McCartney bares soul in US film

McCartney recently exhibited his paintings

Sir Paul McCartney has spoken of his trauma at the Beatles' break-up and memories of his spell in prison in a film documenting his life in Wings.

The two-hour film, Wingspan, which also features unseen his home-movies of his late wife Linda, will be broadcast on US TV in early May before being shown around the world.

The US network ABC is currently negotiating its broadcast with worldwide TV companies.

The project will tie in with the release of a new EMI album bringing together the hits from his 1970s, post-Beatles band.

"I always thought you could not follow The Beatles," Sir Paul said.

The film features footage of McCartney's late wife Linda

"Wingspan is the story and soundtrack of how we set out to do it."

The film consists of a series of interviews with McCartney, and reveal how the splitting up of the band led him to near breakdown, and how he felt he had to rebuild his pop career from scratch in a back-to-basics band.

McCartney's spokesman George Baker said: "I've never even heard him talk about it off camera before now."

"Instead of arriving at stadium concerts in police-escorted limousines, Wings drove themselves to small halls unannounced and uninvited, and were paid for their impromptu shows in 50p pieces," Baker recalled.

Jail experiences

He added: "For the first time Paul has revealed his experiences in prison - when he was jailed in Tokyo in 1980 for possession of cannabis."

McCartney was arrested at Tokyo's Narita Airport in 1980 for marijuana possession and spent 10 days in jail.

Wings was formed in 1971 and entered the charts with the politically charged Give Ireland Back To The Irish, followed by hits such as Band On The Run, Jet, Live And Let Die.

Mull of Kintyre topped the British charts for 9 weeks in 1977, but many critics felt the band could not compete with the enormous success of The Beatles.

Wingspan also includes footage of Sir Paul and his wife Linda, a photographer and campaigners for animal rights, who died of breast cancer in 1998.