Paul McCartney says wife Linda saved him from nervous breakdown during Beatles split

Paul McCartney has revealed that his wife Linda "saved" him from a nervous breakdown during the demise of The Beatles in 1969.

The revelation comes in a forthcoming biography titled Man On The Run: Paul McCartney In The 1970s, which is to be published on Friday (September 6). In the book, author Tom Doyle writes that McCartney suffered a massive crisis of confidence as the band were splitting up and fled to his farm in Scotland.

An excerpt from the book, as published by The Sunday Times, reads: "Day by day, his (McCartney's) condition had been steadily worsening. His often sleepless nights were spent shaking with anxiety, while his days were characterised by heavy drinking and self-sedation with marijuana. For the first time in his life, he felt utterly worthless. This was an identity crisis in extremis ... when he did get out of bed, he would reach straight for the whisky and by three in the afternoon was usually out of it."

Doyle interviewed McCartney for the biography and the singer said of his recovery: "It was Linda who saved me and it was all done in a sort of domestic setting." McCartney, by now on the mend, would announce his departure from The Beatles in April 1970.