Jamie Wood dismisses feud with rocker dad Ronnie but admits to distancing from the Rolling Stones

Jamie Wood – adopted son of Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood – last week denied rumours he was selling £1.5 million worth of his father’s memorabilia.

And now, in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the 46-year-old is sure to insist that he’s not interested in living in the ‘shadow’ of the iconic rock group – clearing up the much-publicised ‘rift’ between him and Ronnie.

‘It’s not a feud. But Ronnie’s not my dad. I think of him as a mate,’ Jamie explains. ‘We text now and again – you know, “how are you mate, happy birthday” – but it’s not a feud, it’s just how its always been.’

‘I love him but he’s not my dad!’ Jamie Wood has dismissed the ‘feud’ he had reportedly been in with his rocker father Ronnie… but admits nearly dying helped him move out of the ‘ruthless’ shadow of the Rolling Stones

Jamie is zen about this. There’s no animosity or resentment coming through as he speaks about 73-year-old Ronnie – who took Jamie under his wing in the late 70s when he became romantically involved with his mother Jo in 1977.

In fact, Jamie laughs fondly when he speaks about the Rolling Stones star’s iffy approach to raising kids.

‘I lived with him since I was one-year-old. I’m surprised he remembers me to be honest,’ Jamie says. ‘He was probably like “who is this 21-year-old?” when I grew up. 

‘He spent the first 12 years locked in the toilet – partying, drinking. You can’t look after kids in that condition. We never had much of a relationship. Ronnie was a dude mum was with – the dude it’s all about.’

Honest: In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the 46-year-old is sure to insist that he's not interested in living in the 'shadow' of the iconic rock group - clearing up the much-publicised 'rift' between him and Ronnie

Honest: In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the 46-year-old is sure to insist that he’s not interested in living in the ‘shadow’ of the iconic rock group – clearing up the much-publicised ‘rift’ between him and Ronnie

Zen: Jamie speaks about 73-year-old Ronnie fondly, calling him 'a mate'

Zen: Jamie speaks about 73-year-old Ronnie fondly, calling him ‘a mate’

Indeed, Jamie was bestowed with a globally famous father figure who came with a rock’n’roll lifestyles. Jamie embraced this at a younger age; but now, a near-death experience under his belt, he is all too happy to get away from that.

‘It feels like all that rock’n’roll crap – I have moved on. I am finally doing something that I want to do. I am out of that shadow. And it’s a big shadow, it’s a big machine, it’s ruthless.’

By the 90s, Jamie admits he and Ronnie were in a better place. After the musician was ‘ripped off’, Jamie stepped in to help manage some of his endavours.

‘We worked together and had a great time,’ he says. ‘But then the divorce happened.’

Business: It was an addiction to cannabis and a heart attack that led Jamie to his next endavour - a CBD business called it Woodies

Business: It was an addiction to cannabis and a heart attack that led Jamie to his next endavour – a CBD business called it Woodies

Side-step: 'It feels like all that rock'n'roll crap - I have moved on. I am finally doing something that I want to do. I am out of that shadow. And it's a big shadow, it's a big machine, it's ruthless,' Jamie said [pictured L-R: Rolling Stones members Ronnie, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards]

Side-step: ‘It feels like all that rock’n’roll crap – I have moved on. I am finally doing something that I want to do. I am out of that shadow. And it’s a big shadow, it’s a big machine, it’s ruthless,’ Jamie said [pictured L-R: Rolling Stones members Ronnie, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards]

Ronnie and Jo, 65, split for good in 2009.

‘Mum was in bits and it all got messy. I still saw Ronnie but he met [now wife] Sally after that. I will always love him for raising me, paying for school fees. I owe him and I respect him for that. But he’s not my blood and isn’t my dad.’

Jo split from Jamie’s biological father Peter Greene in 1976. Jamie recalls the first time he met him, age 12.

‘I came home and mum was chatting to this dude. She was like “that’s your biological dad”. I was like “how you doing?”‘ Jamie recounts. ‘He took me every weekend for a season to Arsenal – turned me into a Gunner.

‘He was quite a Jack the lad, worked in the rag trade. Went a lot to Marbella. He died two years ago.’

Of his upbringing, Jamie says: 'I don't know why, but growing up I had an overwhelming desire to make money. My own money. To be independent' [the family are pictured in 1989]

Of his upbringing, Jamie says: ‘I don’t know why, but growing up I had an overwhelming desire to make money. My own money. To be independent’ [the family are pictured in 1989]

Of his upbringing, Jamie says: ‘I don’t know why, but growing up I had an overwhelming desire to make money. My own money. To be independent.

‘I think it’s because I’d ask Ronnie for some money so I could go out to the clubs and he’d give me a tenner. I’d be all, “that’s not even the cab ride there!”. One time I took that tenner to the bookies and made £130 and had a great night in the end!’

It was this – plus an addiction to cannabis and a heart attack – that led Jamie to his next endavour – a CBD business. He has called it Woodies.

‘I’d been smoking weed all my life. I would always fall into lots of different things growing up but cannabis had always been there. But at the time it wasn’t un-demonised like it is now,’ he says.

Jamie developed a drug habit aged just 14 — using heroin and cocaine until he was 20, smoking cannabis and cigarettes after that. In October 2017, he had to undergo emergency surgery following a heart attack at just 42. He hasn’t smoked since. 

Ronnie  took Jamie under his wing in the late 70s when he became romantically involved with his mother Jo in 1977 [pictured L-R brother Tyrone, sister Leah, parents Jo and Ronnie, and Jamie in 2005]

Ronnie  took Jamie under his wing in the late 70s when he became romantically involved with his mother Jo in 1977 [pictured L-R brother Tyrone, sister Leah, parents Jo and Ronnie, and Jamie in 2005]

Drama: Ronnie and Jo split for good in 2009. 'Mum was in bits and it all got messy. I still saw Ronnie but he met [now wife, pictured] Sally after that. I will always love him for raising me, paying for school fees. I owe him and I respect him for that. But he's not my blood and isn't my dad,' Jamie says

Drama: Ronnie and Jo split for good in 2009. ‘Mum was in bits and it all got messy. I still saw Ronnie but he met [now wife, pictured] Sally after that. I will always love him for raising me, paying for school fees. I owe him and I respect him for that. But he’s not my blood and isn’t my dad,’ Jamie says

‘I was told i couldn’t smoke weed again after that. And it was a disaster. The worst time of my life,’ he reflects. ‘It affects the rhythm of your heart, so I had a tough time, suddenly having to quit.

‘I recovered in bed, invested money in burger chain (what was i thinking?) and lost all of that money. I could have dealt with that loss if I’d been able to smoke weed but couldn’t. That was a tough nine months.

‘I understand what it’s like to have bad thoughts and to think about ending it. I couldn’t get out of bed.’

But then, wood from the trees, so to speak.

‘I then started focusing on my well-being,’ he goes on. ‘I started playing in the lab, extracting the CBD. And it worked. I produced an oil and I found that worked for me. 

Crisis: In October 2017, Jamie had to undergo emergency surgery following a heart attack at just 42. He hasn't smoked since. The family are pictured that year

Crisis: In October 2017, Jamie had to undergo emergency surgery following a heart attack at just 42. He hasn’t smoked since. The family are pictured that year

‘I realised if CBD can help me, it can help others. And that’s what I do with Woodies. I have expanded the range and I do it on my own. I make it all myself. Every client to me is important. They’re like my patients.

‘I’m 46. It’s too late to become a doctor. But it’s so rewarding helping people. Doctors save lives – that must be an amazing feeling. I am indebted to my doctors. So if I can just help with people’s anxiety or cure their migraines with my products that’s great.

‘I like to talk to all my customers. CBD has to work for them personally. I’m not going to ram it down your throat. I just let you buy it and leave you to it. But I like to be there as a consultant too. I really enjoy it!’

Jamie works from home – ‘I’m like a mad scientist in a lab, I put it on YouTube’ – which is ideal for the current climate.

Recovery: Jamie developed a drug habit aged just 14 but by 20 ditched class A products and relied solely on cannabis [pictured R with his parents and brother Jamie in 1990]

Recovery: Jamie developed a drug habit aged just 14 but by 20 ditched class A products and relied solely on cannabis [pictured R with his parents and brother Jamie in 1990]

He even utilised lockdown to educate himself further. ‘I’ve done a load of diplomas. Went back to school. I’ve learnt that the whole secret of life is discovering what you want to do. I was 42-years-old and it was staring me in the face. I’m like a born-again weed doctor,’ he says.

Despite his own tricky youth, Jamie is family-oriented, and gushes about his four children – whom he home-schooled during the first lockdown. They are 15, 11 and five, with an eldest, 21, at Reading university.

And clearing up the matter of the alleged Rolling Stones memorabelia auction, Jamie says: ‘I don’t even have stuff of Ronnie’s. Maybe a few personal bits, drawings and stuff.

New outlook: 'I'm like a born-again weed doctor,' Jamie says

New outlook: ‘I’m like a born-again weed doctor,’ Jamie says

Busy: Jamie works from home - 'I'm like a mad scientist in a lab, I put it on YouTube' - which is ideal for the current climate

Busy: Jamie works from home – ‘I’m like a mad scientist in a lab, I put it on YouTube’ – which is ideal for the current climate

‘The stuff I was selling was just my own personal collections of stuff. It’s just worth money and after the heart attack I didn’t want it. I didn’t want to be part of that greedy rock’n’roll environment. I wanted to get rid of all that. It’s just artwork and Buddhas and stuff…’

And although he’s chucking out his Buddhas of yesteryear, Jamie holds on to the ethos behind them.

‘I am very Buddhist about things. No bad vibes here, he says. ‘I am never going to try and compete with fame. Some of those people get away with murder. Some of those people get sucked into that world and spat out. It’s very sad.

‘Look at people like Jim Morrison and Keith Moon. Look at poor Caroline Flack. It’s a fun life up until a point, but then you’ve got to get out of it.’

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