* The most successful composer and recording artist of all time (Самый выдающийся композитор и исполнитель всех времен) *

* 1979: Most Successful Songwriter

With 129 of the songs he has written/co-written charting in the UK, Paul McCartney (UK) lays claim to the most songs to feature in the UK singles chart. An astonishing 91 of his singles reach the Top 10, with 33 of those making it to No.1. Here he is pictured with his wife, Linda, at a dinner in his honour hosted by Guinness World Records at Les Ambassadeurs Club in London on 24 October 1979.

McCartney also boasts a number of other records, including the first live concert broadcast to space in 2005, the first Bond theme nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar ('Live and Let Die' with his band Wings in 1973) and the most questions asked online (he received over three million queries from fans during a 30-minute web chat in 1997).

And that’s before even taking into account the 20-plus shared records that he earned with a little help from his friends, The Beatles...

McCartney still continues to make headline news in the music world, most recently collaborating with Kanye West and Rihanna. The music video for FourFiveSeconds has so far clocked up an impressive 226 million views on YouTube.

Most number one singles by a songwriter (US/UK)

The most successful songwriters in terms of number one singles are John Lennon (1940-80) and Paul McCartney (b. 18 Jun 1942). McCartney is credited as the writer on 32 number one hits in the US to Lennons 26 (with 23 co-written), whereas Lennon authored 29 UK number ones to McCartney's 28 (25 co-written).

Most No.1 albums on US chart - group

The Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – have more No.1 albums in the US (19) and UK (15) than anyone else. The band’s US tally includes nine consecutive No.1s from 1965–68 and chart-topping debuts for all three Anthology collections in 1995–96. The Fab Four managed seven consecutive No.1 albums in their homeland (1963–66). Their chart debut, Please Please Me (1963), remains the album to beat for most consecutive weeks at No.1 on UK albums chart (group, one album) – 30 weeks from 11 May to 30 November 1963. In both countries, The Beatles have the most cumulative weeks at No.1 (group, multiple albums) – 132 weeks in the USA and 174 weeks in the UK.

Most UK chart singles by a songwriter

McCartney has written or co-written 192 songs that have charted on the UK's Official Singles Chart since its launch in 1952. This total includes 32 hits with The Beatles, 21 with Wings and 36 as a soloist or as part of a duo or group. McCartney's 192nd and most recent chart entry was 'All Day', a collaboration with American rapper Kanye West that peaked at No.18 in 2015.

Paul-Linda-McCartney-guinness-world-records-event1979
Thirty-three songs penned by McCartney have reached No.1 in the UK, including 17 as a member of The Beatles, one with Wings ('Mull of Kintyre/Girls' School'), one with Stevie Wonder ('Ebony and Ivory') and one solo ('Pipes of Peace'), as well as 13 songs written for other artists, among them the 1960s chart-toppers 'Bad To Me' by Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas and "World Without Love" by Peter & Gordon, both written with John Lennon.

'All Day' boasts no less than 20 co-writers, including McCartney. It followed two other collaborations that saw the ex-Beatle return to the UK chart as a songwriter with new material for the first time since 2007: 'Only One' (Kanye West feat. Paul McCartney) and 'FourFiveSeconds' (Rihanna feat. Kanye West & Paul McCartney).

First live music concert broadcast to space

Paul became the first artist to broadcast live to space when he sent a wake up call to the International Space Station from his Anaheim concert on 12 November 2005.

"I can't believe that we're actually transmitting to space!" McCartney said during the concert and live broadcast to the ISS. "This is sensational. I love it."

"That was simply magnificent," said NASA astronaut Bill McArthur, who was accompanied by Russian cosmonaut Valary Tokarev. "We consider you an explorer just as we are."