Coin collector Paul McCartney

Jun 20, 2010, 9:30 GMT

Sir Paul McCartney once had pennies thrown at him by a group of "unruly youths".

The Beatles legend admits the group - also comprising Ringo Starr and the late John Lennon and George Harrison - played some "miserable" shows in their early days, but swiftly turned the situation to their advantage.

He explained: "There were dreadful gigs that were memorable.

"We played a little village near Stroud once, but not a lot of people turned up. A few unruly youths threw pennies at us, so that was kinda miserable, except at the end we decided to pick up the pennies and pocket them, which stopped that practice fairly quickly."

Having been a solo artist for much of the last 40 years, Paul claims he now enjoys touring but makes sure he is ready to do it before he commits.

He said: "I don't tour as rigorously as I used to. I have periods when I can tour and it makes me actually enjoy it better and therefore makes it seem a little easier than it used to. And also when the tickets sell out in four seconds, as some of them have done, it makes me think, 'These people want to come and see me,' and that helps."