A US university has awarded ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney an honorary Doctor of Music degree.

Yale University said it honoured the 65-year-old because he awakened a generation, giving a fresh sound to "rock, roll, rhythm and blues".

A band played Hey Jude, a Beatles hit, as McCartney walked on stage to accept the degree.

In granting the honorary degree to McCartney, the elite university said no one compares with the legendary songwriter.

Yale University President Richard Levin evoked some of the songwriter's most memorable lines.

New Haven was the site of a British invasion of sorts, as McCartney and former prime minister Tony Blair were in town for Yale's 307th commencement.

Mr Blair's eldest son, Euan, is completing a two-year master's programme in international relations, and the former prime minister, who is to teach a course in the autumn, gave a speech to Yale students on foreign relations.   

McCartney toured a local art gallery and dined with Yale dignitaries.

Yale also conferred honorary degrees on former US Trade Representative Carla Hills, astronomer Martin Rees, architect Cesar Pelli, poet John Lawrence Ashbery and others. // yahoonews