Legendary musician Paul Mccartney made the best of his recent ill health as the break from work allowed him to spend more time with his wife and take his first proper vacation in years.

The 72-year-old musician says he actually enjoyed his sick leave as he relished the chance to rest and recuperate.

"People say to me, 'Aw, that must have been terrible for you.' Well, no, actually. No one ever tells me to rest! It was like summer holidays in school or something. I thought, 'Yeah, I can get into that'. I just took it really easy at home in England," contactmusic.com quoted him as saying.

The Beatles legend was hospitalised in Japan in May after he fell sick with a virus, prompting him to cancel the rest of his Asian tour and push back his planned dates in the US.

MCCartney returned to his native Britain to recover, and was later photographed bouncing back to health on a sun-soaked vacation with his wife Nancy Shevell in Ibiza, Spain before restarting his American tour July 5.