Clara Tait, 11, was one of the first to have her book signed

The number of fans was matched only by the media scrum which descended on the bookshop, with press interest in the singer still intense.

The new book, Paintings, features 80 works, including portraits of McCartney's late wife Linda, a likeness of David Bowie and a portrait of Patti Boyd, former wife of fellow Beatle George Harrison.

He said: "I have always loved drawing and painting and stuff. When I turned 40 someone said life begins at 40, so I started painting.

Sir Paul laughed off any derision of his work from critics and said: "I don't care about them anyway."

Eleven-year-old Clara Tait and her father Russell, from Kent, were among the first to meet Sir Paul.

Wearing a T-shirt paying homage to the Sgt Pepper Beatles' album and clutching her signed copy of the book she said the wait had been worth it.

The event attracted a swarm of photographers

"I'll never sell this book," she said.

Patricia Loveland had travelled from Oxford and queued overnight to guarantee her signed copy.

"The book was meant as a surprise for my son-in-law but I don't think that's possible now," she said, referring to the crush of photographers, journalists and cameramen.

"Sir Paul was delightful. I just cannot get over how nice he was to us," she said after stealing a kiss from the 58-year-old singer.

McCartney has been an avid art collector since he first found fame with the Beatles in the early 1960s and first started painting himself in the early 1980s, after receiving encouragement from artist US Willem de Kooning.

'Chuffed'

The book follows exhibitions of his work in Germany, London, Bristol and New York.

Sir Paul said he was "chuffed" at the success of the chart-topping Beatles greatest hits album, called 1.

"The success of 1 is fantastic and I'm extremely chuffed after all these years that that record is the top of the hit parade.

"It's a really good record, well structured."