Wife of American Pie's McLean seeks divorce

NEW YORK • The wife of Don McLean, the singer of the classic song American Pie, has filed for divorce after his arrest on domestic violence allegations.

The police detained McLean in January after his wife of 30 years, Patrisha, called them to their home in the north-eastern state of Maine and he was later charged with misdemeanour offences that included domestic violence.

In her divorce filing last Thursday, the 55-year-old photographer cited abuse as well as adultery and asked for sole possession of their home. The marital strife has played out publicly, with McLean, 70, taking to Twitter last Friday to defend himself and asking outsiders to watch a documentary to see the couple's life together.

"My wife has chosen divorce. She has chosen to characterise our 30-year relationship in a completely distorted and untrue manner," he tweeted.

"We raised two gentle, highly educated children in an environment of laughter, music and literature," he said.

McLean, who has denied the abuse allegations, earlier postponed a tour of Australia, saying he wanted time to work on salvaging his marriage.

American Pie, released in 1971, is widely considered a classic of pop music with its account of the historical upheavals of the late 20th century.

The song recalls forlornly "the day the music died" - the 1959 plane crash in Iowa that killed rockers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and "The Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 14, 2016, with the headline Wife of American Pie's McLean seeks divorce. Subscribe