Battle over Adamson’s fortune after wife severs contact with family

THE wife of the former Big Country singer Stuart Adamson, who until his death was filing for divorce, is now locked in a bitter battle over the Scottish star’s million-pound estate.

Melanie Shelley, 36, who was Adamson’s second wife, has severed all lines of communication with his family in Scotland, prompting fears the singer’s two children may not benefit from his fortune.

Until the singer was found on 16 December hanged in a Hawaiian hotel room, Ms Shelley had been planning to divorce Adamson, who was recovering from alcoholism. However, she has now withdrawn her divorce application, despite the fact she missed Adamson’s funeral in Dunfermline last weekend after a row about where he should be laid to rest.

Ms Shelley has also placed the couple’s mansion in Nashville, Tennessee, on the market.

One of Adamson’s closest friends claimed yesterday it could have been an anguished mobile phone message from his wife which proved too much for the rock star, who was also fighting depression.

Terry Wilson, 42, a former footballer with Dunfermline Athletic and Hibernian, said Ms Shelley was intent on proceeding with the formal separation.

Shortly before Adamson disappeared, family and friends in Scotland believe the singer had contacted a US-based lawyer, but they understand he never completed a final will and have been unable to trace the attorney.

Adamson’s son Callum, 19, and daughter Kirsten, 16, both from his marriage to his first wife, Sandra, may never see any of their father’s money.

Mr Wilson added: "He had just come out of a rehab clinic and had not been drinking for about six weeks. I offered him a job working with a youth football team and he was genuinely excited at the prospect of moving from Nashville and writing songs for a new solo album in his spare time.

"He had even come to terms with the collapse of his marriage and was in a super frame of mind.

"Then he played the message left for him by his wife on his mobile. She was sobbing and saying how much she loved him but that she was still signing the divorce papers. He couldn’t believe that his wife would leave a message like that for him."

Mr Wilson was the last friend to see Adamson alive before he vanished from his home.

Adamson’s former manager, Ian Grant, said yesterday: "When Stuart started to show signs he was not handling things by starting to drink again, he was not getting the adequate support he needed from Ms Shelley.

"If she deals with his two children fairly with a share of their father’s estate, then the matter will be over - but she hasn’t done that yet."

Ms Shelley was unavailable for comment last night.