The Beatle said he was only released because of his "celebrity"

Paul McCartney has recalled the time he was incarcerated in a Japanese jail for nine days after being caught with marijuana.

New footage from the Beatles legend’s Carpool Karaoke appearance has been added to the segment that aired last month to create a one-hour special called Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool. The new footage aired in the US last night (August 20).

In the previously unseen footage, McCartney discusses his 1980 arrest at Tokyo airport after marijuana was found in his suitcase. “I still am hazy as to how that happened but it did,” he told Corden. “I had some marijuana in my suitcase and I ended up in jail [for] nine days. Scary!”

The star also revealed what his sentence should have been if his “celebrity” hadn’t got him off. “The guy goes, ‘Oh! [makes incoherent sound],'” McCartney began. “I said, ‘Well, what did he say?’ He says, ‘Seven years hard labour.’ And actually, that was the sentence for what I’d done.”

He shared another memory from his last day in the prison, explaining the prisoners had to share a communal bath. “By the end, I was like, ‘Come on! In for a penny. I’m going in with the boys,'” he said. “So we all went in there and it was fun, y’know, being in the tub with all these Japanese guys.”

Meanwhile, film crews were spotted near McCartney’s childhood home in the Garston area of Liverpool recently, sparking speculation the star was filming a new music video there.

The musician has returned to Liverpool several times this summer. As well as filming his Carpool Karaoke appearance there, he also took part in a Q&A with Jarvis Cocker at the Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts and made a surprise appearance at the Cavern Club.

McCartney is set to release his new album ‘Egypt Station‘ on September 7. He will perform tracks from the release at a series of UK arena shows in December. Remaining tickets are available here.

Paul McCartney will play:

Liverpool, Echo Arena (December 12)
Glasgow, SSE Hydro (14)
London, The O2 (16)