Paul McCartney Sees Himself Rocking Well Into His Eighties

At age 69, Paul McCartney is busier than he was when he was 29.

His new album, Kisses On The Bottom, came out February 7. He got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 9. He was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year on February 10. And he closed out Sunday night's Grammy Awards with a performance of The Beatles' "The End" that featured a jam with Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh and Dave Grohl.

And although 70 is just months away (June 18), he has no plans to stop touring or recording.

"You get the argument, 'Make way for the young kids,'" says McCartney in the next issue of Rolling Stone. "And you think, 'Fuck that, let them make way for themselves. If they're better than me, they'll beat me.' Foo Fighters don't have a problem, they're good. They'll do their thing.

"If you're enjoying it, why do something else? And what would you do? Well, a good answer is 'Take more holidays,' which is definitely on the cards, but I don't seem to do that. I love what I do so much that I don't really want to stop. I'm just kind of casually keeping an eye on how I feel, and onstage, it feels like it's always felt. So for the time being, the band's hot, I'm really enjoying myself, still singing like I sang, not experiencing, touch wood, any sort of problems to speak of. If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

He even can imagine himself rocking well into his eighties.

"I can imagine it," he says. "As to whether my imagination will come true, I don't know. The last couple of years, I've gotten into guitar – so there's all sorts of little things that crop up that entice you forward, and you go, 'Hmm, I'd like that.'"

Photo: Bob Gannon

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