Mccartney’s son: Our world fell apart when mother Linda died
Rock legend’s musician son James, 35, speaks out for first time
Paul McCartney’s son James has spoken for the first time about how he turned to drugs and became estranged from his family after his mother’s death. He has also admitted he “didn’t like” his former stepmother, Heather Mills.
In a candid interview, James McCartney, a 35- year- old musician, disclosed how he had shared a bed with his father to help cope with the grief of losing his mother, Linda. He said he now considers Paul McCartney’s third wife, Nancy Shevell, as his “new mother,” confessing he didn’t feel the same way about the second, Mills.
James McCartney said he has now “rebonded” with his father after years of drug- taking. But he admitted he had found it a “little bit hard” to watch the success of his fashion designer sister, Stella.
Currently touring the United States, he told the Daily Mail on Sunday he had always been “naturally guarded” as a result of his upbringing. But he believed he was now ready for people to know the real him, adding: “It’s hard to live up to The Beatles. Even Dad found it hard living up to The Beatles.”
James McCartney, brother to Stella and Mary, a photographer, also told how he has spent years developing his music and “serving his time” before embarking on a career to earn his own living.
His mother, Linda McCartney, died after a three- year battle with breast cancer, in 1998, when he was 20 years old. Speaking of rumours he had slept in a bed with his father for “months” after her death, he told the newspaper: “We were both grieving together. That first night, in Arizona, when she’d just died I thought it would be too sad for Dad to sleep on his own, so I kept him company.
“The time after her death was not the healthiest for me. If Mum was gone, then I was going to rock out. It was very detrimental to my relationship with my family.” He said he then went into a “rough” period where he “got more and more into drugs.” He is now “several months sober” and has “rebonded” with his family after drifting apart.
Speaking of his family life, with the addition of Nancy Shevell, he said: “Nancy’s my new mother. I feel that. Definitely. She’s very genuine. She makes Dad very, very happy. We all adore her.”
His opinion is in contrast to his thoughts on Mills, who had a daughter Beatrice in 2003. “My relationship with Heather was not very good,” McCartney said. “I didn’t like her. But I wouldn’t want to say anything negative about her because she’s a good mother to Beatrice and that’s the most important thing.”
McCartney has a new album out, titled Me. He has previously disclosed he would consider forming a “next generation” Beatles with the offspring of other band members, saying: “I’d be up for it. Sean ( Lennon) seemed to be into it, Dhani ( Harrison) seemed to be into it. I’d be happy to do it.”