From Beatle to ballet: Sir Paul's latest score

(PAUL KOLNIK)

Sir Paul McCartney might just have unveiled his first ever ballet score in New York – but yesterday he revealed an embarrassing lack of knowledge about the art form.

Sir Paul, 69, who composed the score to the New York City Ballet's production of Ocean's Kingdom, the story of an underwater romance, told the BBC he had scant knowledge of ballet after the work's gala performance debut on Thursday evening. He said: "I don't know much about ballet. I kind of know Swan Lake and The Nutcracker."

Asked why he had accepted the project, he replied: "I'm the kind of person who, if I get an offer that's exciting or unusual, I would tend to go 'Yes' and then think later about what I'd bitten off." The former Beatle also contributed to the work's story, while his daughter, fashion designer Stella, created its costumes.