| James McCartney | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Louis McCartney |
| Born | 12 September 1977 [1] London, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupations | Musician, Writer |
| Instruments | Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Piano, Mandolin, Drums |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Website | Official website |
James Louis McCartney (born 12 September 1977) is a British musician and songwriter living in London. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney. He has contributed to a number of solo albums by his parents, including Flaming Pie (1997) and Driving Rain (2001) by Paul McCartney and Wide Prairie (1998) by Linda McCartney.
His first solo EP, Available Light, was released in September 2010[1] to positive reviews.[2][3][4] A second EP, Close at Hand, was released shortly after. The solo album The Complete EP Collection is slated for release November 2011.[5]
Contents |
James Louis McCartney was born in London on September 12, 1977. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney and Paul's first wife, Linda McCartney. He was named after both his paternal grandfather Jim McCartney and his father, whose full name is James Paul McCartney, as well as Linda's late mother, heiress Louise Linder Eastman.
He spent the first two and a half years of his life on the road while his parents toured with their band Wings. After the band broke up in 1980, the McCartney family settled in Rye, East Sussex. He attended the local state secondary school, the Thomas Peacocke Community College.[6] He has stated his earliest inspiration to learn guitar was Michael J Fox in Back to the Future.[7] He began playing music when his father gave him a Fender Stratocaster at age nine. The guitar had previously been owned by Carl Perkins.[8]
In 1989, McCartney, with his older sisters Mary McCartney and Stella McCartney, again joined Paul and Linda on a world tour. He continued his education with a tutor while on the road. In 1993, at age 16, while surfing with friends, he was swept out to sea. Coast-guard was called and his family rushed to the site, but he emerged safe on his own forty minutes later.[6] In 1995, James introduced his sister Mary to television producer Alistair Donald, whom she would later marry.
On 17 April 1998, in Tucson, Arizona, James, along with his father and sisters, was at his mother's side when she died from breast cancer, which had been diagnosed in 1995. Later that year, McCartney graduated from Bexhill College, near his home in East Sussex, where he pursued studies in A Level Art and sculpture.[6]
James has played guitar and drums on some of his father's solo albums, including Flaming Pie (1997) and Driving Rain (2001), as well as co-writing a few songs.[1] On Flaming Pie he has an electric guitar solo on the track "Heaven on a Sunday." On Driving Rain, he co-wrote the songs "Spinning On An Axis" and "Back In The Sunshine Again" with his father, and played percussion on the former track and guitar on the latter.
He also plays lead guitar on his mother's posthumously released solo album, Wide Prairie (1998), which included tracks recorded privately over the previous twenty years.[9]
In 2004 he again left the McCartney family home and began living in a flat in Brighton,[7] where he waited tables while he attended college and worked on his music.[10] In 2005, he accompanied Paul during his 'US' Tour.
Around 2008, he began working with David Kahne, his father, and a number of other musicians on recording his own music.[8] He made his US performing debut with his own original solo material on November 14, 2009 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, during the Fourth Annual David Lynch Weekend for World Peace and Meditation in Fairfield, Iowa.[8] He performed under the pseudonym Light.[11]
Available Light was McCartney's first official release as both a performer and songwriter. The EP included four original songs composed by James as well as a cover of Neil Young’s classic "Old Man". In addition to composing the songs and singing, he plays electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano and bass on the recordings. Produced by David Kahne and Paul McCartney, the EP was recorded between Sussex, London and New York over the previous year,[2] including Abbey Road Studios.[3]
He stated "The music was inspired by The Beatles, Nirvana, The Cure, PJ Harvey, Radiohead — and all good music. It is basically rock n' roll, clean sounding and vocal. The words on the album refer to spirituality, love, family, trying to sort out one's life, and many other things."[11]
He previewed tracks from Available Light when he toured the UK for the first time in February and March 2010, [11][12] though he at first performed under a pseudonym.[1] The album was released electronically September 2010 on Blake Morgan's Engine Company Records,[1][4] to positive reviews.[3]
Close at Hand, his second EP, was released in 2011.[13]
McCartney's The Complete EP Collection is to be released on November 22, 2011. The album combines the previous two EPs along with five new original tracks and two newcovers.[5] It is his first physical release, the two individual EPs being digital only.[5] Like the EPs, it was produced by Paul McCartney and David Kahne, and is being released by Engine Company Records.[13] Rolling Stone called the opening track, "Angel," a "light and cheerful pop track."[5]
AntiMusic dubbed the release "whimsical and reflective, sharp-witted and affectionate. Full of smart, engaging pop songwriting."[14]
Like his older half-sister Heather McCartney, James lives a relatively private life,[6][7] unlike his sisters Stella, a fashion designer, and Mary, a photographer.[11] James has a much younger half-sister, Beatrice Milly McCartney, born in 2003 to Paul and his second wife Heather Mills.[6] James has six nephews and two nieces.
He is a professed vegan in honor of his mother, an animal rights activist.[7]