Gill Catchpole, the mother of singer James Morrison’s two daughters, has tragically passed away at the singer’s home.
According to reports, the 45-year-old mother-of-two was found dead in her Whitminster home on Friday.
James Morrison, 39, made his debut in 2006 and has since released ten Top 10 albums – including two number one singles – and was nominated for a British Male Album of the Year award in 2007.
He and Ms Catchpole had been together since he was 17 years old, after she moved in as his lodger at his mother’s house.
According to sources, the singer is ‘heartbroken’ and his family are supporting him. He previously described his mother as his ‘hero’, and the title of his recent album ‘Stronger Than You Know’ was inspired by her strength following the birth of his daughter, Ada, who was born prematurely.
The singer has two daughters with his wife, Elsie (nee Catchpole), aged 15, and five-year-old Ada. Mrs Catchpole ran a family-run café and catering business in the village where they lived.
According to the Sun, police cars were seen outside the business on Saturday, which was closed while officers attended.
According to a family friend, there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding Gill’s death, which was reported to the police on Friday.
The friend said: ‘She was found dead at her parents’ house in Whitminster on Friday.
James is in a state of shock and is being looked after by his wife and daughters. He has asked that the family be allowed to grieve privately.
“The village is in absolute shock,” said one local.
Gill’s first-born daughter, Ada, was born at 13 weeks premature and weighed only 1lb 11 ounces.
Morrison said it took a lot of courage for Gill to bring Ada into the world, describing it as a ‘difficult year’.
Gill Catchpole’s second-born daughter, Elsie, was born in difficult circumstances, with her cord wrapped around her neck, causing her to spend a week in hospital.
The father-of-two, who was born prematurely and had to be resuscitated four times due to whooping cough, said Gill ‘was my hero’ after everything she had done for their children. ‘I burst into tears when we arrived back at the ward after Ada was born,’ he told the Mirror.
I’m still so amazed at how he pulled it off. He is my rock. I’ve known him since I played open mics and was a van cleaner. I could never replace him.
She told Lorraine in 2019: [My daughter] was born weighing only 1 lb 11 oz. He was really small, but now he is a good strong kid. He compensates with quantity.
“The first year was tough, but it’s a good thing we’re here now. All the tough times are worth it.”
“Gill was struggling with postpartum depression, so I admired her a lot.”
“I wrote a song to make him happy. I wrote a song that made me feel like the sun was shining on the horizon. He said it made him happy.”
Morrison has spoken openly about his relationship with Miss Catchpole, telling the White Wine Question Time podcast that she moved into his mother’s house as a tenant with her then boyfriend.
Morrison said he had been studying songs from a Steve Wonder album and began singing to her in an effort to impress her.
In comments reported by Yahoo!, he said, ‘When she first moved in, I sang all the songs on the album to her, and I played them all on the acoustic guitar.’
He added, ‘I’m not saying I’m a romantic person, but I think there are some things that are romantic. The fact that we met the way we did, it’s like a little bit of a story.
Undiscovered was released in 2006 and went platinum five times in the UK; the follow-up songs for you, truth for me went platinum three times and 2011’s The Awakening peaked at number one and was also certified platinum.
His last album was a greatest hits in 2022, but he dropped out of the music industry for a while after the death of his alcoholic father Paul, his brother Alexis, and his nephew Callum all within three years of each other.
“In 2015, Alexis and Callum passed away aged just a year and a half, and he said: ‘The loss of Alexis and Callum was heartbreaking after the passing of my father, and the subsequent loss of the next generation.”
He added of his father, ‘By the time he passed away, he was a law of himself. We kept in touch during his last few months. I kept saying to him, ‘You can still be a grandfather to Elsie.’ But he said, ‘I don’t need any help.
I was on tour the night he passed away from a heart attack. I left my phone at the recording studio the day before and when I went to pick it up, it was full of missed calls from my father.
There were no texts or phone calls. It was brutal. Now I don’t know what he was trying to tell me.
After her kidney transplant, Ms Catchpole posted a picture on her business’s social media platform last year, expressing her joy at the start of the business.
Morrison previously told an interviewer that one of her kidneys was working ’35 per cent’ at the time of the transplant.
In her November post, she wrote: ‘Wow, what a year it’s been. A year ago, I had my kidney transplant. And now, after a year of ups and downs and heartache, I’m here, running my own business.
I didn’t see this coming myself at the beginning of this year. For those of you who are struggling, I can assure you from personal experience that it gets better.
Thank you to my loving family and friends who have stood by me through thick and thin and held me and my story in their arms. You know me. Today I am full of joy.
Morrison is a well-known songwriter who not only performs his own songs but has also composed songs for other artists such as Olly murs or Demi lovato.
His last Instagram account was on Thursday, when he posted a photo of himself in his home studio playing guitar and using recording software on his computer. The caption read “new year, new adventures.”
