Paul McCartney on Why He Doesn’t Sign Autographs Anymore

Paul McCartney has joined the "No Autographs" club, which Ringo Starr has been part of for years.

Sir Paul mentioned his decision on not signing autographs in a new interview with Reader's Digest (as transcribed by Classic Rock) saying, "It always struck me as a bit strange. ‘Here, can I write your name down on the back of this till receipt please?’ Why? We both know who I am."

Of course, McCartney isn't opposed to interacting with fans adding, "What you've usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable. Let's chat, let's exchange stories."

Macca has been doing a lot of press lately to help promote his memoir The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, which comes out November 2. As previously reported, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present is comprised of 154 songs written by McCartney and dives into the stories and inspirations behind them.
Sir Paul said in a statement about his book, "More often than I can count, I’ve been asked if I would write an autobiography, but the time has never been right. The one thing I’ve always managed to do, whether at home or on the road, is to write new songs. I know that some people, when they get to a certain age, like to go to a diary to recall day-to-day events from the past, but I have no such notebooks. What I do have are my songs, hundreds of them, which I’ve learned serve much the same purpose. And these songs span my entire life."

Interestingly, the 154 songs that make up the book are organized in alphabetical order, not chronological order. By doing this, the book "...establishes definitive texts of the songs’ lyrics for the first time and describes the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what [McCartney] thinks of them now."

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present is currently available for pre-order here.