We’re getting all geared up here at PaulMcCartney.com for the release of Paul’s new album Egypt Station. But, with it being summer, many of us have also just got back from our holidays – the calm before the storm! We’ve been reading all manner of things on our vacation from Yuval Noah Harari’s ‘Sapiens’, to Fiona McIntosh’s ‘The Lavender Keeper’ and Malorie Blackman’s ‘Noughts & Crosses’. So we were intrigued to find out what Paul had been leafing through this summer, courtesy of a question from Marta in Poland:

Marta asks: Do you have any summer reading? And which albums do you think you’ll take on holiday this year? And why?

Paul: Yeah, I’m reading something very unsummery at the moment which is ‘Grant’ about Ulysses S. Grant the American president. There’s no hint of summer in that! It’s all very war and politics, but I like it and I’m interested in knowing about him. So it doesn’t matter really, I wouldn’t buy something to read that was to do with the time of year, I’ll just buy because it’s something I’d take on holiday. And it might be just a big book, like ‘Grant’ is a fat volume: I’d buy it just so I have plenty to get through.

That’s where ‘Hamilton’ [the musical] came from. The guy who wrote this is Ron Chernow and he wrote a book on Hamilton in the same vein. Lin[-Manuel Miranda] bought the ‘Hamilton’ book to go on holiday with him. He read it and got fascinated. And thought, my God, this is hip-hop even though it was American history. The attitudes were very hip-hop. So that’s what lead him to write the musical ‘Hamilton’.

PMc.com: So we should be expecting a musical from you soon?

Paul: Oh no, not about Grant! So I’ll just be looking forward to the weather, getting outdoors a lot and the reading will be whatever I kind of fancy, but it wont really be summer related. For music, I immediately thought of ‘Pet Sounds’ by The Beach Boys. And then I thought of Neil Young. But I’ll be playing my new album… [Paul winks and nudges] Plug! Plug!

PMc.com: The album of the summer!

Paul: Oh yeah, the album of the summer… let me tell you! [Laughs]

We are maybe a little ….well, ok, very biased! But we definitely agree: Egypt Station is a great album to play during the summer. And Autumn. It’s pretty good for winter too. And there’s no competition – it’s the album of next spring too!

Egypt Station will be in stores from Friday 7th September. We love reading your comments on Paul’s music so when you pick up your copy, please do let us know your favourite songs below…

Pick up your copy of Egypt Station online by clicking HERE!