Sir Paul McCartney has joked he can't make a pop album because Beyonce and Taylor Swift have "got that covered".

Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

The 76-year-old icon has just released his 17th solo studio album, 'Egypt Station', and he's explained why he's chosen to go down the route of making a "concept" record, rather than a pop album.

During an appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon', Paul said: "We figured we can't really do the modern pop album, where it's like just a bunch of singles.

"I mean people like Taylor Swift and Beyonce have got that kind of thing covered."

He added, jokingly: "They've got better legs than me. Just."

Meanwhile, Paul recently insisted he doesn't think Yoko Ono's "intrusive" nature caused the breakdown of The Beatles.

Many fans of the band have blamed John Lennon's widow for their split, but Paul suggested she was only so involved because of the couple's love for each other.

He said: "Even though we thought she was intrusive because she used to sit in on the recording sessions and we'd never had anything like that.

"But looking back on it, you think, 'The guy was totally in love with her. And you've just got to respect that.' So we did. And I do."

Paul also opened up on the moment John - who was tragically murdered in 1980 - told his bandmates he had decided to leave the band.

The chart-topping star suggested the other members of the group - which included George Harrison and Ringo Starr - had reached a point in their lives whereby they felt it was time to move on from the The Beatles, although they didn't realise it at the time.

He said: "There was a meeting where John came in and said, 'I'm leaving the group.' And looking back on it, he'd reached that stage in his life. We all had."