Sir Paul McCartney says it was a "blessing" The Beatles never reformed.

The musician - who quit the Fab Four in 1970 - admits the possibility of him, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr reuniting was often discussed but never happened, and Paul thinks it was for the best.

He said: "There was a bit of talk of The Beatles at certain points. What used to happen was three of us would fancy it and then maybe George or John or I wouldn't. In a way it was a blessing. We'd done it, why spoil it? Whether it's god given or not those four people was a pretty good mix."

Paul, 67, also admits he is a better writer of emotional material as opposed to his late bandmate John whose music became politicised after The Beatles split.

He added in an interview Q magazine: "You can't have it all, I've written songs more about emotions. Like 'Eleanor Rigby' is about loneliness. Love songs like 'Maybe I'm Amazed'. That's my forte. I'd love to write more protest songs, but I don't think I have the knack for it that other people do. I've complained about situations but they're not necessarily my better songs."