He is highly regarded as one of the most talented and successful musicians in the world, having worked with some of the biggest names in music throughout his career, spanning an impressive six decades.

Now Paul McCartney has revealed which of his many collaborators he admires the most, having worked on songs with the likes of Stevie Wonder, the late George Michael and even modern artists such as Kanye West and Rihanna.

But it’s Paul’s former bandmates – John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – who he says inspired him the most, as the 76-year-old took a trip down memory lane during a question and answer session at the Liverpool Academy of Performing Arts, which he attended as a student.

When questioned by a member of the crowd about musicians he had worked with, Paul quickly answered “my fellow Beatles”, before giving a special mention to Lennon, describing his songs as “brilliant”.

“I got to see his brilliance before the world did,” Paul said. “I got to hear Across the Universe and Julia and some of these songs, I’m a big fan.”

Describing some of his most cherished moments with the much-loved star, who was murdered in 1980, Paul shined a light on John’s great musical talent.

“I have seen John at work, and little things he did were I thought brilliant,” he explained. “I started a song, ‘it’s getting better all the time’ and he went, ‘it couldn’t get much worse’… those little things.”

Paul went on to praise Stevie Wonder as another musician whom he strongly admires for, describing him as a “musical monster”.

“We did the record Ebony and Ivory…it was great fun working with Stevie on that,” he added.

The Beatles emerged out of Liverpool in the 1960s and are still regarded as one of the most influential bands in history. The band’s Abbey Road album even has one of the most iconic covers in music history, with fans regularly flocking to the London street to recreate the scene from the hit 1969 record.

Read more:Paul McCartney reveals why he went barefoot for iconic Abbey Road cover

Fans long questioned why Paul is the only band member who is wearing no shoes in the infamous shot, with some even speculating it was proof that McCartney had died, with John Lennon as God dressed all in white leading the band across the pedestrian crossing.

However Paul recently put to bed all of the rumours by revealing the true meaning behind his decision to ditch his footwear.

“The thing was I turned up and, like today, it was a very hot day,” he said.

“I happened to be wearing sandals so I just kicked them off, because it was just so hot, and went across barefoot. There was no special meaning behind it – it was really hot.”

Are you a fan of The Beatles? Did you ever see them play live?