Paul McCartney has described fellow The Beatles legend John Lennon's 1971 peace anthem 'Imagine' as a 'beautiful vision' of how the world could be — and one that feels painfully relevant given the scale of ongoing global conflict. The 83-year-old music icon made the remarks while reflecting on his creative partnership with Lennon and selecting the 10 songs that shaped his life and career.

McCartney on 'Imagine'

Speaking during a BBC Radio 2 appearance, McCartney was candid about why Lennon's most celebrated solo track still holds such emotional weight. '(Imagine is) just one of John's great songs,' he said. 'There's so many tracks you can choose. You start getting John, well, what about George? George has got some incredible ones. But you've got to slim it down for the programme. I just think that song of John's is magical.'

He went further, drawing on decades of creative intimacy with Lennon to describe how the song takes shape in his mind. 'In my mind, having worked with John so often, I can kind of see him writing it. To see him doing that piano part. I think it's a beautiful vision of how the world could be,' McCartney said. 'Unfortunately, when I hear that, the back of my mind thinks it's not going to happen. Or, Wouldn't it be great? How lucky would we be if all those things happened? I think a lot of people love to think about that, love to imagine that kind of reality, particularly with a lot of stuff going on these days.'

The Beatles revival and McCartney's wider selections

McCartney's remarks come amid a broader resurgence of interest in The Beatles' legacy. The renewed focus follows the critical success of director Peter Jackson's documentary series 'The Beatles: Get Back', as well as mounting anticipation around filmmaker Sam Mendes' forthcoming four-part biopic project, which will chronicle the lives of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr separately.

McCartney's own recent Got Back tour also reignited worldwide enthusiasm for the band's back catalogue, with his work continuing to feature prominently on streaming and reissue charts. Alongside Lennon's 'Imagine', McCartney selected tracks by Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, The Kinks, and The Human League as personal favourites for the programme.

Rolling Stones collaboration

McCartney also used the occasion to reflect on a recent studio collaboration with The Rolling Stones, revealing he had been invited to contribute bass to the band's forthcoming album — a pairing that underscores his enduring relevance across rock music's defining generations.

Why it matters

Lennon's 'Imagine', released in 1971, has long functioned as an unofficial anthem for peace movements worldwide. McCartney's endorsement, delivered not as a formal tribute but as a personal and candid reflection, carries particular weight given that he co-wrote much of the music that defined the same era. Notably, his comments arrive at a moment when multiple armed conflicts continue to dominate global headlines, lending Lennon's lyrics a fresh and sobering urgency. The song's continued cultural pull — more than five decades after its release — is a testament to both its simplicity and its ambition.