Paul McCartney's son James on drugs, his love for mum Linda and how he healed the rift with his father
26.06.2022 - 04:41
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
IT has taken 35 years for James McCartney to step out from his famous father’s shadow.
In his 20s, the son of Beatles legend Paul McCartney shunned his father, hated his new stepmother and descended into a dark world of drink and drugs.
When he turned to Class A drugs, including horse tranquiliser ketamine, even his sisters cut ties with him.
But that is now all in the past. His father and the stepmum, one-time model Heather Mills, are divorced and he has reconciled with his dad.
He has also found the confidence to finally perform the songs he has been writing since he was 17 years old.
James admits his life was turned upside down when his mother Linda died of breast cancer in 1998 at the family’s ranch in Arizona.
He said: “When I was 20 my mother died and I went off the rails a little bit. I had my slightly dark period.
“I got heavily into Nirvana, a bit of Marilyn Manson, these heavy bands.
“I was also finding myself and I was drinking and doing a little bit of drugs.”
James smoked his first marijuana joint at 16 but after his mother’s death he admits: “I was getting high, mainly on cannabis.”
James’ isolation increased when his father met Heather in 1999. They soon began a relationship, later marrying and it caused such a rift that James and Paul barely spoke for years.
He said: “It was a difficult time. Dad was married to Heather and we didn’t get on. I don’t have a problem with Heather now because she is Beatrice’s mum, but at the time it was difficult. I didn’t really like her. I had my own issues.”
During his dark days, James was living in Brighton, waiting on tables while his sister Stella was forging an international career in fashion.
Now, sitting in his Nashville hotel, where he is performing two nights at the legendary