Paul McCartney cuts back on booze after escaping alcoholism in the 1970s

[dar0ck]

Paul McCartney has cut back on his drinking to one "big glass" of wine a week, insisting grandad can't party like he used to.

The former Beatles star, who is now a grandfather to eight kids, tells Mojo magazine he went on a bender after the Fab Four split in the 1970s and spent many days hammered as he worked on the start of what would become a very successful solo career.

He opens up briefly about his boozy past on new track Happy With You, in which he sings: "I used to drink too much/Forget to come home."

And Macca tells Mojo, "I did used to get stoned and wasted... most particularly in the period right after The Beatles. I was bummed out and in the middle of this horrendous s**t, where someone was going to take every penny we'd ever made.

"That wasn't easy and led to a very difficult time in my life. I definitely self-medicated there and drank more than I ever had and probably more than I ever have since. But you go through it."

He's glad he didn't become an alcoholic after watching bandmate and pal Ringo Starr struggle with addiction.

"I've got a lot of friends who are sober, 'cos they have to be," he tells the publication. "Like Ringo, Joe Walsh. Because they just took it too far.

"When we were growing up, everyone would be going to the pub and drinking but mostly it all seemed quite jolly. But when I talk to Ringo about it, he says, 'No, if you give me vodka, I would have to finish the bottle'."

And Paul insists it's not a good look for a grandfather to be drinking heavily and smoking a joint: "I’ve got eight grandchildren," he says. "I haven’t got the time. Grandad can’t just be sitting in his armchair with a great big doobie on and a bottle of tequila."