McCartney Lost Ownership of 'Live and Let Die' to Guns N' Roses

Sir Paul McCartney's kids were taunted for claiming their dad wrote "Live and Let Die" after Guns N' Roses covered his iconic James Bond theme.

The American hard rock band - fronted by Axl Rose - recorded a version of his 007 anthem for their 1991 album Use Your Illusion I, with the track remaining a fixture in their live sets.

Paul, 81, has now recalled how his kids would go to school and boast it was their dad who was responsible for creating the song only to be told they were lying.

Speaking on his "A Life in Lyrics" podcast, he said, "I thought it was pretty good actually. I was more amazed that they would actually do it, this young American group. The interesting thing was my kids would go to school and they would go, ‘My dad wrote that.’ They’d go, ‘No he didn’t, it was Guns N’ Roses,’ so nobody would ever believe them. For a while it was just Guns N’ Roses."

The "Get Back' singer was delighted that Guns N' Roses wanted to cover the song almost 20 years after he had recorded it with his late wife Linda and his band Wings and he insists he is always happy when other artists want to reinterpret his lyrics and music.

He said, "I was very happy that they had done it. I always like people doing my songs."

Paul had four children with photographer Linda; 60-year-old Heather - who he adopted when the couple married in 1969 - Mary, 54, Stella, 52 and James, 46. He also has 20-year-old Beatrice from his second marriage to Heather Mills.

"Live and Let Die" featured in the 1973 film of the same name, the eighth installment in the 007 franchise and the first to star the late Sir Roger Moore as the suave British spy.

The Beatles legend admitted it had always been an ambition of his to record a Bond theme and follow in the footsteps of acclaimed artists such as Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones and Nancy Sinatra.

Paul said, "It was always a sneaky ambition to write a Bond song because, in some ways, I like to see myself, one portion of myself, as a jobbing writer. You require a song for the queen’s wedding, I’m your man. The equivalent of that for a lot people is the Bond song. You’ve written a Bond song, it’s a bit of an accolade."