (1943 – 2001), Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 – 1980), pictured during a performance on Granada TV’s Late Scene Extra television show filmed in Manchester, England on November 25, 1963
Getty Images
3/42 1963
British pop group The Beatles holding their silver disc in 1963
Getty Images
4/42 1963
The Beatles rehearse for that night’s Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre, 4th November 1963
Getty Images
5/42 1963
The Beatles with their Variety Club award for Showbiz personalities of the Year in 1963
PA
6/42 1963
Princess Margaret meeting pop group The Beatles at the 1963 Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre
PA
7/42 1963
Liverpudlian beat combo The Beatles, from left to right Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 – 1980), and George Harrison (1943 – 2001), performing in front of a camera-shaped drum kit on Granada TV’s Late Scene Extra television show filmed in Manchester, England on November 25, 1963
Getty Images
8/42 1964
The Beatles at a press conference at London Airport, 2nd July 1964, following a tour of Australia.
Getty Images
9/42 1964
The Beatles soon after their arrival in Washington, USA, playing in the snow outside the Coliseum
Getty Images
10/42 1964
John Lennon plays his guitar while the other Beatles and manager Brian Epstein relax in a hotel room in Paris.
Getty Images
11/42 1964
The Beatles take a fake blow from Muhammad Ali while visiting the heavyweight contender’s training camp in Miami Beach
Rex
12/42 1964
Drummer Ringo Starr performing with The Beatles on the television pop show Ready, Steady, Go in 1964
PA
13/42 1964
The Beatles wearing Eskimo outfits for their Christmas Show at the Odeon, Hammersmith, London in 1964
PA
14/42 1964
The Beatles, home after their successful American tour, when they were welcomed by 4,000 screaming teenagers at London Airport in 1964
PA
15/42 1964
The Beatles performing live in the USA
Getty Images
16/42 1964
The Beatles, from left to right: Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943 – 2001) and John Lennon (1940 – 1980), in concert in America
Getty Images
17/42 1964
Pop group The Beatles George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon with fans, circa 1964.
Getty Images
18/42 1964
The Beatles set sail from Miami Beach, Florida
Getty Images
19/42 1965
British pop group The Beatles, from left to right; Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 – 1980), Paul McCartney and George Harrison (1943 – 2001), outside Buckingham Palace, London, after receiving their MBE’s (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from the Queen
Getty Images
20/42 1965
Beatles fans try to break through a police line at Buckingham Palace in London
AFP/Getty Images
21/42 1965
Strolling hand-in-hand are Ringo Starr, the Beatles drummer, and his bride, the former Maureen Cox on their wedding day in 1965
PA
22/42 1965
John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles on Salisbury Plain during the filming of ‘Help’ in 1965
PA
23/42 1966
British rock group The Beatles perform live on stage in front of a circular lit backdrop at the BBC TV Centre, June 1966
Getty Images
24/42 1966
Portrait of British pop group The Beatles (L-R) Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943 – 2001), Ringo Starr and John Lennon (1940 – 1980) at the BBC Television Studios in London before the start of their world tour, June 17, 1966
Getty Images
25/42 1967
At the EMI studios in Abbey Road, as they prepare for ‘Our World’, a world-wide live television show broadcasting to 24 countries with a potential audience of 400 million
Getty Images
26/42 1967
The Beatles celebrate the completion of their new album, ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
Getty Images
27/42 1967
The Beatles at a recording session in London in 1967
PA
28/42 1968
Three Beatles; from left to right John Lennon (1940 – 1980), George Harrison (1943 – 2001) and Paul McCartney, record voices in a studio for their new cartoon film ‘Yellow Submarine’.
Getty Images
29/42 1968
Beatle Paul McCartney gives the thumbs up during production of the new Beatles film, a feature length cartoon called ‘Yellow Submarine’.
Getty Images
30/42 1968
Celebrity devotees of the Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi and friends, at his academy in India, high up in the Himalayas, where they are studying transcendental meditation, March 1968. From left to right, Patti Boyd, John Lennon (1940 – 1980), Mike Love of The Beach Boys, Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi, George Harrison (1943 – 2001), Mia Farrow, John Farrow, Donovan, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Cynthia Lennon.
Getty Images
31/42 1968
John Lennon and Paul McCartney, of The Beatles, arriving at London Airport, 16th May 1968. They are both dressed in white and carrying apples to promote their new company Apple Corps.
Getty Images
32/42 1968
English drummer Ringo Starr with his wife Maureen Cox (1946 – 1994) and English guitarist George Harrison (1943 – 2001) with his wife Pattie Boyd at Heathrow Airport, London
Getty Images
33/42 1968
Beatles members Ringo Starr and George Harrison (1943 – 2001) pose with a model of a Blue Meanie, a character from the group’s animated film ‘Yellow Submarine’, at a press review at Bowater House, Knightsbridge.
Getty Images
34/42 1968
Beatle John Lennon (1940 – 1980) and his Japanese girlfriend Yoko Ono with Beatle Paul McCartney, right, at the premiere of the new Beatles film ‘Yellow Submarine’ at the London Pavilion. John and Paul hold apples, the symbol of their newly formed company, Apple Corps. Thousands of Beatle fans brought traffic to a standstill in Piccadilly Circus as they waited to see the group arrive at the premiere.
Getty Images
35/42 1968
Crowds outside the Apple boutique, run by the Beatles’ Apple Corps, on the day of its closing, when all its remaining stock was given away, London, 31st July 1968. The shop, on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street, was opened the previous December.
Getty Images
36/42 1968
Beatles singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lennon (1940 – 1980) and his partner artist Yoko Ono, leaving court surrounded by police.
Getty Images
37/42 1969
Beatles star Paul McCartney weds American photographer Linda Eastman (1941 – 1998). With them is daughter Heather.
Getty Images
38/42 1969
British rock group the Beatles performing their last live public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Organization building for director Michael Lindsey-Hogg’s film documentary, ‘Let It Be,’ on Savile Row, London, UK, 30th January 1969; singer-songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 – 1980) perform at their microphones, and guitarist George Harrison (1943 – 2001) on the right. Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono sits at right.
Getty Images
39/42 1969
British rock group the Beatles performing their last live public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Organization building for director Michael Lindsey-Hogg’s film documentary, ‘Let It Be,’ on Savile Row, London, UK, 30th January 1969; drummer Ringo Starr sits behind his kit, singer-songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 – 1980) perform at their microphones, and guitarist George Harrison (1943 – 2001) stands behind them. Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono sits at right.
Getty Images
40/42 1969
British singer-songwriter John Lennon (1940 – 1980) of Beatles fame sings a song, while his wife Yoko Ono lies in bed beside him. The couple are staying in bed in a hotel in Canada, receiving the press and media, as part of a peace protest.
Getty Images
41/42 1969
Beatle Paul McCartney puts a protective arm around his wife Linda (1941 – 1998), as they struggle through the crowds gathered outside Marylebone Register Office, where they have just married.
Getty Images
42/42 1969
Beatle John Lennon (1940 Â 1980) and his wife of a week Yoko Ono in their bed in the Presidential Suite of the Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam, 25th March 1969. The couple are staging a ‘bed-in for peace’ and intend to stay in bed for seven days ‘as a protest against war and violence in the world’.
Getty Images
1/42 1963
The Beatles on stage at the London Palladium
Getty Images
2/42 1963
A group shot of the Beatles, Ringo Starr (in the background), George Harrison (1943 – 2001), Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 – 1980), pictured during a performance on Granada TV’s Late Scene Extra television show filmed in Manchester, England on November 25, 1963
Getty Images
3/42 1963
British pop group The Beatles holding their silver disc in 1963
Getty Images
4/42 1963
The Beatles rehearse for that night’s Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre, 4th November 1963
Getty Images
5/42 1963
The Beatles with their Variety Club award for Showbiz personalities of the Year in 1963
PA
6/42 1963
Princess Margaret meeting pop group The Beatles at the 1963 Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre
PA
7/42 1963
Liverpudlian beat combo The Beatles, from left to right Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 – 1980), and George Harrison (1943 – 2001), performing in front of a camera-shaped drum kit on Granada TV’s Late Scene Extra television show filmed in Manchester, England on November 25, 1963
Getty Images
8/42 1964
The Beatles at a press conference at London Airport, 2nd July 1964, following a tour of Australia.
Getty Images
9/42 1964
The Beatles soon after their arrival in Washington, USA, playing in the snow outside the Coliseum
Getty Images
10/42 1964
John Lennon plays his guitar while the other Beatles and manager Brian Epstein relax in a hotel room in Paris.
Getty Images
11/42 1964
The Beatles take a fake blow from Muhammad Ali while visiting the heavyweight contender’s training camp in Miami Beach
Rex
12/42 1964
Drummer Ringo Starr performing with The Beatles on the television pop show Ready, Steady, Go in 1964
PA
13/42 1964
The Beatles wearing Eskimo outfits for their Christmas Show at the Odeon, Hammersmith, London in 1964
PA
14/42 1964
The Beatles, home after their successful American tour, when they were welcomed by 4,000 screaming teenagers at London Airport in 1964
PA
15/42 1964
The Beatles performing live in the USA
Getty Images
16/42 1964
The Beatles, from left to right: Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943 – 2001) and John Lennon (1940 – 1980), in concert in America
Getty Images
17/42 1964
Pop group The Beatles George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon with fans, circa 1964.
Getty Images
18/42 1964
The Beatles set sail from Miami Beach, Florida
Getty Images
19/42 1965
British pop group The Beatles, from left to right; Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 – 1980), Paul McCartney and George Harrison (1943 – 2001), outside Buckingham Palace, London, after receiving their MBE’s (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from the Queen
Getty Images
20/42 1965
Beatles fans try to break through a police line at Buckingham Palace in London
AFP/Getty Images
21/42 1965
Strolling hand-in-hand are Ringo Starr, the Beatles drummer, and his bride, the former Maureen Cox on their wedding day in 1965
PA
22/42 1965
John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles on Salisbury Plain during the filming of ‘Help’ in 1965
PA
23/42 1966
British rock group The Beatles perform live on stage in front of a circular lit backdrop at the BBC TV Centre, June 1966
Getty Images
24/42 1966
Portrait of British pop group The Beatles (L-R) Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943 – 2001), Ringo Starr and John Lennon (1940 – 1980) at the BBC Television Studios in London before the start of their world tour, June 17, 1966
Getty Images
25/42 1967
At the EMI studios in Abbey Road, as they prepare for ‘Our World’, a world-wide live television show broadcasting to 24 countries with a potential audience of 400 million
Getty Images
26/42 1967
The Beatles celebrate the completion of their new album, ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
Getty Images
27/42 1967
The Beatles at a recording session in London in 1967
PA
28/42 1968
Three Beatles; from left to right John Lennon (1940 – 1980), George Harrison (1943 – 2001) and Paul McCartney, record voices in a studio for their new cartoon film ‘Yellow Submarine’.
Getty Images
29/42 1968
Beatle Paul McCartney gives the thumbs up during production of the new Beatles film, a feature length cartoon called ‘Yellow Submarine’.
Getty Images
30/42 1968
Celebrity devotees of the Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi and friends, at his academy in India, high up in the Himalayas, where they are studying transcendental meditation, March 1968. From left to right, Patti Boyd, John Lennon (1940 – 1980), Mike Love of The Beach Boys, Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi, George Harrison (1943 – 2001), Mia Farrow, John Farrow, Donovan, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Cynthia Lennon.
Getty Images
31/42 1968
John Lennon and Paul McCartney, of The Beatles, arriving at London Airport, 16th May 1968. They are both dressed in white and carrying apples to promote their new company Apple Corps.
Getty Images
32/42 1968
English drummer Ringo Starr with his wife Maureen Cox (1946 – 1994) and English guitarist George Harrison (1943 – 2001) with his wife Pattie Boyd at Heathrow Airport, London
Getty Images
33/42 1968
Beatles members Ringo Starr and George Harrison (1943 – 2001) pose with a model of a Blue Meanie, a character from the group’s animated film ‘Yellow Submarine’, at a press review at Bowater House, Knightsbridge.
Getty Images
34/42 1968
Beatle John Lennon (1940 – 1980) and his Japanese girlfriend Yoko Ono with Beatle Paul McCartney, right, at the premiere of the new Beatles film ‘Yellow Submarine’ at the London Pavilion. John and Paul hold apples, the symbol of their newly formed company, Apple Corps. Thousands of Beatle fans brought traffic to a standstill in Piccadilly Circus as they waited to see the group arrive at the premiere.
Getty Images
35/42 1968
Crowds outside the Apple boutique, run by the Beatles’ Apple Corps, on the day of its closing, when all its remaining stock was given away, London, 31st July 1968. The shop, on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street, was opened the previous December.
Getty Images
36/42 1968
Beatles singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lennon (1940 – 1980) and his partner artist Yoko Ono, leaving court surrounded by police.
Getty Images
37/42 1969
Beatles star Paul McCartney weds American photographer Linda Eastman (1941 – 1998). With them is daughter Heather.
Getty Images
38/42 1969
British rock group the Beatles performing their last live public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Organization building for director Michael Lindsey-Hogg’s film documentary, ‘Let It Be,’ on Savile Row, London, UK, 30th January 1969; singer-songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 – 1980) perform at their microphones, and guitarist George Harrison (1943 – 2001) on the right. Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono sits at right.
Getty Images
39/42 1969
British rock group the Beatles performing their last live public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Organization building for director Michael Lindsey-Hogg’s film documentary, ‘Let It Be,’ on Savile Row, London, UK, 30th January 1969; drummer Ringo Starr sits behind his kit, singer-songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 – 1980) perform at their microphones, and guitarist George Harrison (1943 – 2001) stands behind them. Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono sits at right.
Getty Images
40/42 1969
British singer-songwriter John Lennon (1940 – 1980) of Beatles fame sings a song, while his wife Yoko Ono lies in bed beside him. The couple are staying in bed in a hotel in Canada, receiving the press and media, as part of a peace protest.
Getty Images
41/42 1969
Beatle Paul McCartney puts a protective arm around his wife Linda (1941 – 1998), as they struggle through the crowds gathered outside Marylebone Register Office, where they have just married.
Getty Images
42/42 1969
Beatle John Lennon (1940 Â 1980) and his wife of a week Yoko Ono in their bed in the Presidential Suite of the Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam, 25th March 1969. The couple are staging a ‘bed-in for peace’ and intend to stay in bed for seven days ‘as a protest against war and violence in the world’.
Getty Images
“And you record everything and he takes it away and kind of does stuff with it and just a month or so later, he sent back this record and it was Rihanna singing and so I had to ring up and sort of say ‘Am I on this? Did I have anything to do with it?’ I couldn’t tell!
“He said, ‘Yeah, what it is is, that’s you on guitar, so it’s all the chords and the musical idea’s yours, but we’ve sped it up to suit Rihanna’s key, musical key, so I did it in A so now it was up in D’.”
Sir Paul added: “You can imagine the fun of that. So when you’re saying to me why do I do it, how do I do it, because it’s all that kind of fun. And if someone like Kanye’s going to ask me, then I’m going to show up.”
Radio 2 Beatles is a four-day pop-up DAB radio station airing from September 26-29